Santa Barbara and Paso Robles restaurants receive MICHELIN Stars
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – MICHELIN added 18 new stars to its California guide on Monday, two of which landed nearby on the Central Coast.
Montecito's Caruso's and Paso Robles' The Restaurant at Justin made the MICHELIN Guide's selective list, each earning a 2022 MICHELIN California Green Star for gastronomy and sustainability.
"A Michelin Star is awarded to restaurants offering outstanding cooking," according to a MICHELIN Guide inspector. "We take into account five universal criteria: the quality of the ingredients, the harmony of flavours, the mastery of techniques, the personality of the chef as expressed through their cuisine and, just as importantly, consistency both across the entire menu and over time."
Caruso's is a Californian and Italian cuisine restaurant based within the Rosewood Miramar Beach hotel located at 1759 S Jameson Ln.
According to the restaurant's website, Executive Chef Massimo Falsini features signature dishes with ingredients sourced from neighboring farmers, fishermen and ranchers, as well as local and international wines and handcrafted cocktails.
The MICHELIN Guide wrote the following about Caruso's:
The seasonal prix-fixe takes center stage along with a focus on regional products. Santa Barbara bluefin tartare, garnished with thinly sliced Taggiasca olives and dots of tofu aioli along with a creamy almond granita, takes a familiar ingredient and transforms it into something original.
MICHELIN Guide
Restaurant at Justin in Paso Robles is a Californian and Contemporary cuisine restaurant based within JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery located at 11680 Chimney Rock Rd.
Executive Chef Rachel Haggstrom creates dishes from fresh ingredients grown on the winery's 26-acre farmstead, according to the restaurant's website. The restaurant added that it also offers a seasonal multi-course dinner tasting menu to go with it's wine list.
The following description on Restaurant at Justin was provided by the MICHELIN Guide:
This restaurant champions local product, sourced nearby and from the property's own 150-tree orchard, edible flower fields, vegetable and herb gardens and apiary. Imagine dishes like asparagus with a soft quail egg, blood orange and duck prosciutto or artichoke tortellini with truffle and peas.
MICHELIN Guide
Just a few weeks earlier, the MICHELIN Guide added two more Central Coast restaurants to its list: First & Oak and peasants FEAST in Solvang.
Other local restaurants that have been featured on the MICHELIN Guide include Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Montecito, Mesa Verde, Corazon Cocina, and more than 20 others.
