If you're not that impressed by Michelin-starred restaurants, why do you go?

As for how restaurants compare to making food at home, I don't think almost any restaurant can do better than a good chef at home. Someone at home can concentrate on making a top-quality meal for one or two people (maybe a couple more at the most), and doesn't have any real time pressures, or needing to share kitchen resources with meals made for dozens of other customers. It's pretty much the ideal environment for cooking, assuming 1) the equipment available is good and 2) the chef is skilled enough. Of course, #2 is a big one, so while some people who are confident in their cooking skills can claim "I can cook better meals than most Michelin-starred restaurants!", lots of other people can't cook meals that require more skill than "put in microwave for 4 minutes" so most restaurants can easily beat that.

I go because there is always something new to discover, in the way they cook, plate, and serve their foods, which I then use in my own cooking. Plus, I am hoping that one of them at least will impress me someday. As for home cooking, I agree with you, but oftentimes even other restaurants can beat Michelin-starred restaurants on flavor, so it's not just skilled home cooks. I view Michelin-starred restaurants as one would view high fashion and their shows, pieces of sensory art rather than pedestrian fare.