Michelin Red Guide 2006 New York City: Hotels & Restaurants (Michelin Red Guides) [Paperback]

Michelin Travel Publications (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 2005

You may ask why Michelin is launching a Michelin Guide for New York City in November 2005 ? and why it has taken us so long to do so. New York City is an international gourmet dining center, with many attractions and unique neighborhoods. It was impossible for us not to take an interest in the city. As a dining center, New York is now on par with cities such as London, Madrid and Paris. That's why we felt now was the best time to acknowledge the achievements and the talent of these people who are making New York an undisputed leader in fine hotels and restaurants. And whether by chance or coincidence, it was exactly 100 years ago, in 1905, that Michelin opened its first offices in the United States, at 132-142 West 27th Street, Madison Square. Key features: Approximately 500 restuarant and hotel selections Two restaurant listings per page Detailed descriptions for every establishment Receipes from chefs at star-rated restaurants Neighboorhood maps highlight the locations

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An American Michelin Guide is incredibly exciting and a testimony to the evoluation of our dining culture" Clark Wolf -- New York Times, Feb 23, 2005

"The Michelin system is the best anybody has yet devised" -- Conde Nast Traveler, Restaurant Ratings, Sept 2005

..."in fairness, Michelin's a contenda...Michelin's New York guide will cover 500 spots...with fuller descriptions and color photos. -- New York Post, Steve Cuozzo, Oct 12, 2005

Daniel Boulud concerning title, "oldest form of classification and most honest...for food...they are going to raise the bar" -- New York Observer, June 20, 2005

Frank Bruni(NYC Times), Michelin will compliment the city's exciting food and accomodation coverage by adding knowledgable point of view. -- Town & Country, November 2005

From the Publisher

Edouard Michelin, "A New York guide is part of an old dream of mine. It goes back 20 years. At first there was France, then Europe, but now there's the world, and New York is the gateway. New York makes you discover other cuisines."

"I've had some anxiety about how the guide will be perceived here," he said. "But I do not believe that there will be a negative attitude toward the guide, first of all because Michelin, as a company, has a reputation for being reliable."

Michelin first started publishing guidebooks in France 105 years ago, first giving travlers practical information like gas stations, emergencey services, hotels and maps. Restaurants were added in 1923. There are now red guides in 20 countries.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Michelin Travel Pubns; Revised edition (November 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 2067115553
• ISBN-13: 978-2067115552
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,400,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful but flawed; don't use it as a sole source of information, November 21, 2005

By 

Barry T. Campbell (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Michelin Red Guide 2006 New York City: Hotels & Restaurants (Michelin Red Guides) (Paperback)

I've happily used Michelin Guides when travelling in Europe, and as a New York City resident and something of a foodie (okay, glutton) I looked forward to this guide with a great deal of interest. The writeups for the restaurants that I'm familiar with seem accurate for the most part, though one could quibble endlessly about who got stars and who didn't.

The overall results are mixed, however.

Graphically, the book is unquestionably the most attractive and readable of the New York City guidebooks, and the included maps and color photographs only add to the pleasing effect of the presentation. Including recipes from some of the starred properties is an especially nice touch.

The guide is *heavily* Manhattan-centric, however, making only token mentions of restaurants in Brooklyn and Queens and leaving the Bronx and Staten Island off almost entirely; the Bronx's very fine Arthur Avenue restaurant scene is represented by a single restaurant, Roberto's, for instance, and the guide suffers in general from what feels to me like a lack of local knowledge (e.g., some howlers, such as calling the NYC Subway the "Metro," should have been picked up and corrected by a local editor who knows the area... and are there really only *two* restaurants of interest in the entire neighborhood of Harlem? Real New Yorkers know there are more.)

If you're a real foodie visiting New York City, you'll want at least two restaurant books in addition to, or instead of, the Michelin Guide:

-- The Zagat Guide, for breadth of coverage (hundreds more properties than Michelin deigns to report on)
-- The Chowhound Guide to New York City, for much better outer-borough coverage and tips on great, sometimes eccentric and out of the way spots offering great cooking.

As a general New York City map and guidebook, I also heartily recommend the "Not For Tourists Guide To New York City," which, despite the title, adventurous tourists will find indispensable.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nothing like the You-Rip versions - Too Much Fluff, December 23, 2005

By 

Dom Miliano (Denville, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Michelin Red Guide 2006 New York City: Hotels & Restaurants (Michelin Red Guides) (Paperback)

Color Pictures. Reviews that are mostly fluff. Glossy pages. Recipes, recipes for goodness sake! How the mighty have fallen. My Red Guide to Italy saved me from a ho-hum meal several times - in Verona, Venice and Florence. And I keep it near my passport whenever the inspiration calls for a trip to You-Rip. This guide is a pale imposter of the famed Red Guides that have given restaurant owners and chefs ulcers for decades. This book is written for out-of-towners and a real New Yorker would probably deem it shelf-ware.

I looked for two of my favorites - Café Des Artiste, Le Refuge and they are not there. Especially surprising since Le Refuge has been in New York Magazine's Top 100 restaurants many times and recent visits confirm consistent quality.

Zagat's and Time Out New York are better, more useful guides. My opinion - This book is barely enough information for an occasional visitor and warm beer for a local.

This guide could have been so much better. I hope they keep working at it. Please, get with the program!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars better than the others, but not at par with the Red Guide for Italy or London, December 26, 2005

By 

an Italian in New York - See all my reviews

This review is from: Michelin Red Guide 2006 New York City: Hotels & Restaurants (Michelin Red Guides) (Paperback)

The Michelin Red Guide to New York sticks with their usual European format in some respects and deviates from that format in others. The deviations are not good.

Strengths:
1. It lists only restaurants that are worth listing. Most restaurants in New York are not listed; that is a good thing because most restaurants in New York are acceptable but do not deserve any specific recommendation.
2. Restaurants that are awarded one or more stars are about 50. That is also a good thing. That way you actually know which are the 50 restaurants in New York that are actually worth spending your money on.

Weaknesses:
1. There is even less description of the food itself than in the European guides. Now, if Michelin's guide to Italy had a weakness is that the description of the food is too short. The food description in the New York guide is even shorter! I would like to have a better idea of what I am going to eat if I go to certain restaurant.
2. Each restaurant has a lengthy description of the decor. That in my opinion is overdone.