Table Talk: A Wild Michelin Reveal in Greenville
Nov. 5 — Happy Tuesday, and welcome to the table!
I’ve just returned from covering the reveal of the Michelin Guide to the American South in Greenville, SC, and am sharing my initial thoughts on the new guide in today’s “Family Meal”. Spoiler alert: The big reveal in Greenville yesterday didn’t exactly go according to plan.
➕ Plus, Rough Draft Dining Reporter Sarra Sedghi offers a recipe for the three-cup chicken from Lucky Star, now a bonafide Michelin-recommended restaurant on Howell Mill Road.
Cheers!
🍸 Beth
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A Wild Michelin Reveal in Greenville
⭐ I just returned from Greenville and am still formulating my thoughts on the inaugural Michelin Guide to the American South, which folds in the previous guide to Atlanta. However, I want to share my initial observations on the guide in today’s newsletter.
First, let me address the press release drama and why Rough Draft chose not to publish it before the ceremony. It appears a scheduling mishap yesterday led to the press release blasting earlier than planned.
Most publications, including Rough Draft, conferred with their editors and reporters on the ground in Greenville about how to handle the information gifted to us at 9:30 a.m. via Global News Wire, a press release distribution platform. It’s likely whoever scheduled the release did so in error, clicking A.M. rather than P.M., announcing the winners a full 10 hours before the ceremony.
🤫 Without a press embargo in place, publications faced a choice. The normally secretive Michelin had let slip its newest dining guide, now out in the world for public consumption, and without any fanfare.
Some publications chose to publish the list early, taking the press release as valid and final. Some, like Rough Draft and the AJC, chose to hold until we could officially confirm the list’s validity with Michelin. Had Michelin confirmed, we would have published the list prior to the 7:15 p.m. ceremony.
All of the journalists I spoke to throughout the day discussed the press release situation with their editors, who ultimately made the call to publish or not publish ahead of the awards. Rough Draft fact checked during the ceremony and published the list immediately afterwards.
Michelin did not acknowledge the snafu, playing out the evening as if nothing had happened. But the unfortunate timing shifted the mood in Greenville.
🙀 Restaurants attending the invite-only Michelin ceremony all receive awards. Part of the magic of the Michelin awards is not knowing who gets what beforehand. Instead, this year’s big reveal came in over a wire service.
While some people laughed it off – just happy to be there – others were disappointed the energy in Greenville had changed. One Atlanta chef told us she didn’t look at the release because she wanted it to be a surprise, asking people not to discuss the list in her presence. Catching up with her post-ceremony, the chef stood by her decision to remain in the dark, saying it allowed her to enjoy the experience with honest reactions.
🏆 Atlanta nabbed eight more recommended restaurants this year, but no new stars or Bib Gourmands. The list barely changed from 2024.
Like last year, I was struck by the fact that for a Black majority city, there are still no Black chefs from Atlanta with a starred restaurant in the guide, and only three Black-owned restaurants listed for Atlanta overall. And while Buford Highway is represented, where are the Brazilian restaurants found throughout Cobb County, or refugee-led Clarkston restaurants such as Two Fish Myanmar? What about Atlanta’s south side and the enclaves of Vietnamese and Latin American communities there? How about Duluth’s thriving Korean community, one of the largest in the nation?
🗺️As a crossroads city with a metropolitan region of six million people, Atlanta serves as a multi-cultural microcosm of the South. And nowhere is that more apparent than on our culinary scene.
Is a Michelin guide great for Atlanta and the South? Absolutely. Is the guide filled with wonderful and deserving restaurants? Definitely. But these dining inspectors have some work to do, starting with Atlanta.
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Three-Cup Chicken Recipe From Lucky Star
🇹🇼 This week, we’re sharing Lucky Star’s three-cup chicken recipe. Also known as san bei ji, three-cup chicken is a traditional Taiwanese dish made with rice wine, sesame oil, Thai basil, garlic, ginger, and sometimes, dried chiles.
At 11 a.m. at Michelin-recommended Lucky Star on Howell Mill Road, the menu shifts to heartier Taiwanese fare, including Chef Jason Liang’s beef noodle soup, a duck fat scallion pancake, snacks of soft-boiled tea eggs, and three-cup chicken.
🌿This three-cup chicken recipe requires Thai basil, which has a higher spice degree and deeper anise flavor. You can find Thai basil at an international grocery store or market. Simply look for purple stems and even a few purple leaves, the herb’s telltale visual characteristic. If you can’t find Thai basil, sweet basil or standard basil will work, but know that it won’t yield the exact same flavor.
The recipe also calls for michiu, a Taiwanese rice wine used for cooking. Check markets such as Jusgo in Duluth for michiu. However, you can replace michiu with Shaoxing wine, another rice-based cooking wine.
Serves 2 to 3 people
📋 Ingredients
- 1 lb (450 g) boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 12 thin slices fresh ginger (about 20 g)
- 6 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
- 1 to 2 small red chiles, sliced (optional)
- 1/4 cup water (plus a splash more, if needed)
- 1 packed cup Thai basil leaves, plus a few small sprigs to garnish
- Steamed white rice, to serve
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Taiwanese michiu (or Shaoxing wine)
- 2 Tbsp light brown sugar
- Pinch white pepper
- Tiny pinch ground cinnamon (optional)
🍳 Directions
Garnish with fresh basil leaves and serve with steamed rice.
Prep the sauce: Whisk together soy sauce, michiu, light brown sugar, white pepper, and cinnamon, if desired.
Prep the aromatics: Heat oil over medium-high. Add ginger slices and garlic; sauté until fragrant and just lightly golden.
Add the chicken. Brown on both sides.
Add mixed sauce, 1/4 cup water, and sliced chiles, if using. Cook 2 to 3 minutes at a lively simmer until glossy and reduced. Add a splash of water if the sauce reduces too quickly, or for a looser sauce. For a thicker glaze, simmer an additional 30 to 60 seconds.
Remove from heat. Fold in Thai basil until just wilted.
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