Mixtli nabbed two honors at the inaugural Texas Michelin Guide awards ceremony Monday night in Houston, while a whole slew of local restaurants celebrated their inclusion in the 124-year-old little red book.
The Southtown modern Mexican restaurant’s co-founders Rico Torres and Diego Galicia took the stage with their team to accept a Michelin star. Like all the honorees, they put on Michelin-branded chef coats before moving to the center for photos.
In a touching gesture, Galicia took off his coat and put it on Alexana Cabrera, Mixtli’s chef de cuisine, who moved from Guatemala to San Antonio at 18 to attend the Culinary Institute of America.
Earlier in the evening, Mixtli’s Sommelier Hailey Pruitt and Bar Manager Lauren Beckman won the Michelin Guide’s special service award.
“Our Michelin inspectors were thoroughly impressed by the impeccable service and elevated dining experience crafted by Haley and Lauren,” said emcee Java Ingram, who was later joined onstage by Gwendal Poullennec, Michelin Guide’s international director.
Galicia called the recognition “beyond our wildest dreams.”
He said it was an honor to put his chef’s coat on Cabrera, whom he called the heartbeat and backbone of the restaurant. Watching Pruitt and Beckman take the stage, he said, was equally amazing. “We need more women in hospitality, in positions of leadership,” he said.
After a night of celebration, he said, “It’s back to work. People are going to come out, and they’re going to want to see if it’s real.”
Mixtli was one of 15 new one-star Texas restaurants; none took home two or three stars.
Before announcing the one-star honorees, Ingram and Poullennec bestowed the other three designations that restaurants can earn that come with a place in the guide.
Two Texas chefs earned the Green Star, which honor those on the leading edge of sustainable gastronomy, and while neither is in San Antonio, one has a close connection.
Kevin Fink, whose Austin restaurant Hestia earned a Michelin star, also accepted a Green Star for his Austin restaurant, Emmer & Rye. Fink and his partners at Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group are behind the Pearl’s latest culinary destination, Pullman Market.
Like Emmer & Rye, the restaurants inside Pullman Market — Mezquite, Farro & Fife, Isadore and Nicosi, which earned a “recommended” designation Monday night — are all farm-to-table concepts, leaning on local farmers, ranchers and vendors.
Five of the 45 new Bib Gourmand-designated restaurants are located in San Antonio. The Bib Gourmand, named after the Michelin Man’s full name, Bibendum, highlights great food at moderate prices. The San Antonio winners were Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin, Cullum’s Attaboy, Jerk Shack, Ladino and Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery.
Seven San Antonio restaurants earned the “recommended” distinction: Barbecue Station, Garcia’s Mexican Food, Leche de Tigre, Little Em’s Oyster Bar, Nicosi, Signature and 2M Smokehouse.
Michelin Guide finally coming to Texas
The pinnacle of dining guides, founded by the French tire company in 1900 as a way to guide car travelers to solid food and lodging choices (and sell a few tires along the way), announced in June that it was expanding into Texas.
Restaurants can make it into the guide in several ways. In addition to being awarded the high profile one, two or three Michelin stars, the guides also note “recommended” restaurants, offer the Bib Gourmand designation, which highlights good food at moderate prices and the Green Star for restaurants on the forefront of sustainable gastronomy.
In its July announcement, Michelin said its anonymous inspectors made multiple visits to restaurants in San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth. In August, the San Antonio Business Journal reported that each city paid $270,000 for the honor.
In September, San Antonio’s Hotel Emma earned two Michelin Keys, a new rating for hotels that mirror restaurant star ratings. In Texas, 17 hotels earned one key, while three — including the Emma — earned two keys.
Landing in the little red book in any fashion can bring restaurants a significant boost in prestige and traffic. More than half of travelers said they would extend their stay at a destination with Michelin-starred restaurants, according to a recent study noted by Visit San Antonio, while two-thirds said they would choose a Michelin destination over a comparable one.
Before the ceremony, Cullum waxed philosophical about San Antonio’s ascendant restaurant scene.
No matter what happens, “the true gift lies in the time we share,” he said via text. “If we serve our purpose well, we nurture our community — resulting in something truly delicious.”
The Texas Michelin Guide awards ceremony was livestreamed Monday night on YouTube. Cullum’s Attagirl, the beer and wings shack down the street from Attaboy, hosted a watch party.