Michelin Moments — A Major Dallas Surprise, a Feel-Good Houston Win, 3 New One Stars and a Little Drama For the Restaurant Awards’ H-Town Encore

HOUSTON — Mamani chef Christophe De Lellis stands on the big stage at Houston’s Wortham Theater Center, wearing his newly bestowed white Michelin star chef jacket, soaking in the most whirlwind moment of whirlwind moments. “We opened September 2 and we were in a place of opening and all the craziness of like tweaking the menu and getting reservations,” De Lellis tells PaperCity. “And it’s always crazy opening.

“And when we received this invitation from Michelin we got a little confused almost. We were like ‘Oh my God, this is most unexpected.’ But it was actually a great surprise. We could never believe that we could get One Star in such a short amount of time. But obviously it’s just an amazing accomplishment.”

And arguably The Moment of the second annual Texas Michelin Guide Awards, certainly the one that sent the most shockwaves through a theater full of restaurant folks. From opening on September 2 to becoming one of only three new One Star restaurants in all of Texas on October 28, joining San Antonio’s Isidore and Nicosi. Mamani is a true Dallas Cinderella story. If Cinderella once ran the kitchen at Michelin Three Star restaurant Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas and enjoyed a 13-year run there overall.

While the timing of Mamani earning its Star may be beyond quick and surprising, its Paris-born chef certainly brings the pedigree that Michelin inspectors have shown to like.

In returning to Houston for its big Texas night for the second straight year, Michelin changed the venue but only upped the awards ante. Texas now boasts 18 Michelin Guide One Star restaurants with all 15 Texas restaurants that earned One Star last year retaining their status to go with the three newcomers. The state remains without a Two Star or Three Star restaurant. Such dreams will have to wait till at least 2026 and year three when the awards ceremony is expected to move to another Texas city.

In many ways a night like this is about the moments. Few topped ChòpnBlọk earning a Bib Gourmand (Michelin’s award for high-quality food at a good value). Ope Amosu and his wife Janelle wanted to bring the food of West Africa, the food he grew up eating at home in Southwest Houston, into the light of the restaurant world.

Well, it doesn’t get much brighter than Michelin recognition.

“This is the food I came home eating everyday,” Amosu says, between accepting congratulations from other chefs who genuinely seem happy for him. “It wasn’t the same thing I would ever see in the cafeteria. Traditional rice or stew. Jollof Rice. Plantains. The things I’ve seen my parents eat, my grandparents eat. It was really instilled in me from a young age.

“And I’m happy we are now at a time when we don’t have to go eat our food in the corner. We’re going to put it out in public. People are also appreciating it. People are becoming more open to exploring with us. That’s me, right? I’m used to living life where I had traditional Nigerian West African norms at home and I had to step in society and figure it out.

“Now I live in a space where we all figure it out together.”

This is the type of food story that Houston First president and CEO Michael Heckman felt almost demanded that these storied restaurant awards (this is Michelin’s 125th year of rating restaurants) make their Texas debut in H-Town. Houston First won a competitive bidding process to host the first ever Texas Michelin Guide Awards last year and then secured an encore.

“We know how great of a culinary town we are,” Heckman tells PaperCity. “And we also believe that the culinary landscape here is a window into our amazing diversity that we have. And so we believe we are one of the best food scenes in the entire country. To have Michelin here in Texas to do their inaugural awards ceremony last year and then to come back again because they had such a great time, to come back for two years in a row, we believe we’re the epicenter of the food scene in Texas.”

The Wortham usually hosts opera and ballet, sprawling productions built for a grand stage, and the beginning of these Michelin Awards brought their own sense of theater. Chas Martin won the Exceptional Cocktails Award for his work at Mister Charles, which he also co-owns. Just like that, one award in, and Dallas already arguably was having a better night than it went through in a largely disappointing Michelin debut showing for North Texas last year.

“I’m the last guy that deserves this,” Martin says from the stage. “We have an amazing team that works with us. This will sit behind their bar. Not in my home.”

These Michelin awards can lift up an entire restaurant, which is why they almost sometimes feel like a community honor. The teams from the two new Green Star restaurants — Austin’s Nixta Taqueria and San Antonio’s Isidore (also one of the three new One Star restaurants in the entire state) — hugged each other, making the success more than a one restaurant moment.

Elliot Wood of Houston’s Credence seemed to get a backslap from everyone who could get to him after he won the Michelin Service Award.

Retaining that coveted One Star status almost just as important as winning it the first time. Staying power means more than ever in a restaurant world where no tomorrow seems guaranteed. The chefs and owners of the 15 One Star repeaters, including Houston’s BCN Taste & Tradition, Spring’s Corkscrew BBQ and Dallas’ Tatsu, celebrated the moment all over again.

“I think it starts with the food and ends with the culture inside the restaurant,” Interstellar BBQ pitmaster John Bates says, feeling the moment of back-to-back One Star showings after more than 30 years of toiling in the restaurant industry. “You can’t have one without the other. . .

“And then being brave enough to put out food that’s very personal. That I hope pushes barbecue forward in Texas and cuisine in Texas across the board forward.”

This is the kind of night that could make anyone believe in the unique power and wonders of the restaurant industry. Even in a challenging 2025. Maybe especially in 2025. As the Michelin Man, the mascot of the French tire company that improbably started its restaurant guide back in 1900, stood around with his very cheerful handler, waiting to take photos with anyone who asked (a ton of people asked), winning restaurant chefs and their friends figured out impromptu post-event celebration plans.

If you were in the building, you likely were invited to at least one.

Of course, there is nothing like the thrill of a restaurant earning a Star for the first time. Especially if it seems like it happened in record time.

“I moved to Dallas two years ago and I have to say, I fell in love with the city right away,” Mamani chef Christophe De Lellis says, in no hurry to leave the stage and certainly not this moment. “When I visited Dallas, it was meant to be. I felt that connection to it. . .

“I just love the city.”

And Michelin loves his restaurant. Already.

Breaking Down All The Michelin Winners

Dallas

— Mamani

— Tatsu

Houston

— BCN Taste & Tradition

— CorkScrew BBQ

— Le Jardinier

— March

— Musaafer

— Tatemó

— Nicose

Green Star

Austin

— Dai Due

— Emmer & Rye

— Nixta Taqueria

— Isidore

— Annam, Houston

— ,ChòpnBlọk, Houston

— Da Gama Canteen, Houston

— Maximo, Houston

— Papalo Taqueria, Houston

— Mercado Sin Nombre, Austin

— Mezquite, San Antonio

— Parish Barbecue, Austin

— Barbs B Q, Lockhart

— Belly of the Beast, Spring

— Blood Bros. BBQ, Bellaire

— Briscuits, Austin

— Burnt Bean Co., Seguin

— Casaema, Houston

— Cattleack Barbeque, Dallas

— Cuantos Tacos, Austin

— Cullum’s Attaboy, San Antonio

— Dai Due, Austin

— Distant Relatives, Austin

— Emmer & Rye, Austin

— Franklin Barbecue, Austin

— Gemma, Dallas

— Goldee’s BBQ, Fort Worth

— The Jerk Shack, San Antonio

— Kemuri Tatsu-ya, Austin

— KG BBQ, Austin

— Killen’s, Houston

— Killen’s BBQ, Houston

— La Santa Barbacha

— Ladino, San Antonio

— Lucia, Dallas

— Mala Sichuan Bistro, Houston

— Micklethwait, Austin

— Mot Hai Ba, Dallas

— Nam Giao, Houston

— Nancy’s Hustle, Houston

— Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen, Dallas

— Nixta Taqueria, Austin

— Nobie’s, Houston

— Nonna, Dallas

— Odd Duck, Austin

— Pinkerton’s Barbecue, Houston

— The Pit Room, Houston

— Ramen del Barrio, Austin

— Rosemeyer Bar-B-Q

— Rosie Cannonball, Houston

— Southerleigh, San Antonio

— Street to Kitchen, Houston

— Tejas Chocolate & Barbecue, Tomball

— Theodore Rex, Houston

— Truth BBQ, Houston

— Veracruz Fonda & Bar, Austin

— 2M Smokehouse, San Antonio

— Agnes and Sherman. Houston

— Apt 115 , Austin

— Bar Bludorn, Houston

— Barbecue Station, San Antonio

— Barsotti’s, Dallas

— Baso, Houston

— Birdie’s, Austin

— Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez, Fort Worth

— Bludorn, Houston

— Brisket & Rice, Houston

— Candente, Houston

— Comedor, Austin

— Credence, Houston

— Crown Block, Dallas

— Discada, Austin

— El Carlos Elegante, Dallas

— Este, Austin

— Ezov, Austin

— Fabrik, Austin

— Fearing’s, Dallas

— Garcia’s Mexican Food, San Antonio

— Garrison, Austin

— Georgie, Dallas

— Harvest, McKinney

— Hidden Omakase, Houston

— Hong Kong Food Street. Katy

— J-Bar-M Barbecue, Houston

— Jeffrey’s (Austin)

— Joe’s Bakery & Coffee Shop (Austin)

— Josephine’s (Houston)

— Knox Bistro (Dallas)

— La Condesa (Austin)

— Late August (Houston)

— Launderette (Austin)

— Le Calamar (Austin) (new)

— Leche de Tigre (San Antonio)

— Lenoir (Austin)

— Ling Kitchen (Austin)

— Little Em’s Oyster Bar (San Antonio)

— Lutie’s (Austin)

— Maie Day (Austin)

— Mercat Bistro (Dallas)

— Mexta (Austin)

— Mister Charles (Dallas)

— Monarch (Dallas)

— Mum Foods Smokehouse & Delicatessen (Austin)

— Neo (Houston)

— Panther City BBQ (Fort Worth)

— Pappas Bros. Steakhouse (Houston)

— Pasta Bar Austin (Austin)

— Perseid (Houston)

— Poeta (Austin)

— Quarter Acre (Dallas)

— Reese Bros Barbecue (San Antonio)

— Rye (Dallas)

— Sachet (Dallas)

— Signature Restaurant (San Antonio)

— Siti (Austin)

— Smoke’N Ash BBQ (Arlington)

— Stillwell’s (Dallas)

— Stock & Barrel (Dallas)

— Suerte (Austin)

— Sushi Kozy (Dallas)

— Tare (Austin)

— Tei-An (Dallas)

— Terry Black’s BBQ (Austin)

— The Marigold Club (Houston)

— Toshokan, Austin

— Written By The Seasons (Dallas)