n TASTE
Chef Brad Cecchi of Canon says try-
ing to nab a Michelin star “adds a lot
of pressure to the day-to-day.”
Michelin star, according to several local
chefs interviewed before the announce-
ment in March. “I don’t think the com-
munity is screaming out for that level of
dining,” Bruich says. “I don’t think we
have the income for that level of dining.”
Patrick Prager, who opened restau-
rateur Michael Mina’s namesake restau-
rant in San Francisco and currently
serves as executive chef at Revival, the
rooftop bar and lounge located inside
the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in Sacramen-
to, echoes those sentiments. “While it
is possible here in Sacramento, I don’t
know if the money is here yet,” he says.
According to Origami Asian Grill
co-owner Scott Ostrander, who worked
in the kitchens of one-, two- and three-
starred restaurants (including Alinea in
Chicago) before returning to Sacramen-
to, it’s not just about the lack of money,
but the lack of an established fine-din-
ing culture in the city. “The priorities are
different, the customer base is different,”
Ostrander says. “You could walk into Ella
in the middle of summer with shorts and
flip-flops on, and you’ll get served just as
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if you were dressed in a blazer. You’ve got
to draw the line somewhere, and nobody
does.” (An employee at Ella confirmed
there is no dress code.)
Since the reviewers are all unknown
faces, the attention to detail in Michelin-
starred restaurants needs to be off the
charts. Every move matters, so Michelin-
level restaurants go to extravagant
lengths to ensure that the dining experi-
ence remains exactly the same from day
to day. That’s because gaining or losing
a star can have profound effects on a
restaurant’s bottom line.
“It is a pretty big boost to business,
so it definitely plays a role in defining
success,” says Cecchi of Canon, a restau-
rant widely recognized for its refined
yet adventurous cuisine since debuting
in 2017. That was the same year that the
Carmichael native Cecchi earned a star
for his work at Solbar in Calistoga. “It’s
a level of accountability that I think can
make restaurants a lot better but adds a
lot of pressure to the day-to-day.”
Prager believes pressure is part of
what breeds excellence in Michelin-level
restaurants. “Michelin is super focused
on everything: guest experience, the way
that the dining room looks, the way the
food is, the way the food is plated, the
way you conduct yourself in that envi-
ronment,” he says.
Asked about the restaurants he be-
lieves hold the best odds of earning
Sacramento’s first Michelin star, Testa
rattles off a list of heavy hitters that in-
cludes Ella, Kru, Localis, The Waterboy,
Mulvaney’s and Grange. “There’s prob-
ably 10 that you intuitively feel have a
decent shot or are at least in the conver-
sation,” he says.
Whatever happens, Sacramento will
definitely be in the conversation when
the California Michelin Guide is re-
vealed this June. n
Daniel Barnes is a freelance writer and
member of the San Francisco Film Crit-
ics Circle. His work has appeared in The
Sacramento Bee, Sacramento News
& Review, East Bay Express, Philadel-
phia Weekly and San Antonio Current,
among others.