Michelin Bib Gourmand 2012

[hyperbowler]

They just posted them. I haven't seen online comparisons between this year's and last year's list, so here are the additions and deletions. Whether restaurants were deleted for quality or price is unclear, but note that there are still several items on the Michelin list that cost over their $40 criteria (e.g., eVe, which is great but more like a $60 meal).

http://www.michelintravel.com/what-is...

New additions
A 16
Artisan Bistro
Bar Bambino
Bar Tartine
Boon Eat + Drink
Contigo
Cotogna
Fish Story
Fringale
Hot Box Grill
Ippuku
Kappou Gomi
LaSalette
Le Garage
Namu
Osteria Coppa
Plum
Sazón
Scopa
Zero Zero

Removed this year
Brown Sugar Kitchen
Cafe Gibraltar
Cafe des Amis
Camino
Coa
Henry's Hunan
Hong Kong Flower Lounge
La Costanera
Market
Nopa
Sakae
Santi
Sauce
Sons & Daughters
Tavern at Lark Creek
Vanessa's Bistro

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Hong Kong Flower Lounge
51 Millbrae Ave, Millbrae, CA 94030

Vanessa's Bistro
1715 Solano Ave, Berkeley, CA 94707

Fringale Restaurant
570 4th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107

Nopa
560 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117

Bar Bambino
2931 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

Namu
439 Balboa Street, San Francisco, CA 94118

Bar Tartine
561 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

LaSalette
452 First Street East, Suite H, Sonoma, CA 95476

Brown Sugar Kitchen
2534 Mandela Pkwy, Oakland, CA 94607

Sakae
243 California Drive, Burlingame, CA 94010

Cafe Gibraltar
425 Ave. Alhambra, El Granada, CA 94018

Le Garage
85 Liberty Ship Way Ste 109, Sausalito, CA

Scopa
109 Plaza St, Healdsburg, CA 95448

Contigo
1320 Castro St, San Francisco, CA 94114

Artisan Bistro
1005 Brown Avenue, Lafayette, CA 94549

Kappou Gomi
5524 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94121

The Tavern at Lark Creek
234 Magnolia Ave, Larkspur, CA 94939

La Costanera
8150 Cabrillo Highway, Montara, CA 94037

Cafe des Amis
2000 Union St, San Francisco, CA 94123

Ippuku
2130 Center St, Berkeley, CA 94704

Sons & Daughters
708 Bush St, San Francisco, CA 94108

Zero Zero
826 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94107

Osteria Coppa
139 S. B Street, San Mateo, CA 94401

Cotogna
490 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

Hot Box Grill
18350 Hwy 12, Sonoma, CA 95476

[dordogne]

Conspicuous omission and SF board favorite: La Ciccia

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La Ciccia
291 30th Street, San Francisco, CA 94131

[weshoke]

Seriously. La Ciccia was brilliant when I went last week. The sea urchin and fregola pasta as well as the octopus soup were mind blowing. Plus they have a some really nice inexpensive Sardinian wines, which no one else has on the menu.

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La Ciccia
291 30th Street, San Francisco, CA 94131

[pane]

It's possible that they're not Bib Gourmand because they'll be awarded a star--that list comes out later. The starred restaurants don't appear in the Bib Gourmand "good value" list, I believe.

[Robert Lauriston]

Officially, stars are awarded solely for what's on the plate, based on:

· The quality of ingredients
· The skill in their preparation and the combination of flavours
· The level of creativity
· The value for money
· The consistency of culinary standards

But I can't believe they don't factor in decor, service, amenities, etc. None of the starred restaurants I've visited are anywhere near as casual as La Ciccia. I think the most casual of the bunch is Commis.

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La Ciccia
291 30th Street, San Francisco, CA 94131

[Robert Lauriston]

$40 for two courses and a glass of wine or dessert. It's a print publication, maybe Eve was squeaking by whenever they went to print, currently two courses plus dessert is $42.

That is a really good list, every place I've been to on there is solid. Can you really get out of Perbacco, Kokkari, or Rivoli for $40?

[Scott M]

For a lot of these it looks like you won't be ordering a traditional entree and it does not include tax or tip.

For instance, I went to the Delfina website and you would be hard pressed to get two courses plus wine/dessert for $40 unless you just wanted a salad and pasta.

A salad, pasta and dessert would put you around $38 before tax, tip, heathcare surcharge, etc. A glass of wine instead of dessert would put you over the limit.

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Delfina Restaurant
3621 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

[Robert Lauriston]

Yeah, you couldn't get a main course at Perbacco. You could have an appetizer and a large pasta.

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Perbacco
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111

[Windy]

You'd be hungry spending less than $40 pre tax wine and tip at Contigo too.

It's really a midrange list with an emphasis on Western food rather than "ethnic" food.

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Contigo
1320 Castro St, San Francisco, CA 94114

[Robert Lauriston]

There are a lot of Asian places on the list. No dives, so they must have some minimum standard for comfort / amenities.

The book also has an under-$25 section.

[hyperbowler]

Ah yes. According to archive.org, eVe was $36 for two courses and dessert last January. For that price range, their plating/composition is exquisite, but the serving sizes are small enough that I couldn't imagine not wanting to spending more.

I'm glad Bellanico is on their full list. They're very reasonably priced, have a good variety of small and large dishes, and always have seasonally items. Their Glenview, Oakland location doesn't give them as much attention as the more central places, but it's worth the visit.

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Bellanico
4238 Park Blvd, Oakland, CA 94602