Michelin shake up: San Francisco now has more 3-starred restaurants than New York City

The 2018 Michelin Guide to New York City debuted this week, and it had some crushing news for one of the city’s flagship eateries, and New York City as a whole. New York’s acclaimed Jean-Georges restaurant has been downgraded from three Michelin stars to two, and that means San Francisco now beats New York for the U.S. city with the most Michelin three-star restaurants.

Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten‘s New York flagship opened in 1997. Michelin released its first-ever guide to New York in 2006, and it gave Jean-Georges its top rating of three Michelin stars. Debuting as a three-star restaurant was a big achievement, and even more impressively, the restaurant managed to hold onto all three stars for 10 years.

Holding onto a three-star rating is hard work. Restaurants are regularly re-evaluated by Michelin inspectors to make sure their level of service remains impeccable. According to the New York Times, Michelin Guide international director Michael Ellis reports that several Michelin inspectors reported not having “quite the same gastronomic experience� at Jean-Georges, and that the restaurant was not quite at the same level as it was before. The restaurant, in New York’s Trump Tower, could conceivably regain its third star if inspectors feel the dining experience picks back up.

In 2017, New York and San Francisco both boasted six Michelin three-star restaurants. This year Jean-Georges dropped to two stars, leaving New York with five three-star restaurants for 2018.

Michelin postponed the release of its San Francisco guide because of the wildfires in Northern California. When the 2018 guide was released, San Francisco’s Coi was upgraded from two to three stars, and now that city has a whopping seven Michelin three-star restaurants. That’s the most of any U.S. city. The U.S. is full of good restaurants worth a detour, so check out the 101 best restaurants in America for 2017.