On Monday the 2007 Michelin Guide was released for the San Francisco, Bay Area and Wine Country.  This is the first Michelin Guide for the Bay Area and as a Bay Area resident I found the results very exciting.  The item that made the top mention in the New York Times (and many other outlets) was that Thomas Keller now has two restaurants that have earned Michelin three stars: The French Laundry and Per Se.  This is an amazing accomplishment and I extend Thomas Keller a hearty round of congratulations.

The French Laundry was the only Bay Area restaurant to receive a 3 star rating.  Four others, however, received 2 star ratings.  These are Restaurant Michael Mina, Aqua, Manresa, and Cyrus.  Of these, Manresa and Cyrus were also listed this month as one of America's top 50 restaurants by Gourmet Magazine.

While I haven't been to any of these restaurants I want to. One in particular, Manresa, located in Los Gatos, CA, is no more than 20 minutes from my home.  Sadly, Husband and I have wanted to go to Manresa for quite a while but just haven't gotten around to it.  I remember a couple of years ago hearing about the joys of the Manresa experience from friends who had gone there.  They are full fledged foodies and techno geeks who entered each and every course into their palm as they ate and added comments about the dishes.  While the comments towards the end of the meal were less plentiful - I'm sure the wine pairings had nothing to do with that Smile - the descriptions they logged were extremely detailed and interesting. We saw them a few weeks after the experience, and got the entire meal recounted back play-by-play.  It sounded amazing! 

Cyrus is also on my list of restaurants to go to.  In fact, I almost went last month when I was in Healdsburg.  Cyrus was within walking distance of the bed and breakfast we stayed at.  But we opted for a lighter meal that night because because it was the last night of a four night wine country trip and we just weren't sure we could handle, or appreciate, that much food.  Next time we'll schedule Cyrus for the first night of the trip so that we can fully enjoy the experience.

The Bay Area Michelin report also gave one star ratings to several Bay Area restaurants.  I've been to a few of these including Bouchon, Gary Danko, Masa's and my current favorite from San Francisco - the Fifth Floor.  I find I really enjoy experiencing this class of restaurant and remain amazed at how many outstanding restaurants are located near to where I live.  Bay area residents are truly fortunate to live in such an area and have restaurants of this caliber available.  Not only do I congratulate all of the restaurants in the Michelin guide but I also congratulate Bay Area residents for having access to as many outstanding restaurants as we do...