South Salt Lake restaurant Monte has earned the state’s first Michelin star in Michelin’s inaugural Southwest Guide released Wednesday.
Three Park City-area restaurants also made the guide's recommendation list: Handle, Matilda and The Nelson Cottage by High West.
The recognition places the Wasatch Back among a select group of destinations in the southwest along with two Salt Lake restaurants.
Michelin’s first guide to include southwestern states vetted restaurants in Utah, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.
Four other southwest restaurants earned Michelin stars, all in Las Vegas.
To be included in the Michelin Guide, restaurants are evaluated anonymously by inspectors who assess establishments’ quality of ingredients, mastery of cooking techniques, harmony of flavors, personality of the chef expressed through the food and consistency over time and across the menu.
