Texas Michelin Stars, Foodie Road Trips & Alinea Dreams with Drew Stephenson

[01:00:03:03 - 01:00:40:18]
Sylvia
 You know how they say everything is bigger in Texas? Well that holds true for one man to appetite for excellent food. When Michelin finally decided to hand out stars to restaurants in the state, Drew Stephenson made it his goal to try every single one of them. There are more than a dozen spots in the Lone Star state, all fittingly earning a lone star from the iconic Dining Guide. And today's Supper was Sylvia, I speak to Drew about what inspired him to do this even with the newborn baby at home, his top picks for the best of the best in Texas, and his take on our Chicago standouts.

[01:00:49:11 - 01:00:55:16]
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[01:01:24:16 - 01:01:29:21]
Sylvia
 Okay, Drew Stephenson from Texas and a foodie. Thanks for joining our podcast.

[01:01:30:22 - 01:01:33:08]
Drew
 Thanks for having me Sylvia, I really appreciate it.

[01:01:33:08 - 01:01:53:19]
Sylvia
 This is so fun. Okay, I love this because Chicago is a city filled with Michelin starred restaurants. And I had no idea until I learned about you that this is the first time Michelin has visited Texas and now there's a Michelin guide. So tell me how you found out about this and what inspired you.

[01:01:54:22 - 01:02:11:13]
Drew
 Okay, so I'm a big fan of Michelin. I think I went to my first Michelin restaurant in 2016 or 17. So I've been doing this a while. I've actually done Chicago. I've been to Alenia, one of the new James Beard nominees or finalist, Galit,

[01:02:12:16 - 01:02:29:00]
Drew
 Vek amongst other places. So I've been around, I've done New York City, San Francisco, LA, across Europe. So I've known about Michelin for quite some time. I've always wondered if Texas's food scene was ready to receive a Michelin guide.

[01:02:30:10 - 01:02:51:14]
Drew
 And it's something I've anticipated for the past five years or so. I've heard rumors, I've heard people say, you know, I think they might be interested in a Texas guide. So when it finally was announced that they were coming to Texas, I think mid late last year, I was just insanely excited.

[01:02:52:19 - 01:02:55:19]
Drew
 So yeah, I mean, I've been following the whole thing pretty closely.

[01:02:55:19 - 01:03:07:20]
Sylvia
 Okay, so you're so excited. You're like, it's finally happening. And then you decide. So then the guide comes out and you find out there are 15 restaurants that have gotten one star. Is that correct?

[01:03:07:20 - 01:03:09:17]
Drew
 Yeah, there are.

[01:03:09:17 - 01:03:43:02]
Sylvia
 Now, everybody of course knows and a lot of people, I used to live in Texas. So I don't think a lot of people realize truly how huge Texas is. You know, we always joke about the fact that you can, you know, like in the Midwest, we can go from one state to another in 30 minutes and 45 minutes, you know, in Texas, it can take you from, you know, I guess from North to South, it can take you five to six hours. So Michelin has gone throughout the state and it has chosen 15 restaurants. You find out there's 15 restaurants. And then what's the first thought in your mind?

[01:03:44:08 - 01:04:00:23]
Drew
 Oh my goodness. Well, you know, it's funny because I did some Michelin predictions. And when I thought, okay, what's the landscape here? I know it pretty well. I thought, I think we'll get about 15 one-starred restaurants. Wow. So the first thought in my mind was like, oh, I'm a genius. I know Texas very well.

[01:04:02:13 - 01:04:14:09]
Drew
 But it was, it was, I've got to eat at all these places. This is my state. I'm a, I'm a Texas food guy. So let's take a road trip, several in fact, and let's go eat at all these restaurants.

[01:04:14:09 - 01:04:25:07]
Sylvia
 Okay. But you didn't just eat at all the restaurants. I understand that you ate at all the restaurants in a matter of six weeks. Oh my gosh. Do tell.

[01:04:26:13 - 01:04:35:17]
Drew
 Yeah. So it was tough. And you know, it's funny because right when I started this journey, we had a three week old baby.

[01:04:36:21 - 01:04:51:17]
Drew
 So and it's our first. We don't have a lot of parenting experience. So my wife was just kind of like, all right, dude, if you need to go escape somewhere to knock off a few stars for 24 hours, go do it quick. Be back fast. I need you.

[01:04:53:03 - 01:05:05:15]
Drew
 So it was, it was a tough journey. I had already been to the one place in Dallas, our one lone star, if you will, which is a restaurant called Tatsu. It's an omakase, great place.

[01:05:06:20 - 01:05:30:09]
Drew
 So I was like, wow. This is going to be a lot harder because I live in Dallas, way up north. And I'm going to have to take several road trips that are three, four, five, six hour drives down south multiple times. And this is going to be tough. So mapped out the logistics, sat down for hours and tried to figure out how to best do this. Came up with a plan, executed it. Boom.

[01:05:31:12 - 01:05:40:16]
Sylvia
 Wow. And boom, I mean, wow. So you got, we got to back up a little here. Yeah. What did you do for a living and how did you get interested in this world?

[01:05:40:16 - 01:05:50:05]
Drew
 So I was in the food industry and in a very low level, nothing that would impress any of the new age chefs, but for about a decade.

[01:05:51:17 - 01:06:15:03]
Drew
 And then after I realized that I wasn't going to make much money doing that, hit the nepotism thing pretty hard and learned my dad's trade and cleaning swimming pools, doing repairs on equipment and renovations. So now I have my own company that's growing. It's doing pretty well. And that's how we're funding this, if you will.

[01:06:15:03 - 01:06:42:16]
Sylvia
 I was going to say because anyone who's ever been needs to know that most Michelin star dining is not necessarily cheap. It's something you save up for. It's something that you plan for. And if you don't, you feel it fairly quickly. So what on average did you spend at each spot? Would you say each, each meal was a tasting menu that was around $175 or tell me how that worked out for you in Texas.

[01:06:42:16 - 01:07:10:21]
Drew
 So this is the best way I can give it to you. I think the price difference in these places can vary, but it took, so if we're talking the 15 starred restaurants, it was about $3,000 a person without drinks. So whatever the math is there that would probably average out to around 175, like you said, per person. I don't drink alcohol. I've been sober 10 years. So that helps massively.

[01:07:10:21 - 01:07:12:15]
Sylvia
 Oh, it helps a lot.

[01:07:12:15 - 01:07:13:22]
Drew
 Okay. A lot. Yeah.

[01:07:13:22 - 01:07:42:00]
Sylvia
 So, so we are a Chicago centric podcast, but people from all over, listen, in fact, I just got a text from somebody in, in, in Texas today talking about one of the podcasts we had done in the past. So we do have some Texas listeners and for those who are listening, we don't have to go over all 15, but give me your top two spots that you went to that you could recommend to your fellow Texans and those who come visit your state.

[01:07:43:06 - 01:07:44:22]
Drew
 Yeah. I thought a lot about this.

[01:07:46:05 - 01:08:03:00]
Drew
 And I'm going to one of those tonight, actually, we're bringing them a little baby. They have one little section where they allow children, which is so cool of them. Like how many tasting menu spots do that? Right. But it's barley swine in Austin. And then March in Houston.

[01:08:04:09 - 01:08:11:04]
Drew
 Those in my opinion are both serving the best food and also giving the best experience.

[01:08:11:04 - 01:08:15:02]
Sylvia
 Okay. So barley swine, you're going tonight. What kind of food do they specialize in?

[01:08:15:02 - 01:08:58:20]
Drew
 So it's just very contemporary takes on what would be sort of classic Texas flavors. But they do really well, which what I really love about barley swine and what makes them so unique is that they play on Austin's personality. And if you know anything about Austin, they're very quirky, they're very weird, they're very progressive, they're very hip, creative, funky, all that good stuff. And so their food is a direct mirror of that personality. And I don't think there's a restaurant in Texas that better reflects the personality of the city it's in than barley swine. So fun, creative, you just have a blast when you eat their food.

[01:08:58:20 - 01:09:03:09]
Sylvia
 Wow. Very impressive. Okay. Then your Houston spot is your next spot, right?

[01:09:04:09 - 01:09:45:13]
Drew
 Yeah. So March is they're doing, they have a very interesting concept. So what they're doing is they take a, they create a menu and they tell a story from sort of journeys and pioneering and things that would have happened thousands of years ago, like think spice trades, think conquering. So they're taking menus and they give you things, like I said, that would have been served 500, a thousand years ago. So the research that it takes to pull off a project like that is very impressive. And they're going to serve you dishes that you've never heard of, you've never seen, you can't find recipes for.

[01:09:47:00 - 01:09:50:04]
Drew
 Where are they getting these recipes? How are they researching this stuff? It's crazy.

[01:09:50:04 - 01:09:58:02]
Sylvia
 Okay. Let's go back to home, which is the Dallas area. Because I want to know, did you find a few there or one in particular there that you love?

[01:09:59:08 - 01:10:04:21]
Drew
 Yeah. So in the Dallas area, we only got the one star, but that was Tatsu.

[01:10:06:00 - 01:10:11:10]
Drew
 It's a an omakase place, it's a sushi place run by a guy named Tatsuya Sakaguchi.

[01:10:12:16 - 01:10:17:09]
Drew
 He was able to help retain a star at a place he ran in New York City.

[01:10:18:14 - 01:10:22:08]
Drew
 Had some stuff going on in Texas, relatives wanted to come out here, get his own thing going.

[01:10:23:19 - 01:10:34:17]
Drew
 It's fantastic. It's amazing. But the unfortunate thing is it doesn't really give, it doesn't really play off Dallas's personality well, like a lot of the other places down south too. So that was a little bit of a bummer.

[01:10:34:17 - 01:10:40:07]
Sylvia
 Yeah. You're like, okay, if you're going to be in Dallas, I know you Texans are a proud lot. I know about you guys.

[01:10:40:07 - 01:10:42:18]
Drew
 Yeah. Oh yeah. Yes, we are.

[01:10:42:18 - 01:10:45:22]
Sylvia
 So you've been to all these places now.

[01:10:47:00 - 01:10:59:00]
Sylvia
 You know, it's kind of like Neil Armstrong, he walked on the moon and then a lot of people said after it was over, what are you going to do now? Because you've done it already. So you've hit all 15 stars. What are you going to do with your life? What's next?

[01:10:59:00 - 01:11:02:20]
Drew
 You know, I love the Armstrong comparison. That is so flattering.

[01:11:04:00 - 01:11:06:22]
Drew
 But you got to remember Sylvia, all I did was eat at 15 restaurants.

[01:11:08:07 - 01:11:18:00]
Drew
 But no, it's yeah, I think what I'll do is I'll focus on trying to eat a lot or eat it a lot more of the Bip Gormand places. There are a lot of those.

[01:11:19:12 - 01:11:36:13]
Drew
 And then every year, I think the guide should update pretty well. I expect the new guide every year to come out with at least two to four new starred restaurants. So I'll go catch up on those. I'll always have it on my Instagram that I've been to all the Michelin starred restaurants in Texas.

[01:11:38:04 - 01:11:45:01]
Drew
 And I'll always continue to post reels and show people my journeys of the Texas restaurants and the guide.

[01:11:45:01 - 01:12:08:13]
Sylvia
 So we should explain to people who don't know Bip Gormand are the Michelin guide restaurants that they consider affordable, yet delicious. So at a different level of the one star and oftentimes the Bip Gormand can eventually get that one star. So the whole Michelin world is such an interesting place to be and study.

[01:12:09:13 - 01:12:28:12]
Sylvia
 A lot of people, they think, why in the world would you spend this much money on that kind of food when you live in a place that has the most amazing value priced, amazing food? What was this for you that was so important and your goal?

[01:12:32:21 - 01:12:34:05]
Sylvia
 And eating it all 15.

[01:12:36:04 - 01:12:40:23]
Drew
 Yeah. So as opposed to just kind of trying to take the more casual places.

[01:12:40:23 - 01:12:47:14]
Sylvia
 Why are you willing to spend so much money on what people often say is a restaurant that after you leave, you're still hungry. How many times have you heard that?

[01:12:47:14 - 01:13:02:13]
Drew
 Oh my gosh, I know. And I also can't tell you how many times I've gone to McDonald's to grab some fries and a McFlurry after tasting menus that you spent $400 on. Yes. So there's, man, you know, Sylvia, that's a really good question.

[01:13:03:15 - 01:13:09:09]
Drew
 I think so. My first three star restaurant I went to was Bennu in San Francisco. That was probably 2017.

[01:13:11:00 - 01:13:18:19]
Drew
 And the level of cooking there and the way the flavors wash over you, the thoughtful approach,

[01:13:19:23 - 01:13:34:15]
Drew
 it just sort of turned something on in me when I first experienced that. And there is something that happens when you're really into food and you understand and know how to enjoy a tasting menu put together by a true master.

[01:13:35:23 - 01:13:49:11]
Drew
 Man, it really does something to you. And those are the experiences, the journeys that you live for. And fortunately in the food world, you know, if you're like into things like Disneyland, there's only like a few places you can go to in the country.

[01:13:51:01 - 01:14:07:09]
Drew
 For fine dining, there's a lot. So it's sort of this never ending quest to always go to the next spot or even if it's the same restaurant that you love, they change the menu very often. So to experience what it's like there in spring or what it's like there in winter.

[01:14:08:09 - 01:14:16:17]
Drew
 So the journeys are always evolving. They're always there. They're always super interesting. And it feels like there's always another place to go try.

[01:14:16:17 - 01:14:21:20]
Sylvia
 So I love your passion and you speak so well. How does your wife feel about this?

[01:14:23:12 - 01:14:37:08]
Drew
 She grew up with a dad who was in the hotel industry forever. He used to be on the restaurant side of things. So growing up, she had some of those amazing home cooked meals from a chef father.

[01:14:38:09 - 01:14:42:22]
Drew
 She got a little older, transitioned into the hospitality side of things.

[01:14:44:00 - 01:14:55:02]
Drew
 But she knows good food. She has a great palate. She loves everything. She's not picky. She's not as into it as I am, but she's here for the ride and she loves every minute of it.

[01:14:55:02 - 01:15:04:10]
Sylvia
 That's awesome. Okay. Without naming names, because we're not here to bash anybody. I'm just curious, out of the 15 that you tried, were you disappointed in any one of them?

[01:15:05:11 - 01:15:31:12]
Drew
 You know, that's also a great question. And the honest answer is no, I really wasn't. There are some very harsh critics out there and I'm not one of them. I'm the one that tend to see silver linings. I'm an Enneagram 7, so just explosive excitement and enjoying things and having passion is kind of the name of the game. An Enneagram 7, it's like the personality rating scale for like elder millennials.

[01:15:31:12 - 01:15:33:20]
Sylvia
 Oh, I've never heard of this.

[01:15:33:20 - 01:15:39:19]
Drew
 Yeah, yeah. There are nine types. I'm a 7, which I think is the most fun type to be.

[01:15:40:19 - 01:15:45:17]
Drew
 And we just love and appreciate life. So it's very reflective in the way I eat.

[01:15:47:04 - 01:16:09:14]
Drew
 There are people out there that I swear say that, you know, I had the worst meal of my life at this two-star restaurant. I'm like, really? What? What do you mean? I mean, it's crazy. So there are people who would probably be a lot more critical of some of these places, but I thought that even the places I didn't love were still pretty darn good.

[01:16:09:14 - 01:16:25:15]
Sylvia
 Yeah. I love your personality, Drew. This is like, you're my kind of guy, you know? Thank you. You definitely find the positive in everything. Okay, so let's switch gears here because before Michelin came to Texas, you were eating at other places.

[01:16:26:22 - 01:16:32:07]
Sylvia
 What's been your ultimate Michelin-starred restaurant that you've eaten at across the country?

[01:16:33:10 - 01:16:34:01]
Drew
 Across the country?

[01:16:34:01 - 01:16:36:07]
Sylvia
 Yes. I know you mentioned you went to Alinea.

[01:16:36:07 - 01:16:44:06]
Drew
 It is in fact Alinea. I went there and I've been to, I think I've been to close to 10, three stars across the world now.

[01:16:45:19 - 01:17:12:07]
Drew
 And Alinea is easily the best meal of my life. Wow. I've been to Noma and Copenhagen. I've done Jourd and Air. I've done tons of other, I've done the French Laundry. I mean, I've done tons of iconic restaurants, but nothing matches not just the experience at Alinea, but the food that was on the plate because I like judging things bottom line. Service can be awesome.

[01:17:13:13 - 01:17:14:07]
Drew
 Weather can be cool.

[01:17:15:15 - 01:17:26:06]
Drew
 Flavors and techniques can be very interesting and exciting. But if the food doesn't taste good, to me, it's not a great experience. And Alinea provided all of that and the food was phenomenal.

[01:17:26:06 - 01:17:31:00]
Sylvia
 They are consistently three stars in Chicago every time.

[01:17:32:12 - 01:17:43:22]
Sylvia
 Speaking of Chicago, then when you come back, you need to definitely try, because we have a few others you want to try, Oreo, which you've probably heard of. And then Smith, which has maintained,

[01:17:45:00 - 01:17:53:15]
Sylvia
 they got three stars this year. So we have a lot here and it would be fun. You have to let me know when you come back because it's a great way to eat through our city.

[01:17:53:15 - 01:18:00:10]
Drew
 Yeah, I am coming back with my wife. We plan on coming back in mid-August and we're going to do Alinea again and Smith.

[01:18:00:10 - 01:18:01:19]
Sylvia
 Oh, very good.

[01:18:01:19 - 01:18:04:18]
Drew
 So we'll let you know when we come. Yeah, that's the plan.

[01:18:04:18 - 01:18:17:23]
Sylvia
 Very fun. Well, it was so great talking to you. And for our fellow Texan listeners, where can they follow you, Drew, because you're doing your foodie thing online as well or on social media at least. Tell us about that.

[01:18:17:23 - 01:18:41:07]
Drew
 Yeah, yeah. So I have a newer Instagram. It's at DrewTheFoodGuy. I know a little goofy, but it gets straight to the point, at DrewTheFoodGuy. I've posted reels of all... Well, I have one more reel to post of a barbecue place in Austin, but I'm posting all the reels on these places on my Instagram. It's pretty new. So follow me, show some love, interact. Don't be scared to say hi. I'm very friendly.

[01:18:41:07 - 01:18:53:11]
Sylvia
 Oh, it's so great to meet you. And you're lucky that you have a wife for obvious reasons. This is probably why you're together who has the same interest. Good luck with your new baby. The first year is so much fun. Exhausting, but fun.

[01:18:53:11 - 01:18:58:10]
Drew
 Thank you so much, Sylvia. You have been a joy and a pleasure. I look forward to meeting you in person someday.

[01:18:58:10 - 01:19:00:21]
Sylvia
 I do as well. Okay, thanks again.

[01:19:02:01 - 01:19:14:16]
Sylvia
 This podcast is produced by Jane Stephens and Jennifer Waters, original music and audio engineering Donnie Cutting, social media, Magali Blasdell, promotions and marketing, Julie Lokun and The Mediacasters.

[01:19:18:22 - 01:19:30:14]
Sylvia
 Thanks for listening to the Supper with Sylvia podcast. If you'd like and would be so kind, please like, share and tell a friend because we can't do this without your love and support. Thanks for listening.