The new Michelin Guide comes out on Friday and despite still having a cover that would look right at home in a caravan circa 1975 its star system is still one to die (dine?) for. Food for Thought is already on the case:

Elsewhere you may see this year’s list of Michelin stars described as unexciting or uneventful, but here at Word of Mouth we’re giving up a huge Mexican wave for Stephen Harris and the Sportsman in Kent, which today won its first star. The Sportsman is everything a great restaurant should be. Harris is a true obsessive who has worked to create a truly local style of food down at his sturdy pub by the sea near Whitstable.

Closer to home we see the newly located Hibiscus has got off to a staggered start, but ramanauskas still reckons it’s a good place to head if your wallet needs to lose a little weight in 2008:

Do come if you want an extraordinary meal and a wallet-straining bill. We ordered the ’surprise’ menu at £75 each (yes, each - the a la carte is £55 each for 3 courses)

Nothing but good reviews for La Trompette meanwhile. Here’s johnbc with a typical review:

What excited us was that the food was so good and had that something “extra” that had the whole table smiling and clearly enjoying as we progressed through the courses. Its rare to find a restaurant that gets it so right

Wild Honey also gets multiple thumbs up and Quilon can expect some extra buzz now the stars have been dished out. So to speak.

Nice to have the experts out there doing their thing (especially since the insightful documentary Ratatouille lifted the lid on the industry), but we’d still rather read the reviews of the TrustedPlaces users themselves. So if there’s anywhere you’ve been recently that you think deserves a smattering of stars then get reviewing And if you completely disagree with guide books like these then do let us know…

Photo credit: Philippe Huart - Michelin by [leafar] (CC licence)