Photo – Marissa Alper for The New York Times
By Pete Wells
For The New York Times
Ellen Hunter remembers exactly where she was when she found her mission. She was at a table in Minetta Tavern in 2017, having “a Black Label burger and too many mimosas,” when she looked up at a red plaque on the wall certifying that Minetta had been awarded a Michelin star.
This made her think about the starred restaurants in New York City where she’d eaten, which made her think about the others where she hadn’t.
“It hit me like lightning,” she said. She would go to every one of them, 72 in all.
It took two years, but she did it. A jewelry designer in Manhattan, Ms. Hunter has also kept current each year, eating at least once in every New York restaurant added to the Michelin Guide since then.