Finding the perfect restaurant in the United States is like finding the perfect bottle of wine in a three story wine shop. There are so many good options, it’s best to just take your time and try as much as you can. But trying absolutely every single restaurant isn’t possible. That’s where the Michelin Guide comes in — and now there’s a map of the shortest trip you can take to eat at every Michelin-starred restaurant in the country.
The data for the map was made by Randal Olson, a data scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, and was plotted out by the travel site Orbitz. It hits all 169 recommended restaurants in the U.S.
77 in New York
54 in San Francisco
26 in Chicago
12 in Washington D.C.
Finding the shortest route is what’s known as a traveling salesman problem. There are millions of solutions to hit every location on the map, but only one is the shortest. Olson found that, for the Michelin Guide, if you ate at one restaurant every night, the final trip would be 3,426 miles and would take around five months. You’d also have to make the 2,111 mile jump from Bouchon in Yontville, California to El Ideas in Chicago.
Still, for the true food lover, the trip could be worth some consideration. Since 1926, the Michelin Guide has been the go-to resource for the best restaurants around the world. You might not agree with all of the Michelin Guide picks, but you don’t know for sure until you try.
Click here for the map to your next road trip.
