Healdsburg Restaurant Earns 7th-Straight Star in Michelin Guide

By Sheila Sanchez and Cody Kitaura

A Healdsburg restaurant and inn has been included in the 2014 edition of the Michelin Guide San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country for the seventh year in a row. 
Madrona Manor, which says its menu has evolved from meat-and-potatoes to "thoughtful, innovative cuisine made with local, seasonal ingredients" over the past decade, earned one star in the forthcoming 2014 Michelin Guide.

Executive Chef Jesse Mallgren came to Madrona Manor in 1999, when the menu was almost entirely steak.
"Diners weren’t as adventurous back then; I had to list "pork belly" in French as Poitrine de Porc so people would order it,” a press release quoted Mallgren as saying.

After a recent trip to Japan, the chef has been including more Japanese ingredients and flavors, the press release says. The eatery's garden has grown over the past years to match its menu; 10 types of lettuce and six types of cucumbers, along with basil and other herbs, are now grown on the property. 

The press release says Mallgren is focusing on simplicity and innovation, and is working with the idea of "vegetables as a main course."
Madrona Manor is located at 1001 Westside Road in Healdsburg.

The other one-star Michelin Guide restaurants are: 

• Acquerello, Nob Hill district of San Francisco
• All Spice, San Mateo in the Peninsula
• Ame, SoMa district of San Francisco
• Auberge du Soleil, Napa Valley of Wine Country
• Aziza, Richmond and Sunset district of San Francico
• Bouchon, Napa Valley of Wine Country
• Boulevard, SoMa district of San Francisco
• Campton Place, financial district of San Francisco
• Chez TJ, Mountain View in the South Bay
• Commis, Oakland in the East Bay
• Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant, Sonoma County (Forestville) in Wine Country
• Gary Danko, North Beach district of San Francisco
• Keiko a Nob Hill, Nob Hill district of San Francisco
• La Folie, Nob Hill district of San Francisco
• La Toque, Napa Valley of Wine Country
  
• Luce, SoMa district of San Francisco
• Madera, Menlo Park in the Peninsula
• Madrona Manor, Sonoma County (Healdsburg) in Wine Country
• Michael Mina, financial district of San Francisco
• Plumed Horse, Saratoga in the South Bay
• Solbar, Napa Valley of Wine Country
• Sons & Daughters, Nob Hill district of San Francisco
• SPQR, Marina district of San Francisco
• Spruce, Marina district of San Francisco
  
• State Bird Provisions, Civic Center of San Francisco
• Terra, Napa Valley of Wine Country
• Terrapin Creek, Sonoma County (Bodega Bay) of Wine Country
• The Village Pub, Woodside in the Peninsula
• Wakuriya, San Mateo in the Peninsula

And the two-star restaurants are:

• Atelier Crenn in the Marina district of San Francisco
• Baume in Palo Alto
• Benu in the SoMa district of San Francisco
• Coi in the North Beach area of San Francisco
• Manresa in Los Gatos
• Quinche in the North Beach area of San Francisco
• Saison in the Mission district of San Francisco

The restaurant Quinche has been elevated from one to two stars. Run by the culinary couple of Lindsay and Michael Tusk, the restaurant, which has been a long-standing one star in the Michelin Guide San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country, offers a cuisine "with Italian inspiration in a warm and welcoming environment."

In the one star category, State Bird Provisions has been awarded its first Michelin star.

"In this unique restaurant, the husband-and-wife duo of Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski serve a truly creative California cuisine presented in dim sum style that is unlike any other," Michelin said in a press release.

San Francisco's perennial three-star restaurants—The French Laundry and The Restaurant at Meadwood—maintained their status in the 2014 guide.

A Michelin three-star rating is considered the ultimate international recognition in the culinary world, with just more than 100 restaurants currently holding the distinction, according to the guide.

"The 2014 selection confirms the quality of San Francisco's culinary scene, which continues at a remarkably high level of creativity, based on local Northern California ingredients used in a contemporary way," said Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin Guides.

This year, 38 restaurants spread throughout the city, Bay Area and Wine Country received a coveted Michelin star rating. 

The 2014 edition further highlights the increased offering of good value for the money with Michelin inspectors selecting 83 Bib Gourmand restaurants, a record number for the guide first published in 2006.

In fact, 20 percent of the total 518 restaurants listed in theMichelin Guide San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country are in the guide's "under $25" category.

With three new food styles included in this year's guide— Caribbean, Sri Lankan and Argentinian—Michelin inspectors recognized a total of 46 cuisines, reflecting San Francisco's rich diversity of cultures, according to Michelin.

San Francisco is one of three cities in the U.S. where Michelin publishes an annual guide. 

Earlier this year the Michelin Guide New York City 2014 went on sale. The Michelin Guide Chicago 2014 will also go on sale Nov. 13.

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