Michelin's Guide to the American South
The Guide Finally Covers the United State's Most Interesting and Complicated Region
The Michelin Guide to the American South has launched, featuring one Two-Star restaurant in New Orleans and several One-Star winners.
No one can deny seeing E.J. Lagasse’s turn at excellence at Emeril’s, accepting the restaurant's Two Michelin Stars in what was the most heart-warming moment in recent culinary history.
But the most important thing to note about the Michelin Guide to the American South is that it’s arguably the most important (and most needed) Guide in the United States.
The American South is one of the richest regions for food in the United States. Its soil is fertile for planting corn, tomatoes, okra, eggplant, corn, and more. Shrimp, oysters, drum, tarpom, and more are caught in her waters.
The people of the South cook from their hearts with recipes passed down through generations. Dishes tell stories: The Southern Foodway is a rich — and extremely complicated — mix of the African Diaspora, the Native American experience, and European influences.
What Michelin did right is in its Bib Gourmand and Recommended categories. There, we see restaurants that truly tell stories through food: Compere Lapin in New Orleans (where chef Nina Compton taps into her Caribbean roots, her Italian culinary background, and her adopted NOLA home to create a fantasy of delights), Hattie B’s Hot Chicken in Nashville (my forever “first stop” in Music City), and Husk, which remains a staple of Southern American dining.
Below, find a list of Michelin-starred restaurants, but if you’re planning a trip to the American South, I suggest you focus on the Bib Gourmands and Recommended. They're usually the best bets — but in the American South, they’re the ones that really shine. Find the lists here.
Two Stars
Louisiana
New Orleans
Emeril’s
Cuisine: American/Creole
The young E.J. Lagasse, son of the indomitable namesake, now oversees a remarkable dining room that has celebrated Creole cuisine for more than three decades. His determination is palpable as he charts a new course, bringing contemporary refinement and vibrant originality to the fore. BBQ shrimp tarts, deep-flavored gumbo, and superb, golden-brown cornbread paired with French butter feel familiar and new at once. This is cooking that bursts with personality and class, and never at the cost of flavor. Generously spaced tables and plush banquettes offer direct, unobstructed views into a gleaming kitchen fronted by floor-to-ceiling glass. All the while, a superb service team tends to every detail with warmth and generosity.
One Star
Georgia
Atlanta
Atlas
Cuisine: American
Bacchanalia
Cuisine: American
Hayakawa
Cuisine: Japanese
Lazy Betty
Cuisine: Contemporary
Mujō
Cuisine: Japanese
O by Brush
Cuisine: Japanese
Omakase Table
Cuisine: Japanese
Georgia (Marietta)
Spring
Note: This restaurant is temporarily closed.
Louisiana
New Orleans
Saint-Germain
Cuisine: Contemporary
Zasu
Cuisine: American Contemporary
North Carolina (Charlotte)
Counter
Cuisine: Contemporary
South Carolina
Charleston
Malagón Mercado y Taperia
Cuisine: Spanish
Vern’s
Cuisine: American Contemporary
Wild Common
Cuisine: American Contemporary
Greenville
Scoundrel
Cuisine: French