Fifty-eight Chicago restaurants received the 2016 Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand designations, which were announced Thursday.
The Bib Gourmand recognizes restaurants with very good food and good value (two courses and a glass of wine for $40 or less), a noteworthy distinction for budget-minded diners. But the distinction comes with a caveat: If a restaurant receives a Bib Gourmand, that means that it will not receive any Michelin stars (those recipients will be announced next week).
So it’s congratulations for first-time Bib Gourmand winners Bohemian House, The Duck Inn, MFK and Yusho, four restaurants whose chefs and owners might legitimately have wished for more.
In all, there were 10 new recipients; in addition to the above four, Bib Gourmands went to Angry Crab, Dove’s Luncheonette, Luella’s Southern Kitchen, MingHin, Sabri Nihari and Via Lima.
Eleven previous Bib Gourmand recipients were stricken from this year’s list. Some were obvious picks, such as Azzurra EnoTavola, Browntrout and Nightwood, all of which closed this year. But others — Dusek’s, Gather, Homestyle Taste, Kurah, Lao Hunan, Mixteco Grill, Parachute and Paramount Room — were apparently snubbed.
I say “apparently,” because it’s possible that one or more of these restaurants may receive a Michelin star instead. There is precedent for that; Mexique, a Bib Gourmand winner in 2012, was lifted to one-star status the following year.
Of the restaurants dropped from last year’s Bib Gourmand list, Parachute seems likeliest for a promotion, and fingers crossed for Dusek’s.
The list includes 48 repeat winners, including multiple designees Avec, Girl & the Goat, Frontera Grill, Fat Rice and GT Fish & Oyster, all of which seem permanently relegated to Bib Gourmand status.
The number of Bib Gourmand recipients in the 2016 Michelin Guide Chicago is down from 59 last year and 69 the year before.
The complete list (* denotes newcomer):
The Angry Crab*
Arami
A10
Au Cheval
Avec
Balena
Beatrix
BellyQ
Belly Shack
Bohemian House*
Carriage House
Ceres’ Table
Chilam Balam
County
Cumin
The Dawson
DeColores
Dove’s Luncheonette*
The Duck Inn*
Fat Rice
Frontera Grill
Gilt Bar
Girl & the Goat
Green Zebra
GT Fish & Oyster
Han 202
Herb
Hopleaf
Jaipur
Jam
Jin Thai
Kai Zan
Lao Sze Chuan
Luella’s Southern Kitchen*
Lula Cafe
Mana Food Bar
Maude’s Liquor Bar
MFK*
MingHin*
Mott St.
Nana
The Publican
Pump Room
The Purple Pig
Riccardo Trattoria
Sabri Nihari*
Slurping Turtle
Smoque BBQ
Sol de Mexico
Spacca Napoli
Sushi Dokku
Table, Donkey and Stick
TAC Quick
Two
Untitled Supper Club
Via Lima*
Wood
Yusho*
Phil Vettel is a Tribune critic
