23 restaurants make Chicago Michelin Guide, including four new ones

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A total of 23 Chicago restaurants have made the prestigious Michelin Guide for 2022, including four new ones.

The renowned Alinea, 1723 N. Halsted St., was again the only restaurant to earn three stars. Alinea opened in 2005, and Chef Grant Achatz's ultramodern cooking style there soon came to define the molecular gastronomy movement.

"Chef Grant Achatz continues to burst with novel ideas at this ingenious, substantive, and festive temple. Dining here is part theater and pure pleasure; and meals are an olfactory experience by dint of scented vapors, tricks, and tableside fun," the Michelin Guide now says of Alinea. "Executive Chef Douglas Alley is firmly in play, turning out whimsical items that are at times experimental. For starters, a custom resin."

Four newly-added restaurants each earned one star.

Claudia, 1952 N. Damen Ave., is described as "über cool and contemporary." It is named after Chef Trevor Teich's mother.

"The bento box — featuring the likes of a scallop cracker with preserved egg yolk, squid ink madeleines, yellowfin tuna nigiri stuffed with foie gras, and a caviar-topped potato beignet — sets the stage for an exquisite and memorable meal," say the Michelin Guide inspector notes.

Of Esmé, 2200 N. Clark St., the inspector notes say, "Together with his wife and co-owner, Katrina Bravo, Chef Jenner Tomaska lays bare lofty ambitions at this airy atelier."

At Galit, 2429 N. Lincoln Ave., "Chef Zach Engel brings his experience to bear on this personal brand of modern Middle Eastern cuisine."

"Kick things off with salatim (spreads and pickles) accompanied by flame-kissed pita," the notes say. "Even familiar dishes offer surprising depth, like creamy hummus or crackling-crisp falafel with mango labneh."

Kasama, 1001 N. Winchester Ave., was opened at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic by former Oriole chefs Tim Flores and Genie Kwon.

"It has evolved to represent the true vision of what the couple had in mind for Kasama, with a dinner tasting menu that emphatically displays this talented team's training, experience and heritage for an experience that is ambitious, clever and distinct, mixing Filipino traditions with contemporary notes," the inspector notes say.

The full list of 23 restaurants that made this year's guide is as follows:

Three Stars:

Alinea, 1723 N. Halsted St.

Two Stars:

Ever, 1340 W. Fulton Market
Moody Tongue, 2515 S. Wabash Ave.
Oriole, 661 W. Walnut St.
Smyth, 177 N. Ada St., No. 101

One Star:

Boka, 1729 N. Halsted St.
Claudia, 1952 N. Damen Ave.
EL Ideas, 2419 W. 14th St.
Elizabeth, 4835 N. Western Ave., Unit D
Elske, 1350 W. Randolph St.
Esmé, 2200 N. Clark St.
Galit, 2429 N. Lincoln Ave.
Goosefoot, 2656 W. Lawrence Ave.
Kasama, 1001 N. Winchester Ave.
Mako, 731 W. Lake St.
Next, 953 W. Fulton Market
North Pond, 2610 N. Cannon Dr.
Omakase Yume, 651 W. Washington Blvd.
Porto, 1600 W. Chicago Ave.
Schwa, 1466 N. Ashland Ave.
Sepia, 123 N. Jefferson St.
Temporis, 953 N. Ashland Ave.
Topolobampo, 445 N. Clark St.

Michelin Star