Star power

BOULDER — Several Boulder restaurants were surprised and delighted in September to discover that they had been included among the 44 eateries in the venerable Michelin Guide’s inaugural Colorado survey.

One – perhaps Boulder’s most esteemed and honored dining destination for decades – was stunned that it wasn’t.

Michelin, which designates the best restaurants around the world, announced in June that it was sending its mystery diners into eateries in Boulder, Denver, Aspen and Vail. The places they selected might receive one of the guide’s coveted stars – one star for “restaurants using top-quality ingredients, where dishes with distinct flavors are prepared to a consistently high standard,” two stars “when the personality and talent of the chef are evident in their expertly crafted dishes [and] their food is refined and inspired,” or three stars for its “highest award, given for the superlative cooking of chefs at the peak of their profession; their cooking is elevated to an art form and some of their dishes are destined to become classics.”

Restaurants might also earn a “green star,” first introduced in Michelin’s 2021 guides to recognize “restaurants at the forefront of the industry when it comes to their sustainable practices,” the company’s website says. “They hold themselves accountable for both their ethical and environmental standards, and work with sustainable producers and suppliers to avoid waste and reduce or even remove plastic and other non-recyclable materials from their supply chain.”

Then there’s Michelin’s equivalent of television’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” the “Bib Gourmand” awards it introduced in 1997 to recognize eateries that provide simple foods prepared creatively at a reasonable price, the best values for the dollar – or franc, or pound, or yen, or whatever.

The results:

Frasca Food and Wine, 1738 Pearl St., received one star, heralded for chef Ian Palazzola’s “beguiling” Northeast Italian fare “with a minimal, straightforward approach.” Its front-of-house team, led by general manager Sergei Kiefel, also earned an Outstanding Service Award.

Two Boulder restaurants earned green stars.

Blackbelly Market, 1606 Conestoga St., was cited for its “full utilization of every ingredient and animal, most of which are butchered in-house; sourcing from local ranches and farms that apply natural practices to everything they cultivate.” It noted that the restaurant grows herbs and flowers for its plates on its property. Its butcher Kelly Kawachi was honored with a Michelin Colorado Culinary Professional Award.

Bramble & Hare, 1970 13th St., was recognized for its resources: an “organic farm with 70 acres growing more than 250 varieties of vegetables, herbs and grain, which is ground into flour on a stone mill; an acre of chamomile for restaurant use; 360 acres of pasture for raising heritage sheep and pigs.”

One Boulder restaurant, Basta at 3601 Arapahoe Ave., earned the Bib Gourmand recognition. Its “industrial-chic tone,” a bar offering a “front-row seat to the culinary action,” bread from next-door Dry Storage bakery and “family-style contemporary Italian-American cooking” caught Michelin’s eye, along with the “unexpected delight” of smoked dark green olives.”

Why do these ratings matter?

Listing a Boulder restaurant in the Michelin Guide “would benefit the entire economic ecosystem [and] hospitality workforce and cement Boulder’s place among the nation’s top culinary destinations,” said Charlene Hoffman, CEO of Visit Boulder, in a written statement in June.

The rating certainly has mattered at Frasca, Kiefel said. “It validates the hard work and effort we put into it,” he said. “The one star shows that what we’re doing is really great and we’re on the path to doing something even better. After 19 years, it sets a new starting line, a new direction for the restaurant to push toward.”

He said the rating has generated “more reservations in the last few weeks,” and noted that “people who have lived in Boulder for 30-plus years are giving Frasca a try for the first time.”

The green star also has mattered at Blackbelly, where general manager Julie Young noted “a definite uptick in our business. It brings in more guests, more out-of-towners.”

Although she acknowledged that the green star Blackbelly earned “is not a Michelin star in the traditional sense of the word,” it still is likely to lure “a bunch of people over the course of a year.

“I think we’re recognized as a Boulder favorite, a sustainable type with our ethos,” she said.

Michelin also recommended five other Boulder restaurants: Boulder Dushanbe Tea House, 1770 13th St.; Oak at Fourteenth, 1440 Pearl St.; Santo, 1265 Alpine Ave.; Stella’s Cucina, 1123 Walnut St.; and Zoe Ma Ma, 2010 10th St.

Notice a missing name?

How about the mountainside venue that has lured diners to new heights since the 1950s, is listed as one of OpenTable’s 100 most romantic restaurants in America, and has received the Wine Spectator Grand Award every year since 1983 for having one of the most coveted wine lists in the world? The place that has earned nearly four dozen four-star ratings from the Forbes Travel Guide and 33 consecutive AAA Four Diamond ratings?

Nope, Flagstaff House didn’t get a Michelin mention.

“Every one of our 100-plus workers – from the chefs to the dishwashers – was devastated,” said general manager and co-owner Adam Monette, grandson of Don Monette, who took on the restaurant at 1138 Flagstaff Road in 1971 and built its global acclaim. “This was not easy news to break.”

His ownership partner for 12 years, executive chef Chris Royster, had printed a picture of the Michelin logo and placed it above his desk as something to strive for.

That’s why “we’re a little crushed,” Monette said – especially since he routinely hears from diners who have sampled the best of Chicago, New York and Paris and told him Flagstaff House is their favorite restaurant.

“We’re excited for the winners,” Monette said, “but the praise we’re getting is pretty amazing. The people of Boulder have been dining here for 52 years and know what we’re all about. Even without this recognition, we’ll continue to be the place the people of Boulder go to celebrate the monumental moments in their lives.”

How did the iconic restaurant perched on the side of Flagstaff Mountain get missed? Maybe the Michelin foodies who largely focused on downtown Boulder just didn’t look high enough.

“They’re new to Colorado. It takes time to get to know an area,” Monette said. “They’ll figure it out.”

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