A week before the Michelin crew announces its coveted stars list, they give us their annual Bib Gourmand picks selected by Michelin’s anonymous food inspectors. To qualify, the restaurants must serve two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less. On the down side, those who win the "cheap deal" award are no longer eligible for this year's Michelin stars. (To put it in Toddlers & Tiarasese, it's like winning Grand Supreme in that you're no longer a contender for Ultimate Grand Supreme. For exceptional joints like Rich Table, who earned 3.5 stars from Michael Bauer, today's win could be bittersweet.)
A few new names made their way on the 2014 list. Among them? Ebisu, Happy Noodles, Mason Pacific, M.Y. China, Ramen Shop, Regalito, Rich Table, and 1601 Bar & Kitchen. And as Inside Scoop notes, "Five restaurants were removed from the list this year: Betelnut, Kabab & Curry’s, K & L Bistro, Le Cham, and the now-closed Bar Bambino."
The entire Bay Area follows, new entries denoted by an asterisk (*):
Artisan Bistro East Bay (Lafayette)
A16 (San Francisco)
* Backyard (Forestville)
Bar Tartine (San Francisco)
Bellanico (Oakland)
Bistro Aix (San Francisco)
Bistro Jeanty (Yountville)
Bistro 29 (Santa Rosa)
Boon Eat + Drink (Guerneville)
Brick & Bottle (Corte Madera)
Burma Superstar (San Francisco)
C Casa (Napa)
* Chalkboard (Healdsburg)
Chapeau! (San Francisco)
Chevalier (Lafayette)
Chu (Oakland)
Comal (Berkeley)
Contigo (San Francisco)
Cook St. (St. Helena)
Corso (Berkeley)
Cotogna (San Francisco)
Crouching Tiger (Redwood)
Cucina Paradiso (Petaluma)
Delfina (San Francisco)
Domo (Civic Center)
Donato Enoteca (Redwood City)
Dosa (San Francisco)
* Ebisu (San Francisco)
* Evvia (Palo Alto)
* Fey (Menlo Park)
FIVE (Berkeley)
flour + water (San Francisco)
Fringale (San Francisco)
Gajalee (San Francisco)
Gather (Berkeley)
* Glen Ellen Star (Glen Ellen)
Hachi Ju Hachi (Saratoga)
* Happy Noodles (San Mateo)
Hot Box Grill (Sonoma)
Insalata's Marin (San Anselmo)
Ippuku (Berkeley)
* Izakaya Yuzuki (San Francisco)
Kappou Gomi (San Francisco)
Kokkari Estiatorio (San Francisco)
* La Costanera (Montara)
LaSalette (Sonoma)
Le Garage (Sausalito)
Mamacita (San Francisco)
Marinitas (San Anselmo)
Marlowe (San Francisco)
* Mason Pacific (San Francisco)
Monti's Rotisserie (Santa Rosa)
* M.Y. China (San Francisco)
Oenotri (Napa)
Old Mandarin Islamic (San Francisco)
Osteria Coppa (San Mateo)
Perbacco (San Francisco)
Plum (Oakland)
* Ramen Shop (Oakland)
Redd Wood (Yountville)
* Regalito (San Francisco)
* Rich Table (San Francisco)
Risibisi (Petaluma)
Rivoli (Berkeley)
* Sana Marin (San Rafael) [CLOSED]
Sazón (Santa Rosa)
Scopa (Healdsburg)
Sichuan Home (San Francisco)
* Sir and Star (Olema)
* 1601 Bar & Kitchen (San Francisco)
Slanted Door (San Francisco)
Slow Club (San Francisco)
Sociale (San Francisco)
Starbelly (San Francisco)
Sushi Ran (Sausalito)
Thai House (Danville)
The Girl & the Fig (Sonoma)
Troya (San Francisco)
* Vesta (Redwood City)
Willi's Wine Bar (Santa Rosa)
Wood Tavern (Oakland)
Yank Sing (San Francisco)
Zero Zero (San Francisco)
