Good eats: strong showing for Napa Valley restaurants in ’08 Michelin Guide

Any frequent diner is familiar with the Zagat Survey and Zagat-rated restaurants–it’s actually hard to avoid. Well, Zagat is beginning to get some serious competition from the company who brought us the Michelin Man. That’s right, on Wednesday The Michelin Guide San Francisco, Bay Area and Wine Country 2008 will go on sale ($16.95).

This year, the guide ranked a total of 384 restaurants using the following categories: product quality, preparation and flavors, the cuisine’s personality, value for money and consistency. Here’s how they breakdown their rating system:

• One star * means a very good restaurant in its category

• Two stars ** mean excellent cooking, worth a detour

• Three stars *** mean exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey

Not surprisingly, the Napa Valley dining scene fared quite well–in fact several of our personal favorites made the grade. Without further ado, here’s the rundown of how our local restaurants ranked in the ’08 guide (note that we’ve added a bit of our own commentary to several places):

One star *

• Auberge du Soleil (CB comment: Perched on the eastern Napa hills, you’ll get amazing views across the valley floor from the outdoor seating on the terrace–particularly enjoyable at sunset)

• Bistro Jeanty

• Bouchon (CB comment: Thomas Keller dining without the hubub of French Laundry. Loud, boisterous dining area where you sit close to the other patrons)

• La Toque

• Martini House (new addition for ’08) (CB comment: We love the bar, it’s got a very cool vibe and an amazing wine list)

• Redd (new addition for ’08) (CB comment: Solid, quality dishes–unpretentious)

• Terra (CB comment: Excellent food and an amazingly friendly and knowledgeable staff that make the experience all the more memorable)

Two stars **

• The Restaurant at Meadowood (new addition for ’08) (CB comment: Our choice for our latest anniversary dinner…need we say more?)

Three stars ***

• The French Laundry

Bib Gourmand (meaning it provides diners with the ability to get two dishes and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less)

• Annalien

• BarBersQ (CB comment: ate here just last night. We enjoyed the BarBersQ Cobb Salad with chicken, avocado, blue cheese, bacon, egg and tomatoes ($14.95) and the Diestel Smoked Turkey Sandwich served on an ABC cornmeal bun with cabbage slaw, mayonnaise, cranberry sauce and coleslaw ($10.95)

• Celadon

• Cook St. Helena

• Zuzu (CB comment: A super-quaint and unassuming restaurant in the heart of downtown Napa that offers a solid tapas menu)

The full press release is here. Happy dining!

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