Tourist's Bible

In France, no one who likes to eat and sleep well would think of setting out on an auto trip without a fat little red book in his pocket. The book: the Guide Michelin, maker and breaker of restaurant reputations all over France and one of the smartest promotion stunts ever dreamed up.

Last week the 1952 Michelin went on sale. A perennial bestseller (U.S. price: $3.75), the guidebook's print order is 200,000 copies, twice as much as the prewar figure. Its 880 pages are crammed with maps and tourist information of all sorts, with special emphasis on 8,000 hotels and restaurants.

In all France, only seven restaurants* now rate Michelin's top billing of three stars; 62 rate two stars. One notable change: Paris' famed Tour d'Argent restaurant, where pressed duck has fed thousands of high-spending U.S. and European bons vivants, has lost its three-star rating.

Tires & Symbols. Frenchmen and foreigners alike rely on the verdicts of Michelin; over the years, the guidebook has built up a reputation for accuracy and incorruptibility. Its motto is Pas de piston, pas de pot de vin--roughly, "No pull, no bribery." Not a line of paid advertising is carried on its pages.

The guidebook was started at the turn of the century by Edouard and Andre Michelin, the bearded brothers who invented the first removable bicycle tire and are credited with the introduction of the pneumatic auto tire. With the advent of the horseless carriage, Andre Michelin figured that a reliable guidebook would give both tourism and the tire business a boost. He was right. Today the Michelin Tire Co., still family-owned, is one of the biggest in the world. Worth some $57 million, it has plants in France, Italy, Britain, Belgium, Spain and Argentina. Michelin loses about $57,000 a year on its little red guide book, but it has spread the company's name all over the world.

Michelin's guide long ago solved the language problem by using symbols to describe hotels and restaurants. A man in a rocking chair indicates a peaceful locality; a spigot, a hotel which has cold running water only; a pitcher, no running water at all. A candle tells the tourist that a place has no electricity, a radiator that there is central heating. There is a symbol for a bathroom; "Le w.c." says one Michelin editor professionally, "c'est tres important" Aside from its stars, the Michelin guide has special symbols for restaurants--five pairs of crossed forks and spoons for a de luxe place, one for a "plain but good" restaurant. The number of tiny bottles indicates the quality of the wine cellar.

Tips & Onions. To gather all its detailed information, Michelin relies on 92 regional representatives, tire-company employees all over France, and five full-time inspectors who spend their days and nights eating their way through the nation. Michelin inspectors never reveal their identity until the meal is over, and woe to the chef who is having an off day. From their voluminous reports, the home office keeps up to date, even to knowing that a certain chef in a little Normandy inn may be slipping because of troubles at home.

Michelin editors also get tips from their readers. Not long ago they opened a smelly package containing an inedible piece of ham, some limp fried potatoes, and a scorching letter from a tourist who got bad meat at a Michelin-recommended restaurant. After careful investigation, Michelin dropped the offender from its next edition.

Once dropped from Michelin, a restaurant can get back in grace only by proving it knows its onions. For hotels and restaurants that have not made the grade yet, there is always hope. For, as the guidebook says, "our researches continue."

* The seven: Cafe de Paris and Laperouse in Paris; La Bonne Auberge outside Antibes; the Pyramide in Vienne; the Cote d'Or in Saulieu; Auberge du Pere Bise in Talloires; Mere Brazier near Lyon.

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