Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the planned opening date for the Purslane.
Less than a week after learning of celebrated east side restaurant Ardent’s Dec. 31 closure, we already know who will take over its space.
Purslane will open at 1751 N. Farwell Ave. in late spring or early summer of 2025. The menu will be centered on the flavors of the eastern Mediterranean, focusing on mezze (small plates) and larger dishes meant for sharing.
The restaurant comes from Mary Kastman, former executive chef at Driftless Cafe in Viroqua, Wisconsin, where she was named a semifinalist for Best Chef, Midwest in the 2022 James Beard Awards. Kastman is a native of Evanston, Illinois, and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“It feels like I’ve birthed another child,” Kastman said. “I feel relieved that it’s out there.”
Kastman said the “fledgling idea” to open the restaurant has been in the works for nearly a year, when she and Ardent chef/owner Justin Carlisle began discussing potential plans.
Kastman and Carlisle have a relationship that goes back almost 20 years, when Carlisle was Kastman’s culinary teacher in the only class he ever taught.
“Justin was the first chef I ever worked for,” Kastman said, noting that she took her first job at Madison’s Muramoto, where Carlisle was a chef. He later gave her a job as a line cook at his restaurant 43 North. Carlisle has remained a friend and mentor since.
“The dream was always to pass Ardent on to somebody else. That was the entire philosophy of Ardent, to be an incubator,” Carlisle said. “I wanted to make it easier to open a restaurant or business or to do their dream than it was for me. To be able to see something that we’ve built and watch Mary develop and make the space hers, that’s unbelievable.”
After her time in Madison, Kastman moved to Boston, where she lived for 10 years, working at restaurants like Oleana and Sarma, where her love of Mediterranean cooking blossomed. In March of 2019, she moved to Viroqua to take the role of executive chef at Driftless Cafe, where she gained another mentor in chef/owner Luke Zahm, current host of PBS’ “Wisconsin Foodie.”
Kastman said she will continue the work she did at Driftless Cafe to uplift Wisconsin farmers and makers through the lens of eastern Mediterranean food.
“Food is borderless,” she said. “I’ve always loved that concept, that it can be a platform for social change and discussion. I want to bring that larger message in my own way on a larger scale, which I can do in a city like Milwaukee.”
She will move here with her husband, Erik, and two children: a daughter, 7, and son, 3.
Mediterranean cuisine with vibrant spices in a lively space
Kastman said the name Purslane comes from her commitment to using fresh, locally sourced ingredients.
“Purslane is an edible and highly nutritious plant used widely in cuisines throughout the world — in particular, my fondness for it comes from its Middle Eastern applications,” Kastman said in a statement. “Purslane also pops up everywhere — from farms to gardens to sidewalk cracks. It is something we see often but don’t necessarily realize its importance. For me it represents the promise of creating something extraordinary from the ordinary and a connection beyond borders.”
Kastman said Purslane will use farm-fresh ingredients amped up with the unique spices and cooking methods from Mediterranean cuisine. She also might sell bottled spices that customers can take home for their own cooking.
Expect a seasonally rotating menu of mezze-style dishes like hummus and baba ghanoush using different vegetables, tzatziki, falafel with a “fun play on Wisconsin ingredients,” Moroccan tagine, fresh crudos and even an ode to her mentor’s signature dish.
“I definitely want to do a tartare as a little wink to Ardent. It may not be beef, but my own version of that,” she said.
Kastman said she won’t do a full overhaul of the intimate dining space, but will create a “cozy but vibrant” feel with colors and plants that evoke a Mediterranean ambiance.
The restaurant will occupy both dining rooms in the space, but there will be no formal tasting room. Kastman said she has plans to create a dual concept in the restaurant, but is “keeping the mystique” of those ideas for now.
But expect space for events and chef collaboration dinners to come, as well as a space where diners can go to celebrate special occasions or a simple night out.
Upcoming Purslane pop-up will give a peek at the restaurant’s menu
Kastman has been operating Purslane as a series of pop-ups across the state since July.
She’ll host a Milwaukee pop-up at Amilinda, 315 E. Wisconsin Ave., at 6 p.m. Dec. 10. The five-course dinner is $85 per person, and tickets are currently available online.
Kastman said the menu for that night is a sneak peek of the kinds of dishes you can expect at Purslane. The dishes include tuna naya with yuzu charmoula and togorashi; honeynut squash baba ganoush with purple cauliflower, pomegranate and brown butter pinenut; quail spanikopita with wild rice cake and avgolemmeno broth; beef cheek with root vegetable tagine and puffed couscous; and künefe with poached quince and Turkish clotted cream.
Kastman counts Amilinda chef/owner Gregory León as another friend, and said she is excited to be a part of the Milwaukee chef community.
“I want to be around this vibrant dining scene. I want to be able to talk to other chefs and sound off ideas,” she said. “I feel incredibly lucky and grateful to have had so many mentors in the state. I feel a lot of love.”