::: George Christy ::: From the Beverly Hills Courier

When the first Michelin Guide was published 108 years ago, there were only 3,500 cars in France, most of them driven by chauffeurs. The Guide was distributed free of charge, and offered the drivers and mechanics practical information about changing a tire, where they could service their cars, and where to find a place to eat or sleep. Founded by Andre and Edouard Michelin, whose innovative ideas led to the first pneumatic automobile tires, the Guide was free, until one of the founding brothers was disturbed to find a garage workbench propped up by a pile of the Guides. He came to the realization that people only respect what they pay for. They were free no more, and by 1926 the charge was seven francs. Soon afterward, the “star” system was introduced, rating the restaurants and the inns. The aim of the Guides, in addition to offering helpful automotive information, was to get the cars on the road for visits to good restaurants and lodgings so that the Michelin tires would be in use and ultimately need replacing. For those not familiar with the Guides, they have achieved an extraordinary renown, available as they are in France and in the main cities of Europe, and now with the addition of the Guides for Los Angeles and Las Vegas, there are 17, all told. A listing in the Guides is appreciated for the business it solicits, and, of course, it’s the stars that the restaurants crave and are proud of. In 2003, when La Cote d’Or chef Bernard Loiseau was rumored to lose one of his three stars, and shot himself in the mouth with his hunting rifle. As it sadly turned out, he was not downgraded. In North America, there are 18 stars in Los Angeles from a listing of 290 restaurants, 28 stars in San Francisco and 39 in New York City. Los Angeles has two full-time inspectors, while San Francisco has three. They are anonymous, as they should be, looking for “product quality, preparation and flavors, the cuisine’s personality, value for money and consistency.” The reviews are friendly, unlike the more critical comments in the Zagat Guides, which depend only on their voter-fans. One Michelin star indicates a very good restaurant in its category; two stars mean excellent cooking, worth a detour; and three stars are bestowed for exceptional cuisine that calls for a special journey. There are no three-star-rated restaurants in Los Angeles. Spago received two, as did Melisse in Santa Monica, and the ten-stool Urasawa in Beverly Hills. Those of us who wine and dine regularly in our city may find it easy to question any number of the one-star ratings, as well as the popular and hugely successful restaurants without ratings, and numerous restaurants that were omitted. The L.A. guide is destined to be embroiled in controversy. But taste is a roll of the dice, as with moviegoing. I could write an entire column disputing some of the local entries – yes, the Guides will provide fodder for lively discussions. Jean-Luc Naret, the Paris-based director of the Michelin Guides, informs that our West Coast Guides will be updated annually, with every listed restaurant undergoing continual inspection. And this month, he launches the first Tokyo Guide. An autobiography of substance and fearless honesty that I wallowed in reading one weekend, Rifke: An Improbable Life, is a must-read for anyone who’s bibliobibulous, those of us who can never read enough. Fortunately, a Readers Anonymous organization doesn’t exist to spare us of our addiction. Who wants to quit, when reading gives us untold enrichments and insights and, let’s not forget, infinite pleasure. Rifke is written with ease and elegance by Rosalie Wise Sharp, a born storyteller, an acclaimed author and interior designer for the luxurious Four Seasons Hotels, which husband Isadore (Issy) Sharp founded and serves as CEO. Not long ago, he sold the hotel chain to Bill Gates and Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talai for $3.65 billion. Rosalie recalls her life growing up as Rifke with her Jewish family in North Toronto, where they lived behind her father’s dry good store. “She divulges secrets that would make most society matrons want to slip silently beneath the starched linen cloth of the luncheon table,” assesses the critic from Canada’s Globe and Mail. Indeed, this is what makes Rifke so powerful. The no-holding-back drama and Rosalie’s winning humor. Published by ECW Press in Toronto, Rifke is available on Amazon.com. “Books were my escape, and I read book after book from the library, rather than going out on dates. I dreamed of living the life I read about in books. We spoke Yiddish, wore hand-me-downs and one bathroom served many.” No Pollyanna she, Rosalie discourses unflinchingly of her past, and also with humor about her parents, the shtetl menus of the kosher “no name animal parts,” falling in love with Issy, when all they had was a Volkswagon, and now they traverse the world in their Challenger 604. “Ridiculously extravagant,” she says, adding that at this point in Issy’s career, “it makes good business sense for someone of his acumen. In the same day, he can do a breakfast meeting in Budapest, a luncheon in Lisbon, and a dinner in Dublin.” She describes her and Issy’s courtship, Issy’s coaxing her into sex before marriage, which Jewish girls at that time denied, and how they handled a tragic consequence. Their love for their four sons and the heartbreaking loss of their 17-year-old to cancer. “I wrote Rifke to honor the vanished way of life that I grew up in,” she says, and quotes Roger Cukierman. “Whoever cannot know his grandparents, nor the faces, places, sounds and smells of where they lived is memory’s orphan.” Online at www.bhcourier.com.