By Elena Kadvany
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I am a perpetually hungry twenty-something journalist, born and raised in Menlo Park and currently working at the Palo Alto Weekly as education and youth staff writer. I graduated from USC with a major in Spanish and a minor in journalism. Though my first love is journalism, food is a close second. I am constantly on the lookout for new restaurants to try, building an ever-expanding "to eat" list. As a journalist, I'm always trolling news sources and social media websites with an eye for local food news, from restaurant openings and closings to emerging food trends. When I was a teenager growing up in Menlo Park, I always drove up to the city on weekends with the singular purpose of finding a better meal than I could at home. But in the past year or so, the Peninsula's food culture has been totally transformed, with many new restaurants opening and a continuous stream of San Francisco restaurants coming south to open Peninsula outposts. Don't navigate this food boom hungry and alone! Feed me your tips on new chefs and eats and together we'll share them with the broader community.
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Local Michelin-ranked restaurants Baumè in Palo Alto, The Village Pub in Woodside and Chez TJ in Mountain View all held onto their star status in the 2016 San Francisco Bay Area list, released on Tuesday.
Madera at the Rosewood Hotel in Menlo Park, however, which won one star last year, lost its Michelin star.
Baumè, a French restaurant with a focus on molecular gastronomy, again received two stars for the fifth consecutive year.
Baumè chef Bruno Chemel uses a blowtorch to add finishing touches to a strawberry lime tartare sorbet. Photo by Veronica Weber/Palo Alto Weekly.
The California Avenue restaurant is in good company among highly acclaimed San Francisco restaurants like Coi, Quince and Acquerello. Only seven total restaurants received two stars, and only two of them outside of San Francisco.
Village Pub and Chez TJ each kept their single stars. This is the eighth year in a row Village Pub has gained the distinction.
Chez TJ is well known as culinary incubator for Michelin star-quality chefs. (Baumè chef-owner Bruno Chemel is among the kitchen's alumni.)
Explore the links below for more on the locally starred restaurants.
Baumè: Star of the Valley (April 2015)
Village Pub: Stars in alignment (October 2015)
Chez TJ: Where star chefs shine (May 2012)
Madera: Hillside American cuisine (April 2009)
Chez TJ: A different kind of neighborhood restaurant (August 1999)
