An Aerican Guidebook in Paris

In the 74 years that the Michelin Guide has been awarding stars to restaurants in France, it has become so powerful--and its blessing so coveted--that restaurateurs regard the loss of even a single star as a calamity second only to the arrival of a McDonald’s next door. Indeed, in 1966, seven months after learning that he had lost his only star, chef Alain Zick of Relais des Porquerolles in Paris committed suicide.

No one has ever reacted so drastically after being downgraded by the Zagat Survey (although a few restaurateurs have been heard to mutter vague homicidal threats and not-so-vague imprecations on Tim Zagat, the impresario behind the survey).

When Zagat announced that he would begin soliciting contributions for a guidebook on the restaurants of Paris, the Gallic guffaws could be heard echoing from Calais to Marseilles. How could the random views of anonymous diners--even anonymous French diners--possibly compete with those of experienced Michelin inspectors (especially when those Everyman-in-the-rue views would be filtered through an American sensibility)? Quelle erreur! Quelle horreur!

But the new Year 2000 Zagat Survey of Paris restaurants has just been published and--quelle surprise!--it’s a virtual carbon copy of the current Michelin, at least at the top levels. Zagat’s three highest-rated restaurants--Taillevent (with 28 points out of 30), Arpege and Alain Ducasse (each with 27 points)--all have three Michelin stars. The next six restaurants in the Zagat rankings, each with 26 points, include Michelin’s three other three-star Paris restaurants (Ambroisie, Pierre Gagnaire and Lucas Carton) and three Michelin two-stars (Guy Savoy, Grand Vefour and Michel Rostang).

A Michelin devotee could page through Zagat and find fault--24 points to Restaurant d’Eric Frechon and 23 to Kinugawa, for example; Michelin deems neither worthy of a star and gives them its lowest ratings--a single fork for Frechon and two forks for Kinugawa. But by and large, even a Michelin inspector would concede that M. Zagat appears to have avoided any blatant faux pas.