close
close

Semainede4jours

Real-time news, timeless knowledge

Michelin Guide Honors Wrong Dallas Restaurant, Fixing Problems
bigrus

Michelin Guide Honors Wrong Dallas Restaurant, Fixing Problems

Chas Martin may need to stop naming his restaurants after himself. The Michelin Guide confused one of its restaurants with another and mistakenly honored the wrong restaurant. Opening ceremony for Texas guide Monday night. He took the unusual step of making a late substitution.

At the ceremony, Charles was honored with the title of “recommended,” the starless addition that denotes “good cooking” and serves as a sort of honorable mention. But the description on the Michelin Guide website was a description of Mr. Charles in every detail. Michelin praised Mister Charles’ “beignets with corn and mushrooms,” “canapés like a lobster roll on a tiny brioche bun,” “Texas wagyu beef Wellington” and “special baked Alaska.” It didn’t describe any of The Charles’ dishes. (The guide also mentioned a “sample” pasta, which is an obvious typo for “simple.”)

Picture
Charles’s first listing in the Michelin Guide, with Mr. Charles’ description.
Screenshot of the Michelin Guide website on the morning of 12 November 2024

I asked Michelin this morning after an award winner pointed out the mistake to me. He prepared the following statement about the inaccuracy: “This was an internal error resulting from our geolocation process. The problem will be resolved as quickly as possible.”

The online press release has been corrected and the Guide will be fully updated shortly to include Mister Charles, but not The Charles.

Martin, the owner and namesake of both restaurants, said he was a little disappointed by the mistake, but overall, he was happy for Texas to have Michelin here, and on behalf of his team, he was pleased to have his two restaurants involved. (El Carlos Elegante also received the “recommended” award.)

“My guys (at The Charles) are celebrating and patting each other on the back all night and all day,” Martin said. “Charles has been around for six years, it is a successful business, I am delighted to be involved. And I have to go tell 30 people, you didn’t actually win.”

I then asked if Martin would rethink his plan for the Charles and Carlos restaurants. Then he laughed. “That’s a good question,” he said, then repeated the comment four more times. “I don’t know about that yet.”

Writer

Brian Reinhart

Brian Reinhart

View Profile



Brian Reinhart became D Magazine’s food critic in 2022 after writing about restaurants for six years. Dallas Observer And Dallas Morning News.