- 30 newcomers earn Bib Gourmand awards in New York City and Westchester County
- 36 cuisine types recognized for great food and value
NEW YORK, May 4, 2021 — The MICHELIN Guide announced 131 restaurants in the Bib Gourmand category in New York City and Westchester County. Michelin inspectors will recognize the star selection on Thursday, May 6 with a special announcement on the Guide’s Instagram channel.
Bib Gourmand restaurants offer a full menu of a starter, main course and dessert, making it possible to order two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for around $40 or less (tax and gratuity not included).
Here’s the list of new Bib Gourmands, with inspector notes from each restaurant:
La Cueva Fonda (Bronx)
The cuisine is warming and memorable. Dig into such soothing delicacies as chicken pozole, chilaqulies or mole de Puebla.
Claudy's Kitchen (Bronx)
A native of Peru, Chef Claudia Berroa serves local products and organic flavors in items such as savory empanadas.
Angel (Queens)
At Chef Amrit Pal Singh’s no-frills restaurant, plate after plate will demonstrate the real magic of going meatless. Singh, who grew up in Punjab, keeps his Indian menu small and everything arrives fresh and hot.
Hupo (Queens)
This kitchen offers a focused menu that features regional favorites like spicy mapo tofu, house-made cold noodles slicked in a sweet and spicy chili oil, as well as Chungking spicy chicken.
Via Vai (Queens)
Chef Antonio Morichini arrives early every morning to make the day’s pasta. The wood-burning oven turns out a range of thin, crackling pizzas.
Cardamom (Queens)
The chef hails from Goa, so pack your table with everything listed under the “Indo Portuguese” section of the carte. Lamb vindaloo, for instance, is spicy, high-toned in both sweetness and acidity.
Phayul (Queens)
This spot features comforting staples like Phayul noodle soup, and stir-fried beef with laphing. Cuisine is plenty seasoned and amply delicious.
SaRanRom Thai (Queens)
The dizzyingly long menu features curries, fried rice, salads and stir-fries. Look closely and you’ll find real gems, like yum pla duk, or a delicate weave of crispy catfish topped with tangy mango salad.
Caleta 111 Cevicheria (Queens)
No need to debate what to order: leche de tigre is the main event, paraded out in a giant martini glass filled with thinly sliced octopus, scallops, shrimp, and set afloat in an electrifying elixir of lime juice and ginger.
Chavela's (Brooklyn-Fort Greene)
Mexico City native, Chef Arturo Leonar, is the brains behind this exceptional riff, which mixes smoked trout, pico de gallo and morita chile salsa to thrilling effect.
Gordo's Cantina (Brooklyn-Fort Greene)
Chef Reyna Morales, who hails from Mexico City, skillfully prepares enticing Mexican cuisine.
For All Things Good (Brooklyn-Fort Greene)
Corn here takes on several incarnations. Triangle-shaped tetelas are stuffed with black beans and wrapped in hoja santa leaves, while tlayuditas are toppled with hen of the wood mushrooms and salsa macha.
Rangoon (Brooklyn-Fort Greene)
The delightful Burmese menu is limited to a handful of vibrant salads and soothing noodle and curries that reflect the country’s cross-cultural cooking influenced by neighbors including China, Thailand and India.
Mao Mao (Brooklyn-Fort Greene)
This kitchen serves real-deal Thai, with heat that verges on ferocious and flavoring that never ends. Fried chicken laab arrives with herbs, while tilapia is dressed with an electrifying mix of lime, chili and garlic.
Winner (Brooklyn-Park Slope)
The breakfast sandwiches are a bestseller here, but return at lunch for seriously savory fare, like a vegetable bahn mi with smoked portobellos.
Bolero (Brooklyn-Williamsburg)
The kitchen team straddles the line between subtle and savory with ease and creativity. Fried shrimp toast with jackfruit, lime juice and fennel fronds is a flavor bomb.
Hanon (Brooklyn-Williamsburg)
Noodles are the focus of this kitchen; a highlight is the zenryufun (whole wheat) udon.
Gentle Perch (Brooklyn-Williamsburg)
The style is Korean but with a playful edge. Think fried rice cakes submerged in a cheesy kimchi sauce or smoky bacon-studded fried rice. It’s all meant for sharing, unless you’re here just for a bowl of ramyun.
Pierozek (Brooklyn-Williamsburg)
A Polish pierogi spot from a husband-and-wife team appears to be exactly what the neighborhood needed.
Xilonen (Brooklyn-Williamsburg)
This plant-based Mexican concept comes from chef Justin Bazdarich and is named for the Aztec goddess of young maize. Guacamole here is folded with pistachio salsa macha verde.
Thai Diner (Chinatown)
This quaint spot is from chefs Ann Redding and Matt Danzer of dearly departed Uncle Boons and serves the likes of chicken laab and stuffed cabbage. Breakfast runs all day, so go ahead and splurge on the Thai tea French toast.
Forsythia (Lower Eastside)
Pastas are made in-house, and shapes including maccheroni, spaghetti, rigatoni and agnolotti lean on Roman preparations such as white pork ragù, carbonara and amatriciana.
Samwon Garden (Midtown W)
The quality of cooking and level of service here rises above other K-town stalwarts. Take the signature galbi, for instance, which the kitchen lightly scores to ensure that the meat sears up just right.
Nami Nori (Greenwich Village)
Temaki or hand rolls are front-and-center, along with other items including a vegetable miso soup with fried tofu and shishito.
Burrata (Westchester-Eastchester)
Thanks to the use of top-shelf ingredients and a wood-burning oven, Burrata offers a menu of seasonal marvels. Squash soup with toasted pumpkin seeds is comfort in a bowl.
Badageoni Georgian Kitchen (Westchester-Mount Kisco)
Mount Kisco locals are rejoicing at the arrival of this impossibly delicious Georgian "kitchen" as well as the new culinary dialect that accompanies it.
Rafele Rye (Westchester-Rye)
Pastas are a worthy option, as in the seafood-studded schizzetto, a veritable ensemble of spaghetti tossed with white wine, garlic, as well as the pulp from sweet and tart cherry tomatoes.
Boro6 Wine Bar (Westchester-Hastings-on Hudson)
Westchester is clearly upping its culinary game and attracting real talent. Case in point: this gleaming gem of a spot, headed by Paul DiBari.
Macelleria Italian Steakhouse (Westchester-Pelham)
The instantly beloved steakhouse has quickly wooed neighborhood hearts by offering perfectly rendered steaks at reasonable prices.
Tredici Social (Westchester-Bronxville)
The chef delivers a varied selection of dishes finished with flair. Nibble on a cool artichoke salad tossed with Sicilian olive oil, lemon and coarse salt; before digging into a nourishing panko-coated, milk-fed veal Parmigiana.
“Despite the challenges of the past year, New York chefs and restaurant teams continue to discover new ways of delighting and serving diners with high quality cuisine,” said Gwendal Poullennec, international director for the MICHELIN Guides. “This year’s Bib Gourmand selection features returning and new culinary gems throughout the city and Westchester County.”
The entire Bib Gourmand selection will be available on the MICHELIN Guide iOS app and website on Thursday, May 6, when the Star selection is announced. Download the app to explore all the Michelin-rated restaurants across the globe and book the world’s most unique and exciting hotels. App users can also create and share their own restaurant and hotel wish lists.
Through integrations with OpenTable and Resy, two official booking partners of the MICHELIN Guide in New York City and Westchester County, users can make reservations for Michelin rated restaurants.
The MICHELIN Guide Bib Gourmand announcement is sponsored by S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water.