It takes a bold personality to embark on a quest to dine at every MICHELIN-Starred restaurant in New York City. For jewelry designer Ellen Hunter, the journey began in 2017 with a bite of the Black Label burger at Minetta Tavern. Inspired by New York’s culinary richness, Tennessee-born Hunter launched The Star Crawl, documenting her mission to experience each of the city’s MICHELIN-Starred gems. Having completed two full “crawls” of the city’s Starred establishments, Hunter has become a familiar face to New York’s top chefs.
When not designing hair accessories for icons like Queen Mary of Denmark, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Olivia Palermo, Hunter explores the intersection of her two passions: fashion and food.
“Fashion is art that you wear, and food is art on the plate,” she says, a sentiment that drives her dual pursuits.
Seven years and over 100 MICHELIN-starred meals later, Hunter is not just an expert on New York’s dining scene—she has cultivated a list of personal favorites.
“I have my classics that I'm always going to love and revisit over and over again,” says Hunter. “I love Le Bernardin so much. Daniel is absolutely fabulous. Sushi Noz is the best sushi in New York City. Number one, without a doubt, is Jean-Georges. He's such a trailblazer.”
Hunter continues, “I love my staples at Casa Mono, like the fideos and clams, or the pork sobrasada dish. I dream about it. At Torrisi, I sit at the bar and have a few a la carte pastas. The best-priced tasting menus would be Red Paper Clip and Jua. At lunchtime, Aquavit.”
Frevo and bōm are Hunter’s secret hideaways. She explains, “Frevo is like an art gallery/ speakeasy restaurant. You think it's a tiny art gallery in the Village, but then somebody opens up this painting into this Narnia-like passageway. The food on the plate is some of the most artistic.”
In completing her star crawls, Hunter has expanded her palate, learning to love uni (sea urchin) at Jungsik, wasabi at Yoshino, and sweetbreads (thymus or pancreas) at Shmoné, all ingredients she previously avoided. She explains, “I trust chefs and put the experience in their hands.”
Hunter credits Semma with introducing her to new dimensions of Indian cuisine. “The gunpowder dosa looks like a slab of wood, and you have no idea the intense flavor that you're going to experience with that dish. The most unique flavors have been at Semma.” Hunter says, “[Chef Vijay Kumar] is such a positive human being.” Chef Kumar shares a similar sentiment, saying, “Ellen is such a lovely person with vibrant energy. She is genuinely one of the sweetest.”
The chefs’ personalities often contribute to her dining experiences. She explains, “Sushi Ichimura, that man is such a legend. It's like watching live theater to see him create and present his omakase. Clover Hill, Charlie Mitchell. He's this quiet force in the kitchen, to see his creations come to life on the plate. Nadav Greenberg at Shmoné, he's so focused, but you can feel his [fun] energy throughout the restaurant.”
Earlier this year, a chance encounter became Hunter’s most treasured MICHELIN memory. “I was eating at Ma•dé, Cedric Vongerichten’s restaurant, with my parents who were visiting from Tennessee. There's a man sitting next to me on a date with his wife. It's James Kent.”
“He spoke so highly of everybody in the industry,” she says of the late chef. “He had trained with Jean Georges, Daniel Boulud, and he was talking about how they taught him so much about leadership and cooking. It's something I'll never forget. It made my parents’ visit so special here.”
Just as she curated her parents’ first-ever MICHELIN-Starred experiences, Hunter now extends that hospitality to others. As a newly minted real estate agent, she includes her passion for restaurants when recommending properties. “I get out my MICHELIN app, and I’ll say, ‘Here are the nearby MICHELIN Stars.’”
Each year, more New York City restaurants are awarded MICHELIN Stars. Hunter smiles, “What's great about the MICHELIN Guide is that my star crawl journey never really ends.”
Address book:
Minetta Tavern
113 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012
Le Bernardin
155 W 51st St, New York, NY 10019
Daniel
60 E 65th St, New York, NY 10065
Sushi Noz
181 E 78th St, New York, NY 10075
Jean-Georges
1 Central Park W, New York, NY 10023
Casa Mono
52 Irving Pl, New York, NY 10003
Torrisi
275 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012
Red Paper Clip
120 Christopher St, New York, NY 10014
Jua
36 E 22nd St, New York, NY 10010
Aquavit
65 E 55th St, New York, NY 10022
Frevo
48 W 8th St, New York, NY 10011
bōm
17 W 19th St, New York, NY 10011
Jungsik
2 Harrison St, New York, NY 10013
Yoshino
342 Bowery, New York, NY 10012
Shmoné
61 W 8th St, New York, NY 10011
Semma
60 Greenwich Ave, New York, NY 10011
Sushi Ichimura
412 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013
Clover Hill
20 Columbia Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Ma•dé
22 Spring St, New York, NY 10012
Hero image: Ellen Hunter is chasing the (MICHELIN) stars (© David Belusic)
