I may be in the minority, but I generally look at the Michelin stars as a sign of decline when a restaurant achieves it. That’s not to say the food is no longer good, but a lot of restaurants stop innovating when they achieve stars.
My brother was known for being a black hat that was able to snatch reservations from any restaurant (Fortune Article on Tablesweep). As a result from his software, I’ve been able to grab a reservation at any restaurant at a whim (TFL at a week notice, Alinea, EMP, Momofuku Ko, etc). When I went to Momofuku Ko back when they opened, they gave me one of the best meals of my life. It was a culmination of amazing food, tantalizing and practical food theatre (one of the chefs was basting a duck breast in front of me for 2 hours, just perfuming the restaurant in its entirety, before finally cutting into it at the end of the meal - this was his only job!), and of course superb service. However, every time I’ve gone back after Chang’s Michelin promotion, it has been a fraction of that first mindblowing meal. Both TFL and EMP were one of the worst meals I’ve had in terms of quality to value ratio. Hell, TFL killed lobster for me for a year since they paired poached lobster with a plum sauce, which does not work (the plum overpowering the lobster). Of course there are some exceptions: Hashiri was just all around amazing in SF before Covid closed them, Alinea leaned heavily into the food theatre which made it quite an experience, n/Naka was very solid when I patronized in 2016-17, and I will still always visit Wako whenever I visit SF ($98 sushi tasting menu). But there have been many more “meh” Michelin experiences over amazing experiences.
Some Michelin guide restaurants do hold up to a certain standard, but rarely do they ever exceed. There is one exception to this rule: Michelin starred restaurants outside of the United States. All of the 2 or 3 Michelin Star restaurants that I have gone to in Taiwan or Japan have exceeded my expectations. Le Palais is still one of my top ten dining experiences of all time! I can’t speak for the European restaurants, but I have heard the same sentiment as well. To end this little rant, my point was to say that requiring Michelin stars for a dining experience severely limits your scope and really puts you in a very predictable spot (for the majority of them). Most restaurants are actually at their best when they are trying to gun for Michelin stars!
Now it’s been a minute since I’ve gotten back to the two-three Michelin starred restaurants in NYC. Back in September, I went to the classics that I loved. The Grill, Carbone, Le Coucou, Rezdora, Hanoi House, Hirohisa (lunch), among others. As others have noted, the ambiance at The Grill is very conducive to making a fantastic wine experience in addition to a modern take on a steakhouse. Le Coucou is also a really fun place where the food actually benefits from palate cleansing/pairing with wine. Rezdora would be excellent with Italian wines (an aged barolo with the truffle egg yolk ravioli? I must have died and gone to heaven).
Apologies for the long winded post. I have been more passionate about food longer than I have about wine, so I have a lot more opinions on food/dining as a result 
