As we wait on local picks for the Michelin Guide 2017, which will be announced next Tuesday and aren't likely to top last year in terms of excitement, today we've got a list of what the Michelin folks consider to be value-driven spots where two or so courses and a glass of wine (obviously) go for $40 or less before tax and tip. The "Bib Gourmand" picks are something of a teaser: Last year there were 74 of them, and this year there are 75, with 11 completely new to the list. "Most telling about these selections," the guide writes in a release, "is the fact that they are very often the same restaurants that the Michelin food inspectors frequent themselves when off the clock." And, as always, there are a couple spots (ahem, Coqueta, Cotogna) where getting out for under $40 for two courses and wine would be a fun mathematical challenge.
In terms of the guide, Bib Gourmand picks cannot receive stars, and neither can starred picks receive Bib Gourmand designations, so if you're reading tea leaves, there are some clues among this list. The newbies: 'Aina (which they're calling Mission but yes it's in the Dogpatch), Bravas (Sonoma County), The Bywater (South Bay), Del Popolo (again, they've got Financial District, but we can quibble and call it Nob Hill) Lai Hong Lounge North Beach (Mission), Nopalito (they say Civic Center, so lol), Okane (Soma) , SHED Café (Sonoma Country), Tacos Sinaloa (East Bay), Tsubasa (Civic Center), Two Birds/One Stone (Napa Valley), and Village Sake (Marin). Those that departed are often due to closure, and were Brick and Bottle, Chevalier, Chino, Contigo, Fringale, Gather, La Perla, Marinitas, Sazón, The Farmer & The Fox, and Rivoli. The complete 2017 list:
2017 Bib Gourmand Picks for the Bay Area
‘āina
Anchor Oyster Bar
A16
Backyard
Bar Tartine
Bistro Aix
Bistro Jeanty
Bistro 29
Bravas
Bywater (The)
Chalkboard
Chapeau!
China Village
Comal
Cook St. Helena
Coqueta
Corso
Cotogna
Delfina
Del Popolo
Diavola
Dosa
Evvia
Farmhouse Kitchen Thai
Farmstead
FIVE
Glen Ellen Star
Grace’s Table
Great China
Hong Kong Lounge II
Insalata's
Ippuku
Izakaya Rintaro
Kappou Gomi
Kokkari Estiatorio
La Costanera
Lai Hong Lounge
Le Garage
Mamacita
Mason Pacific
Michel Bistro
Millennium
Monti's Rotisserie
M.Y. China
Nopalito
Oenotri
Okane
Orchard City Kitchen
Poggio
Ramen Gaijin
Redd Wood
Rich Table
Risibisi
Scopa
SHED Café
Sichuan Home
Sir and Star
1601 Bar & Kitchen
Sociale
Starbelly
Sushi Ran
Tacos Sinaloa
Thai House
Trestle
Tsubasa
Two Birds/One Stone
Vesta
Village Sake
wonderful
Wood Tavern
Yank Sing
Yuzuki
Zero Zero
Zola
Z & Y
