The Michelin-Star Restaurant With The Most James Beard Awards

Tucked away in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains is the small town of Washington, Virginia, population 84. The town is registered as a historic district in the National Register of Historic Places. This tiny, beautiful town is the home of the Michelin-starred restaurant with the most James Beard Awards, The Inn at Little Washington.

There's a reason that The Inn at Little Washington is one of the hardest reservations to get in America. Along with its three Michelin stars, it won the following James Beard awards: 1992 Best Chef, 1993 Outstanding Restaurant, 1997 Outstanding Service, 1998 Outstanding Wine Service, 2001 Outstanding Chef, and then in 2019 Inn at Little Washington's Chef and Owner, Patrick O'Connell won a Lifetime Achievement award.

That's quite the journey for a restaurant that started in 1978 in a former gas station and car repair shop next to a junkyard. While it's in the same space, many changes have been made to turn the building, built in 1905, into a farm, inn, and culinary destination.

The James Beard Awards were established in 1990 as a way to honor the life of James Beard, who was called the "Dean of American Cookery." While Michelin covers the world and is focused on the restaurant as a whole in its star system, James Beard is concentrated in America and will give awards to individuals, members of the media, and different restaurant programs.

Though it has plenty, The Inn at Little Washington isn't the restaurant with the most James Beard Awards. That honor belongs to Commander's Palace in New Orleans, which has an impressive seven awards and has yet to be reviewed by Michelin. A top restaurant in a city known for good food, Commander's Palace is the best spot to get brunch in New Orleans. So why has this restaurant, which opened in 1880, never received a Michelin star?

The first Michelin guide came out in 1900 as a way for the Michelin Tire company to encourage French car owners to drive more. The guide uses a system of rating restaurants with 1 to 3 stars, 1 being a very good restaurant and 3 being a destination restaurant. Michelin finally came to North America with a guide for New York in 2005. Officially, Michelin has implied that New Orleans lacks "vibrancy" and "dynamic potential." But since 2010, Michelin has started prioritizing reviewing states and cities that pay for their reviewers to visit their restaurants. Last year, after Visit California paid Michelin $600,000 to come review restaurants in its state, it finally released a guide to California restaurants beyond just San Francisco. Ultimately, while the restaurants themselves do not pay, and the stars they earn are well deserved, it is unfortunate that a city so rich in good food like New Orleans has yet to get recognized.