Three Bay Area restaurants were among 15 in California honored this week with Bib Gourmand awards from the California Michelin Guide.
Unlike traditional Michelin-starred restaurants which are often pricier and categorized as fine-dining, the Bib Gourmand is reserved for restaurants with "reasonable prices."
The restaurants that receive the honor must have a menu where customers can order two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $49 or less.
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The 2022 Bay Area awardees include Good Good Culture Club and Hilda and Jesse in San Francisco and Jo’s Modern Thai in Oakland.
Good Good Culture offers South Asian cuisine with a California twist in dishes like adobo-glazed fried chicken wings stuffed with garlic rice and Lao-style sausage with tangy papilla pepper jaew.
On the restaurant's drink menu you’ll find a selection of house cocktails and local beers from East Bay breweries like Almanac and Original Pattern Brewing.
Good Good Culture Club is located in San Francisco's Mission District at 3560 18th Street.
Hilda and Jesse in North Beach offers "what may well be the Bay Area’s most creative and ambitious take on brunch," the Bib Gourmand inspector's review said.
That approach is found in brunch dishes like spring onion curry, cured horse mackerel and avocado toast made with tempura sweet potato.
Jo's Modern Thai in Oakland incorporates bold flavors of Thai cuisine, but isn't totally caught up in tradition, the review said.
The restaurant was founded by Oakland-native Kao Saelee who spent 16 years working at a restaurant in Berkeley before opening Jo’s Modern Thai.
The menu has Thai staples like green curry and drunken noodles (made with barbecue brisket,) along with shrimp mousse toast and a crispy catfish salad.
The restaurant is located at 3725 MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland.
The 2022 Michelin Guide awarded a total of 15 California restaurants with the Bib Gourmand honor. To see the full list of restaurants, click here.
California restaurants to receive the Michelin Star will be revealed at an event in Southern California on Dec. 5.
The Bib Gourmand award dates back to 1997.
