Mike Stollenwerk

Branzino and Stollenwerk, Reborn Together

Posted by Foobooz on June 13th, 2013

branzino-food018

It hasn’t been an easy time for Mike Stollenwerk. He once looked like he was heading for an empire with Little Fish, Fish and Fathom Seafood House. But today Little Fish has been sold and the other two have closed. Most recently, Stollenwerk has landed at Branzino, the Center City oldtimer that’s been solid but hardly revolutionary for a long while now. Brian Freedman discovers that there’s still talent in Stollenwerk and it is coming out at the Rittenhouse BYOB.

[H]he’s delivering on the promise of his talent. Branzino is the Rittenhouse stalwart that, if reliable, hadn’t been terribly exciting in some time. Stollenwerk arrived there a couple months ago, and the change is nothing short of astounding: The menu now reads like his own (minus desserts, which will be transitioned shortly), with line after line boasting dishes you really want to eat. And the flavors of the platings are excellent.

Chef Mike Stollenwerk is back, this time at Rittenhouse mainstay Branzino [Philadelphia Weekly]
Branzino [Official Site]

Mike Stollenwerk Lands At Branzino

Posted by Jason Sheehan on April 22nd, 2013

Mike Stollenwerk, last seen among the damp ruins of Rhino Bar and Fish (in its 3rd incarnation), has surfaced with a new gig. He’s now standing as exec at the Rittenhouse BYO Branzino. All we know right now is that he’s there, that owner Luan Tota (pictured above, with his new chef) is planning on building a brand new 2,500 square foot kitchen for Stollenwerk (which will include a space dedicated to house-made charcuterie) and that Branzino is planning on adding Sunday brunch service, starting on Mother’s Day–because rolling out a brand new menu on one of the busiest days on the food service calendar is just bound to go flawlessly, right?

Oh, and Branzino has a new dinner menu, too. Check it out after the jump.

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Stollenwerk Parts Ways with Fish

Posted by Foobooz on December 18th, 2012

The rocky existence of Fish took another turn last night as Michael Klein reported that Mike Stollenwerk has left Fish. No details are yet available but with the summer’s short shutdown, the moving of Fish around the corner and all the other drama that seemed to follow Stollenwerk and business partner Evan Prochniak, it isn’t exactly shocking.

Stollenwerk burst on the scene with his postage stamp-sized Little Fish on 6th and Catharine. National praise from Bon Appetit put Stollenwerk on the map in 2008. In 2009, Little Fish begot Fish at 1708 Lombard Street. Fish also won plenty of accolades before departing its Graduate Hospital location for bumping 13th Street in early 2012. Since then Fish closed temporarily over the summer and just this fall, moved around the corner to a smaller location, as big Fish made way for Rhino Bar.

What this means for Stollenwerk, Fish and Rhino Bar is still unclear. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Michael Klein names Stollenwerk’s successor at Fish. It will be Adán Trinidad, the current chef de cuisine.

Stollenwerk leaves Fish [The Insider]

Revisit: And Now For Something Completely Different: Fish 3.0

Posted by Trey Popp on December 6th, 2012

Having your restaurant named in a top-ten list by a national magazine isn’t typically a cause for regret. But sometimes I’ve wondered if it might be for Mike Stollenwerk.

After Bon Appetit trumpeted his cooking at Little Fish in a December 2008 roundup of “new-style” fish houses, it seemed like the chef with the Popeye forearms was on his way to becoming the Poseidon of Philly’s pescetarian scene. The BA squib begat enthusiastic reviews from the local press (usually it works in the other direction). In 2009 he opened Fish on Lombard Street, adding about 40 seats and a liquor license to his portfolio. A year and a half later he debuted Fathom, a down-home seafood bar in (where else?) Fishtown. Soon there was chatter about two more places in the works in Brewerytown—and then the announcement that Fish was moving to a marquee address on 13^th street, where it would double its capacity.

Flash forward to May of 2012. Stollenwerk had sold Little Fish, unloaded the underachieving Fathom to his partner, and there was nothing happening in Brewerytown. Then Fish itself went dark on 13^th Street amidst a wave of rumors and conflicting reports.

“It wasn’t as much fun as I thought it would be,” Stollenwerk told me when I called to ask him about the dwindling of his restaurant empire. “It was more like babysitting. An ice machine’s broken here. The fridge is out there … I spent all day just driving around.”

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Tonight: Grand Opening Party At Rhino Bar

Posted by Jason Sheehan on November 20th, 2012

Over at the Independent Hotel, Mike Stollenwerk’s Rhino Bar (which took the place of his flagship Fish after it moved into smaller quarters inside the hotel) is getting ready for its grand opening party.

Tonight, from 6-9pm, there will be $3 drafts, $4 cocktails and beers in cans for just two bucks. Also, it looks like the kitchen is putting out a half-price menu for the festivities, and here’s to hoping that it includes all the stuff on this chock-full-’o-guilty-pleasures board that we want to eat. Like, for example, the tempura fish tacos, meatballs in South Philly gravy, lobster grilled cheese sandwiches and–gasp!–confit chicken drumettes with Buffalo wing sauce, Jasper Hill blue cheese dip and celery.

Rhino Bar [Official]

Mike Stollenwerk’s Rhino Bar Open In Former Fish Space

Posted by Foobooz on November 6th, 2012

It looks like Mike Stollenwerk has now got both of his new operations up and running inside the Independent Hotel at 13th and Locust. Recently, he moved his flagship Fish to smaller digs inside the hotel after it (and its odd seafood small-plates menu) failed to catch fire in the bigger space. And now, the Insider is reporting that he’s pulled the trigger on his Rhino Bar concept in the now-former home of Fish.

Rhino Bar is sporting 8 taps and a raw bar, plus a kitchen that’ll serve late (1am on weeknights and 2am on the weekends)–which will make a nice addition to the neighborhood. The Insider has a menu, too, so check it out.

Rhino Opens at 13th and Locust [The Insider]

Fish is Open in Its New Location

Posted by Foobooz on October 24th, 2012

Fish did indeed open in its new location in the same building last night. And it also rolled out a new menu. Gone is the short-lived seafood tapas concept and back is a menu that reads first course and second course.

The latest Fish menu »

Fish Has Reopened with Small Plates and Courtyard Seating

Posted by Foobooz on June 18th, 2012

Mike Stollenwerk’s Fish is back after a several week hiatus with a new menu that focuses on small plates and some big dishes to share. Also new is the interior courtyard with room for 24 diners to dine outside and away from street.

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Fish To Return June 12

Posted by Foobooz on June 1st, 2012

Mike Stollenwerk’s Fish closed suddenly a couple of weekends ago and has remained closed since. Michael Klein is reporting that the restaurant will reopen on June 12th with a tweaked concept and its promised courtyard.

UPDATE: Not returning when Fish reopens, pastry chef Monica Glass who will be consulting.

Fish coming back online [The Insider]
Fish [Official Site]

Photo via Gabello Studios

Something Fishy

Posted by Foobooz on May 21st, 2012

At about the time Eater was posting this story about Mike Stollenwerk’s Fish being closed Saturday, because of “issues with a few of our investors,” we received the above photo (thanks D-Mac) from the front door of Fish, stating the reason for the closure was “extreme flooding.”

Michael Klein posted on Sunday morning that Fish would be reopening shortly and expanding. But that post really created as many questions as it answered. Investor Evan Prochniak says a new venue in the Independent Hotel will be developed to serve breakfast and lunch. But before that happens, Stollenwerk will have to replace chef de cuisine Justin Petruce who has resigned citing the always intriguing, “circumstances beyond my control.”

Prochniak says Stollenwerk and him are also planning a cajun concept for the restaurant eating space at the Academy House on Locust Street. That spot is owned by Prochniak. The seemingly cursed spot is currently Jolly’s Dueling Piano Bar, but Klein reports serial-piano bar opener/closer Jolly Weldon “has left.” Speaking of Weldon, he has been running Brick at 1708 Lombard, the former location of Fish. That Fish corporation has a $22,000 tax lien against it from the state.

So somehow we’ve gone from fake flooding, to a problem with investors, to a clearing of the air with that investor and two new projects involving Stollenwerk, all in the course of 72 hours?

Pictured below, a post-it note we stuck to our rumors wall a couple of months ago.

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Mike Stollenwerk

Branzino and Stollenwerk, Reborn Together

Mike Stollenwerk Lands At Branzino

Stollenwerk Parts Ways with Fish

Revisit: And Now For Something Completely Different: Fish 3.0

Tonight: Grand Opening Party At Rhino Bar

Mike Stollenwerk’s Rhino Bar Open In Former Fish Space

Fish is Open in Its New Location

Fish Has Reopened with Small Plates and Courtyard Seating

Read the rest of this entry »

Fish To Return June 12

Something Fishy