dinner at buerehiesel (june 2003)

My first and only dinner at a Michelin three-star restaurant occurred in June 2003 during my first and only (to-date) visit to Europe.

I had the pleasure of enjoying dinner at Buerehiesel in Strasbourgh, France with two friends who were also participating in the Bowling Green Executive MBA program at the time.

Although I can't remember most of the specific items served, I do remember enjoying an amazing meal.  We chose the tasting menu with the wine pairings and were not disappointed.  Many of the dishes were classical in nature while others were unique.  The one specific dish I remember was dessert (and I'm not a big dessert guy) - however, it was a special kind of "french toast" with beer.  It was very unique.  It's still featured on their website and served (carmelized brioche with beer).  Overall the service was amazing and the restaurant very formal and extremely polished.  We asked for and received a tour of the kitchen, which was extremely well organized and clean and reasonably large but not huge.

Other than my experience at Charlie Trotters (will share in an upcoming post) this was the most formal and exacting delivery I have ever experienced in a restaurant.  Virtually nothing was missed in their preparation and delivery.  Ultimately, the creativity of the dishes was not out-of-this-world but it was still pretty great.

On Michelin's latest list, Buerehiesel has dropped to a one-star Michelin rated restaurant, as has the other former three, then two and now one star restaurant in Strasbourg (Au Crocodile).

dining history introduction

As I'm finally getting around to getting this blog going in the Spring of 2010, there are a number of "historical" dining experiences that I would like to share.  I'll post them individually based on my best recollection of the experiences.  Obviously, much could have changed within each establishment since my experience, so please keep that in mind.

fifty best for 2010 coming soon

Each year S. Pellegrino conducts a poll to rate the world's best restaurants. The 2010 list will be released soon. Here's the announcement from their site:

"The S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2010 will be announced on Monday 26th April. The list is the result of an extensive poll of the world’s most celebrated chefs, renowned food critics, leading restaurateurs and well-travelled gourmands – collectively they are The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy."

It will be interesting to see if El Bulli (Spain) will make it 5 years in a row as the World's top restaurant. El Bulli has had an amazing run with 5 first place ratings since 2002 and no rating below third place in the past 8 years!

Check out the top 50 over the past few years:

2009: http://www.theworlds50best.com/awards/1-50-winners
2008: http://www.theworlds50best.com/past-winners/2008
2007: http://www.theworlds50best.com/past-winners/2007
2006: http://www.theworlds50best.com/past-winners/2006
2005: http://www.theworlds50best.com/past-winners/2005
2004: http://www.theworlds50best.com/past-winners/2004
2003: http://www.theworlds50best.com/past-winners/2003
2002: http://www.theworlds50best.com/past-winners/2002


Maybe a Canadian restaurant will eventually make the list. None have been on the list for a bit. In 2002 when Eigensinn Farm was 9th and Susur was 49th. In 2003, Eigensinn Farm dropped to 28th and Susur fell off the list. Eigensinn Farm fell off the list in 2004 and since then no Canadian restaurant has made it back on.

In terms of the closest "top" restaurant - Alinea (Chicago) moved up 11 spots in 2009 to 10th place. Per Se (New York) was the highest ranked US-based restaurant in 6th place again in 2009.