No stars, but plenty of shine for Arizona at Michelin awards

⭐️ Michelin finally pulled up a chair at Arizona’s table Wednesday night – and while no Valley (or Tucson or Flagstaff) kitchen walked away with a star, the state made a real showing in its first-ever appearance in the guide.

The ceremony, held at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, marked the debut of the new Michelin Guide Southwest, covering Arizona alongside Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. It’s the first time Michelin inspectors have formally rated Arizona restaurants, and after months of speculation about who might land the region’s first star, the answer for Arizona was: no one yet.

All five stars awarded across the entire Southwest region went to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City kitchens, with Restaurant de Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas taking the night’s only two-star honor.

That said, “no stars” doesn’t mean Arizona left empty-handed. Seven restaurants earned Bib Gourmand status – Michelin’s nod to great food at a fair price – and a dozen more landed on the guide’s list of Selected Restaurants.

On top of that, a Scottsdale chef took home one of Michelin’s brand-new individual honors.

Arizona’s Bib Gourmand winners

• FnB, Scottsdale
• Huarachis Taqueria, Phoenix
• Kid Sister, Phoenix
• Little Miss BBQ, Phoenix
• Lom Wong, Phoenix
• Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix
• Valentine, Phoenix

Arizona’s Selected Restaurants

• Atria, Flagstaff
• Bacanora, Phoenix
• Christopher’s, Phoenix
• Fry Bread House, Phoenix
• Glai Baan, Phoenix
• Hush Public House, Scottsdale
• Indibar, Paradise Valley
• Latha, Phoenix
• Pretty Penny, Phoenix
• Reserve, Scottsdale
• ShinBay, Scottsdale
• Tratto, Phoenix

Biggest Arizona moment

Michelin debuted a new individual honor this year, the Mindful Voices award, recognizing people ‘‘pioneering new approaches in the fields of gastronomy, hospitality and wine’’ – and it went to a familiar name in Valley dining: Charleen Badman, chef and co-owner of FnB.

‘‘It’s just really an honor to represent the farmers, our winemakers, and all of Arizona,’’ Badman (pictured) said from the stage. ‘‘We really have a special place.’’

Arizona also picked up two other individual honors:

John Germain of Reserve took the sommelier award, and Rene Andrade, who splits time between Bacanora and Huarachis Taqueria, was named Young Chef.

Zero stars, but foot in door

It’s worth putting the ‘‘no stars’’ headline in context. Michelin’s inspectors handed out just five stars across the entire four-state Southwest guide – a genuinely small number, topped by Las Vegas’s Robuchon properties, Guy Savoy Las Vegas, é by José Andrés, and Salt Lake City’s Monte.

Getting shut out of that short list stings a little, but landing seven Bib Gourmands and 12 Selected Restaurants in the guide’s very first year is a solid opening bid for a state that, until Wednesday, had never been rated by Michelin at all.

The bigger picture: Arizona’s tourism office put up $200,000 to help bring the Southwest guide to life, betting that inclusion alone – stars or not – would raise the state’s culinary profile nationally. Judging by Wednesday night, that bet is already paying off in attention, even if the hardware is still to come.