A Trajectory of ✦✦✦

Notes & Open Questions

This first draft is built strictly from the supplied 3starUSA.csv, with the table format echoing the Wikipedia trajectory grid for New York City. Year columns correspond to guide year (e.g., the “2025” column = the 2025 MICHELIN Guide, released late 2024). Empty cells (—) mean the restaurant was not starred that year or wasn’t yet covered by a regional Michelin guide.

Regional guide coverage to keep in mind

• New York City — covered every year, 2006–present.
• San Francisco / Bay Area — covered from 2007 onward; expanded to all of California in 2019.
• Los Angeles & Las Vegas — standalone guides published only for the 2008 and 2009 editions; LA returned with the California guide in 2019; Las Vegas has not returned.
• Chicago — covered from the 2011 edition onward.
• Washington, D.C. / D.C. metro — covered from the 2017 edition onward.

Recently verified & corrected (from CSV first draft)

• L2O — CSV showed 3★ in 2010, 1★ in 2011, 2★ 2012–14. The inaugural Chicago guide was the 2011 edition (released Nov 2010), so the trajectory has been shifted forward one column: 3★ 2011, 1★ 2012, 2★ 2013–14, closed end of 2014. Confirmed via Wikipedia, Chicago Magazine (11/16/2010), Eater Chicago.
• Jungsik — CSV showed 1★ in 2011–12. Jungsik opened in Tribeca in September 2011 and was too new to be in the 2012 NYC guide. First star came in the 2013 guide; elevated to 2★ in the 2014 guide, held 2★ through 2023, awarded 3★ in the 2024 guide. Confirmed by the Michelin Guide’s own profile, the Wikipedia NYC list, and contemporaneous coverage.
• Manresa — CSV showed 2★ starting 2006. The SF Bay Area Michelin guide didn’t exist before the 2007 edition; Manresa was 2-starred in that inaugural guide and held 2★ through 2015, then 3★ 2016–2022. Closed Dec 31, 2022. Confirmed via Wikipedia, Michelin Guide profile, SFGate.
• Quince — Same fix as Manresa. CSV started 1★ in 2006; corrected to 1★ from 2007 (inaugural SF guide). 2★ from the 2014 guide, 3★ from the 2017 guide (released Oct 2016). Confirmed via the Michelin Guide’s own profile, SF Standard, and Michelin’s 2017 SF guide announcement.
• Somni — The 2020–2024 gap was a genuine closure, not unknown ratings. The original Somni (inside The Bazaar at the SLS Hotel, Beverly Hills) earned 2★ in the 2019 California guide and closed in August 2020. Chef Aitor Zabala reopened it in West Hollywood in November 2024 and it earned 3★ in June 2025. Shown as 2★ through 2020, temp. for 2021–24, then 3★ in 2025. Confirmed via Wikipedia, Robb Report, Chowhound, LA Times.
• Joël Robuchon (Las Vegas) — Confirmed it held 3★ in both Las Vegas guide editions (2008 and 2009), not just one. The 2008 edition (released Nov 2007) listed it as the city’s only three-star. The restaurant is still open; Michelin suspended its Vegas guide after 2009, so 2010–2025 are blank rather than “closed.” Confirmed via the Michelin Guide’s own Robuchon retrospective, the archived 2008 guide listing, and the Las Vegas Wikipedia list.

Closed restaurants — closure years & final trajectories (verified)

• Alain Ducasse at the Essex House (NYC) — 3★ in the inaugural 2006 guide, then closed January 2007 and absent from the 2007 guide. No demotion.
• Grace (Chicago) — 2★ (2014), 3★ (2015–2018). Closed December 2017 after a chef/owner dispute, but still appeared at 3★ in the 2018 guide released weeks earlier. No demotion.
• L2O (Chicago) — 3★ (2011) → 1★ (2012) → 2★ (2013–2014). Closed December 31, 2014.
• Manresa (Los Gatos) — 2★ (2007–2015), 3★ (2016–2022). Closed December 31, 2022. No demotion.
• The Restaurant at Meadowood (St. Helena) — 2★ (2008–2010), 3★ from 2011, held continuously. Destroyed in the Glass Fire on September 28, 2020 and never rebuilt. No demotion — it was a 3-star until the fire. Shown 3★ through 2020 (carryover; see note below), closed 2021+.
• Coi (San Francisco) — the only closed restaurant that was demoted before closing: 1★ (2008), 2★ (2009–2016), 3★ (2017–2018), then demoted to 2★ in 2019 when Matthew Kirkley left for the Bocuse d’Or and Erik Anderson took over. It held 2★ through the 2021 guide (Michelin kept the listing even though Coi went dark at the start of the pandemic in March 2020). Permanent closure announced March 2022.

The missing 2020 California guide

There was no 2020 California MICHELIN Guide — Michelin formally paused all California Stars, Bib Gourmands and Plates that year, citing COVID-19 and the wildfires, and held a “Virtual Family Meal” instead. The 2019 selection stayed in effect, so the 2020 column for every California restaurant here reflects carryover of its 2019 rating, not a fresh evaluation. (The next California guide was the 2021 edition, announced October 2021.) This also resolves the old Providence 2020 question mark: under carryover it should read 2★ — left flagged below pending a dedicated Providence pass, since its 2019/2021 ratings still want a direct check.

Cells that still need verification

• Providence Marked ? in 2020. The mechanism is now known (no 2020 CA guide → carryover from 2019), but Providence’s 2019 and 2021–2024 ratings still warrant a direct check before filling it in. The 2010–2018 cells are blank since LA had no Michelin coverage in that window.

On the horizon (outside this table’s 2006–2025 range)

• Michelin announced a new Southwest guide covering Las Vegas, with inspectors dining anonymously again in 2025 after a 17-year absence. Any new Vegas stars would land in a 2026 edition — beyond this table’s range — so Joël Robuchon stays “not covered” for now.

Things still to add in v2

• For restaurants that lost stars and dropped further (e.g., 3★ → 2★ → 1★ → 0★ → closed), confirm the exact year each downward step happened — the CSV summarizes ranges but loses some intermediate single-year states.
• Add references column citing each year’s guide release (matching the Wikipedia format).
• Consider splitting into era tables (2006–2010 / 2011–2020 / 2021–present) for readability, again matching Wikipedia.
• Add any U.S. 3-star holders missing from the CSV (e.g., verify against Michelin’s historical archive).