Mark Herz: This week, the Michelin Guide announced that Boston will now be among the two new cities, along with Philadelphia, to be featured in this year’s Northeast Cities edition. For the culinary world, this is a huge deal. Here’s Jeremy Allen White’s character in the TV drama "The Bear" sharing his reaction to winning three stars on that show.

Jeremy Allen White on "The Bear," pre-recorded: The first 10 seconds felt like a sort of panic, because I knew I just had to keep them, I had to retain them. Your brain does this weird thing where it just bypasses any sense of joy. It just like attaches itself to dread.

Herz: The French restaurant ranker says it has inspectors already out in the field and that they will also be reviewing restaurants in Cambridge, Somerville and "beyond." This comes after years of efforts to bring the guide to Boston and it has big potential to impact the city’s food scene. Joining me now to discuss more is food writer and founder of the Boston Restaurant Talk blog, Marc Hurwitz, good morning Marc.

Hurwitz: How you doing, Mark?

Herz: Great and we’re really happy to have you for this because it’s a really interesting story, but before we jump in for anyone unfamiliar, can you give us a little background on Michelin and why people get so excited about this?

Hurwitz: Well, a lot of people in the restaurant industry and a lot of foodies, they have always said, "Boston’s a world-class city. Why isn’t Michelin doing anything with Boston?" Well, part of it is that Meet Boston, which is the tourism board, they didn’t want to pay. And this is pay to play, at least initially. It could be hundreds of thousands of dollars just to get them to come to Boston. That was a big sticking point, but finally they said, "OK, we’re going to do it." So here they are.

Herz: Right, so they’ve got inspectors in the field. Explain what these inspectors are gonna do and what the final outcome is for restaurants.

Hurwitz: Well, they’ll go to restaurants usually with two or three or four people — some of them go alone, but not often from what we hear — it’s kind of secretive. But they go to the restaurants and they judge the restaurants solely on the food and drink. So it has nothing to do with service, nothing to with the atmosphere. To get a Michelin star, there’s actually five different parts of it: ingredients, recipes, the consistency of the food, cooking techniques and if the personality of the chef comes out in the food. So it’s all about the food in the drink.

Herz: Yeah, now explain the rating system for those who don’t know.

Hurwitz: Well, there’s three possible stars. So if you get one star, then it’s really all about the ingredients of the food, so if the food tastes really good. If it’s two stars, it’s also about the personality or the talent of the chef coming through the food. And if it’s three stars, we’re talking classics, art form, just places that are iconic, I guess you could say, special occasion places. Just top of the top, really.

Herz: OK, well I want you to get out your crystal ball now if you don’t mind and make some predictions, who do you think might be in the running or do you have anyone who you think could even be a shoe-in possibly for a star?

Hurwitz: Well, it sounds like they’re going to go all the way out to Route 128. So, like you said, it’s not just Boston. It’s a lot of Cambridge, Brookline and Somerville and maybe into the suburbs. But there are some obvious names, I think, and we’ll see if I’m right or wrong: places like Mooncusser and Yvonne’s in Boston, maybe Uni or O Ya, which is famous. Maybe in Cambridge, possibly Vialé or Pammy’s. In Brookline, personally, I’d love to see Ganko get it, but it seems like Michelin doesn’t tend to go to places that are cheap eats, but we’ll see about that. And in Somerville, a place like Sarma might get it. But again, we don’t know. They could surprise us.

Herz: What do you mean they could surprise us?

Hurwitz: Well, you just don’t know. So there are obvious choices. For instance, in New York, I think there’s close to 100 restaurants with Michelin stars. And there are the ones that everyone has heard about, the famous places. But then there’s a Mexican restaurant in Brooklyn that people don’t know about — they got a Michelin star. So, that’s a possibility. And that’s why I’m thinking a place like Ganko in Brookline could maybe get a Michelin star because it’s just so good. And it’s a cheap eat, it’s not formal at all, so who knows?

Herz: Food writer and owner of Boston Restaurant Talk, Marc Hurwitz. Thank you.

Hurwitz: Thanks so much, Mark.

Herz: This is GBH.

On May 12, the Michelin Guide announced that Boston and Philadelphia will be featured in this year’s Northeast Cities category, which already includes New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

The guide says that it has inspectors already out in the field and will also be reviewing restaurants in Cambridge, Somerville and “beyond.”

For the culinary world, this is a huge deal. The French tire company and restaurant reviewer awards one of the world’s most prestigious culinary rankings through their star rating system and has the potential to transform the local food scene.

For more details on the Michelin Guide, GBH’s Morning Edition host Mark Herz spoke with travel and food writer Marc Hurwitz, who also owns the Boston Restaurant Talk blog.

Why Michelin hasn’t come to Boston before

Boston coins itself a “world-class city” but local food enthusiasts have long questioned why the city had yet to be visited by the Michelin Guide, especially since the guide has visited other similarly sized cities around the country, such as San Francisco or Atlanta.

According to Hurwitz, for a long time, Boston didn’t want to pay the fees associated with having the guide visit.

“Meet Boston, which is the tourism board, they didn’t want to pay,” he said. “This is pay to play, at least initially. It could be hundreds of thousands of dollars just to get them to come to Boston. That was a big sticking point, but finally they said, 'OK, we’re going to do it.’ So here they are.“

The meaning behind Michelin’s star ratings

Michelin prides itself on the anonymity of its inspectors, who Hurwitz notes typically visit restaurants in small groups. These inspectors will visit the restaurant multiple times and judge only the quality of the venue’s food and drink.

”It has nothing to do with service, nothing to with the atmosphere,“ Hurwitz said.

On Michelin’s website, they list their five criteria when considering a rating: quality of products, mastery of flavor and cooking techniques, the personality of the chef represented in the dining experience, harmony of the flavors, and consistency between inspectors’ visits.

If a restaurant proves noteworthy, Michelin can award up to three possible stars.

”If you get one star, then it’s really all about the ingredients of the food,“ Hurwitz said. ”If it’s two stars, it’s also about the personality or the talent of the chef coming through the food. And if it’s three stars, we’re talking classics, art form — just places that are iconic.“

Which Boston area restaurants could be awarded stars?

Hurwitz listed some of the restaurants he considers strong contenders for Michelin stars:

  • Uni, Mooncusser, O Ya and Yvonne’s in Boston
  • Vialé and Pammy’s in Cambridge
  • Sarma in Somerville

In addition to these fine-dining classics, Hurwitz notes that the Michelin Guide will rarely, though occasionally, award a star to cheaper and more casual eats. Among these underdogs, Hurwitz would like to see Ganko Ittetsu Ramen in Brookline recognized with a star.
”It’s just so good,“ he said. ”It’s a cheap eat and it’s not formal at all, so who knows.“