I am #DCProud to officially welcome the #MichelinGuideDC to the District! pic.twitter.com/TZAShBSW87
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) May 31, 2016
Michelin adds the U.S. Capital to its list of star-studded territories
It is proving to be a huge year for the Michelin Guide. Fresh news of the guide’s first Washington D.C. edition was unveiled yesterday, following in quick progression from announcements of upcoming 2017 editions in Seoul and Shanghai, and recent confirmation of its inaugural Singapore guidebook's launch on 21 July 2016.
The Washington D.C. edition will be the fourth in the United States - after San Francisco, New York and Chicago - and joins the more than 20 states and countries covered by the guides. The guide previously also covered cities such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but these were both discontinued indefinitely in 2010.
“D.C. was a logical choice. It’s a very cosmopolitan city. It has a growing and thriving food scene,” said Michael Ellis, International Director for the Michelin Guide at a press conference last week.
While the first edition will only cover the area within the limits of the city with a population of 670,000, subsequent publications are likely to extend beyond district boundaries and into the suburbs and surrounding townships of the metro area. The guide is expected to launch on 13 October this year.
Star-studded dining cabins
No time to stop by and dine in the acclaimed Michelin-starred restaurants of Japan? Soon, you'll be able to enjoy their cooking on the go, on board the new Japanese luxury train, the Mizukaze. Launching in 2017, the Mizukaze - which poetically translates to “speeding through the beautiful land of Mizuho (the ancient name for Japan) like the wind” - will feature menus crafted by the very best culinary names across the country, including Japan's most Michelin-decorated chef, Yoshihiro Murata (his restaurants Kikunoi Honten has three Michelin stars, and Kikunoi Akasaka and Kikunoi Roan have two stars each) as well as Hajime Yoneda of Osaka's two-Michelin-starred Hajime.
The train seats just 30 passengers in total and will depart from the Kyoto, Osaka and Shimonoseki stations, and will traverse the Western Japanese countryside while providing its patrons with the stunning views of the Sea of Japan, Mt. Daisen and the Seto Inland Sea Islands. It will be complemented by a sister train: the Shiki-Shima (meaning "island of the four seasons"), which will travel from Tokyo and upwards into Hokkaido. Though the latter will not boast the cooking of Michelin-starred chefs, its Japanese wood and lacquer-clad luxury suites will be just as decadent: its highest priced cabins even come with a private Japanese cypress bath built inside each suite.
Tickets for the trains will available via the Mizukaze's English website, as well as through operators including JTB Travel and InsideJapan Tours.
