When Kyley McGeeney sets her sights on something, she follows through with a serious passion.
The survey researcher living in the Washington, D.C. suburbs found herself completely out of touch with the local dining scene while chatting with colleagues during a lunch break. “I used to live on U Street,” she says. “None of those restaurants [we were talking about] were open five years ago.”
McGeeney began researching, creating a list of restaurants she needed to visit to get herself back on track. While at a friend’s baby shower, she noticed a small red book on a coffee table—it was the newly launched (and therefore, hardly-used) MICHELIN Guide Washington, D.C.
“I knew it existed and I knew its origin in terms of starred restaurants,” she says, recalling her visits to Le Bernardin and Gramercy Tavern during her New York City tenure. “But I didn’t know about the Bib Gourmand or The Plate—and I didn’t know it was coming to D.C.”
McGeeney knew her mission should she choose to accept it: to dine at every recommended restaurant in the D.C. MICHELIN Guide. She gave herself a hashtag and an Instagram handle, and wrote her experiences on her personal blog to keep herself accountable. MissionMichelin was a go.
Her journey started on December 3, 2016 with a visit to Purple Patch, a restaurant that “delivers note-perfect Filipino food with just the right amount of playfulness,” per our anonymous inspectors. Purple Patch proved to be a great jumping off point for McGeeney, who received a menu complete with a welcome note and a waiter who grew very enthusiastic of her new quest.
From then on, McGeeney went to (the now-closed) DGS Delicatessen, Boqueria, Iron Gate and BlackSalt, all while bringing her guide. "Whenever I can, I try to have them sign it," she says of chefs who, oftentimes, would autograph their restaurant’s entry, and sometimes pose for a quick selfie.
On January 11, 2017 she was the first in line to visit the always busy Rose’s Luxury. “It was a production to get into this place, but so worth it,” she says on her Instagram post afterwards. At the time, Aaron Silverman’s one-Michelin-starred eatery on Capitol Hill would be her favorite dining destination in The District.
That all changed when she dined at José Andrés’s minibar on July 14, 2017: “[It’s] absolutely my favorite restaurant in the world—and it’s not just the cuisine that’s amazing, but the people, as well.”
Originally en route to Portugal for a work trip, McGeeney’s flight was grounded due to storms in the area. Knowing that she was going to miss her birthday dinner at 100 Maneiras in Lisbon, she formulated a new plan, aiming to score a last-minute reservation at minibar. “[It] uses Tock, and I thought for sure there was no way that I could get in there.” McGeeney called, emailed and took to Instagram—all to no avail. After doing some serious sleuthing, she came across the blog of Jhonatan Cano, minibar’s general manager, who conveniently listed his phone number on his site. “I texted him and he called back immediately.” As fate would have it, a few minibar dinner guests were sidetracked by the same storm; McGeeney would now have her birthday dinner in the private dining room. “I changed in the airport bathroom and then sped into D.C. When I arrived, there was a signed MICHELIN Guide wishing me a happy birthday.”
McGeeney’s nights filled with dinners at both Michelin-recommended restaurants, as well as new hotspots on the scene, like Spike Gjerde’s A Rake’s Progress. McGeeney also traveled across the country to San Francisco for a meal at Atelier Crenn. “When I saw Dominique Crenn’s Women In Food dinner series, I knew I needed to go,” she says, proclaiming her great admiration for both Crenn and Nancy Silverton.
On July 14, 2018, McGeeney spent her birthday at The Inn at Little Washington—the final stop on her Mission Michelin tour. Through it all, she states that she never had an inedible meal or terrible service; she’s happy with her restaurant list of choice. “That’s why I love the MICHELIN Guide,” she says. “It takes me through parts of D.C. that I’m unfamiliar with and to places that have been around for decades and are still great.”
Images courtesy of Kyley McGeeney.
