Stulman's Sixth Gets Two

[Sasha Maslov for the Times]When Montmartre first opened, people anticipated casual French fare (as advertised), bistro food kissed by chef Tien Ho's delicate Southeast Asian touch. Ho, who's worked for Daniel Boulud and David Chang, has been touted as one of the city's finer chefs. Expectations for Montmartre were high, but Gabe Stulman's latest Little Wisco endeavor seemingly left little to be desired out of the gate. A month and a half after opening, the team revamped the menu and today Pete Wells refers to Montmartre as "the most improved restaurant of the year."

"Prizes seemed unlikely after I ate there in April," Wells writes early in the review. Menu items like veal blanquette, skate wing, and raw kale salad seemed good on paper, but the critic found the execution, and some of the food, a bit bland.

The new, improved menu came sometime at the beginning of April. "The effect was transformative," Wells writes, "as if National Grid had finally turned on the gas." A synergy was found between Stulman's vision and Ho's creativity in the kitchen. According to Wells, "Once in a while, Montmartre still gets a case of the blahs," but he awards the restaurant two stars.

For Montmartre, like Perla, Stulman brought in a chef from outside his Little Wisco empire. At his other restaurants (Joseph Leonard, Fedora, Jeffery's Grocery, and Chez Sardine), growth happened organically so to speak. At those restaurants, front and back of house staff shuffled around to grow the brand. At Perla, Stulman took a chance on chef Michael Toscano's forward-thinking Italian comfort food. It was an instant hit. Chef Tien Ho's tightly-bound talent and extensive knowledge of worldly cuisines took some time to hit its stride. Now that it has, Stulman has another hit on his hands. [NYTimes]

Show Me a Sign: Montmartre

Gabe Stulman and Tien Ho announced they were opening a project together back in September. It was learned later that the project would be called Montmartre, and at the end of last week, an awning went up outside the restaurant's 158 Eighth Avenue address.

Monmartre will be Stulman's first venture outside the boundries of the West Village, where his Little Wisco empire has quickly grown to include five restaurants. The Chelsea restaurant's name is inspired by where Stulman worked in college; Cafe Montmartre. It was here that he got his first taste of the "neighborhood vibe," and that same feeling is what's come to define his vision.

Tien Ho is creating a French-American menu for Montmartre and the restaurant will be his first full-time gig since leaving Ma Peche at the end of 2011. Ho worked at Cafe Boulud before joing the Momofuku empire at Ssam Bar. From there, he went on to open Ma Peche in the Chambers Hotel as the executive chef. He has an affinity for unique wine and obscure wine-growing regions and we will likely see that passion on the wine list when the restaurant opens in the following weeks.

Chez Sardine is Open

Chez Sardine opened last night at 183 West 10th Street. The restaurant is Little Wisco emperor Gabe Stulman's first forray into Japanese cuisine and the izakaya-style restaurant is the next to go from our Taste of Tastes to Come list.

Izakaya is a Japanese drinking establishment where the food is designed to go with the drink. To help make that happen, Stulman called on talent from other Little Wisco restaurants. Fedora chef Mehdi Brunet-Benkritly is in charge of the food at the new 30-seater. The menu hasn't been released yet, but some of the dishes Brunet-Benkritly is serving are smoked arctic char, beef with sea urchin, sushi rice balls with avocado and fish roe, and chicken with kimchi. Perla sommelier Jen Sgobbo put together the list of sake and wine for Sardine. We'll get back to you with more very soon.

183 West 10th Street | 646-360-3705 | www

1, 2, 3, 4, 5... 6?!

Chez Sardine will open in the West Village sometime this winter. When it does, it will become the 5th installment in Gabe Stulman's Little Wisco empire. The restaurant will also be Stulman's first foray into Japanese food; drawing inspiration from a Japanese Izakaya, which is a type of casual Japanese drinking establishment that serves food to go with the booze. Chef Mehdi Brunet-Benkritly, who is currently at Fedora, will take the toque at Chez Sardine.

Work hasn't started on the 183 West 10th Street storefront yet, but today we get word that Stulman has partnered with former Momofuku Ssam and Ma Peche chef Tien Ho and plans on opening a bristo.  A location has been chosen but isn't being revealed just yet.  Is it safe to say it'll be somewhere in the West Village?  Before work starts on the 6th Little Wisco project, Tien Ho will be working with Stulman at his other West Village haunts.

Perla Turns One Week this Week

Perla is the much buzzed about new restaurant from Gabe Stulman.  At 24 Minetta Lane, it's the fourth restaurant in his Wisco empire, along with Joseph Leonard, Jeffery's Grocery, and Fedora. 

Michael Toscano made the move from Manzo to helm the kitchen at Perla, and with only a few nights of service under its belt, the city has plenty of (mostly good) things to say.