For a guide that began as a promotional tool for a tire company, the Michelin Guide’s new, more expansive definition is a return to its roots.
A limited menu of beef steak, pork chop and beef rib tacos, served on red or green plastic plates, and eaten standing up, elbow-to-elbow with other patrons, would not, a decade or two ago, have qualified as a “fine dining” experience. Yet, the tacos made at Mexico City’s Taqueria El Calif de Leon have managed to land a spot in the storied Michelin Guide, earning the wildly popular stall one of its coveted “stars”. For patrons who line up at the taqueria, the honour — a first for a street food stall in Mexico — is long overdue, while for street food devotees elsewhere it simply confirms what they’ve long known: It is on a city’s streets, in its bustling, noisy markets, that some of the best food experiences can be had.
This is not the first time that a street food stall has received a Michelin star. Previous recipients include the legendary Jay Fai’s Shophouse in Bangkok, the Hong Kong Soy Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle in Singapore and Ogane Jokbal in Seoul — almost all of them in Asia, where street food stalls, not restaurants and cafes, are the mainstay of the eating out experience. This is what makes the star awarded to Taqueria El Calif notable. The Michelin guide, which clung to a certain Euro-centric definition of good food well into this century, seems to be making a decisive move towards greater inclusivity, recognising street food not only in Asia, but also in other regions with a more established restaurant/cafe culture, as worthy of its attention.
For a guide that began as a promotional tool for a tire company, the Michelin Guide’s new, more expansive definition is a return to its roots. When it was launched, the Guide was intended to steer weary travellers towards good food made with quality ingredients — whether that’s at a white-tablecloth restaurant or a taco stand doesn’t matter.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 21-05-2024 at 06:50 IST
