Until recently, I thought Michelin stars were awarded everywhere if the food was good enough. As it turns out, only select cities are reviewed. Recently there's been a big push to get Michelin to review food in Seoul, South Korea (which was successful). I always just thought the lack of stars meant the food scene wasn't quite good enough. It turns out the lack of stars in, say, Washington D.C., just means they haven't bothered to rate food in that town.
So questions like "which city has the most stars?" really mean "which cities that Michelin rates has the most stars".
So questions like "which city has the most stars?" really mean "which cities that Michelin rates has the most stars".