High-dollar diners looking to heed the call of the open road should head for the West Coast, where just in time for summer travel season, the culinary authorities at Michelin have curated a culinary map for hungry and deep-pocketed drivers hitting California’s iconic Highway 1.
The paved road through paradise covers nearly 700 miles, winding its way along the Golden State’s Pacific coastline.
Along with vineyards, old-growth forests, panoramic views, and an endless expanse of beaches, the serpentine road is flanked by some seriously stellar restaurants.
A few of these are studded, to varying degrees, with the high honor of Michelin stars, awarded to restaurants based on the quality of their ingredients, mastery of techniques, personality expressed through the food, harmony of flavors, and consistency across multiple visits.
The curated five-day itinerary released by the travel authority begins up north in Mendocino County, home to the two-Michelin-starred Harbor House Inn, a hotel and restaurant with a 20-seat dining room perched along the existential edge of the ocean.
Sounding every bit like an elitist Viking, the restaurant relies on “steam and fire to highlight the true taste in our ingredients.”
Harbor House Inn offers a tasting menu that begins at $325 per person+ tax and gratuity.
Lunch is available for the comparative bargain of $150.
Menu standouts include black cod smoked over bay laurel.
As “scent and taste are inherently linked,” the restaurant asks diners to refrain from wearing fragrances.
From Elk, drivers are directed to Tony’s Seafood in tony Marin County, a laid-back, bayside institution in the town of Marshall for fresh oysters where a dozen grilled, locally sourced bivalves will set you back $48.
For the true Sybarite, a watermelon-tarragon sake oyster shooter goes for $11.
Curling south into San Francisco, the guide bids you to brunch at Outerlands, where you can go bargain, albeit still full Paltrow, with a $10 serving of bone broth.
And down in beautiful Big Sur, the Michelin move is dinner at Sierra Mar at Post Ranch Inn, where the seasonal tasting menu costs $185.
While the A-list attracting property has not been given a culinary constellation, the restaurant is the recent recipient of Michelin’s Green Star, a nod to their environmental excellence.
To that end, Sierra Mar offers a supplemental, sustainable caviar service that starts at $220.
Further down the line in Santa Barbara County wine country is Bell’s, a one-Michelin-starred French-style bistro in the town of Los Alamos where the menu changes daily, based on local availability and the “chef’s whims.”
Further south, Bettina in actual Santa Barbara specializes in naturally leavened, wood-fired pizza.
Pies are made with organic dough and tomatoes and mozzarella that is made in-house and hand-pulled daily.
Bettina is a five-year recipient of the Michelin Bib Gourmand, a distinction that recognizes restaurants serving high-quality food at a reasonable price.
Reasonable remains a relative figure, however, as the cheapest pie is $21, putting it a hair, or crust above the highest-priced pizza in the country.
Up next is Los Angeles and Melisse, a two-Michelin-starred joint in Santa Monica — where the multicourse tasting menu, dubbed an “18-serving symphony”, goes all out and full gout with Miyazaki Wagyu, uni, and Osetra caviar.
Those with any money left to burn can cap off their journey with R|O-Rebel Omakase.
The celebrated Laguna Beach dining room is Orange County’s lone remaining Michelin-starred restaurant after French eatery Knife Pleat in Costa Mesa was stripped of its coveted star, ending its five-year run among the culinary elite.
In May, Michelin announced that 11 new Southern California restaurants had been added to their California Guide.
Among the splashiest new additions are Miura, a luxe omakase spot in Beverly Hills that’s already become a magnet for sushi obsessives willing to lay down big and potentially ill-gotten money for ultra-premium fish flown in from Japan.
Meanwhile, Alto in Studio City landed on Michelin’s radar for its Argentine-Uruguayan-inspired cooking, while Casa Leo in Los Feliz earned recognition for modern Spanish fare.
Outside Los Angeles, Michelin’s newest California additions include Lucien in San Diego, Monte’s in Santa Barbara and Alice B. — the Palm Springs restaurant from SoCal celebrity chef legends Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger.
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