Restaurateur Michael Schlow and former Nobu chef Lloyd Roberts are getting ready to open a nouveau-Japanese restaurant, Adachi, near Detroit. Schlow, who operates several eateries along the East Coast, is charting new territory in Birmingham, Michigan thanks to a business partner he met through Dupont Circle’s Carlyle hotel (home to the Riggsby). But first, he’s hosting a pop-up in DC this weekend to preview the menu—and potentially test the waters for a similar venture in DC.
“If this is a success, I’d absolutely consider it here,” says Schlow, who’s hosting the preview in a space adjoining Alta Strada DC. “For now, we’ll be cooking our faces off and having fun with it.” The veteran chef-turned-restaurateur will jump in the kitchen alongside Roberts, a Jamaican-born, Japanese-fluent chef who opened Nobu locations in Budapest and Moscow. Most recently, he ran Wakame, a luxe Asian seafood restaurant in Dubai.
True to the duo’s diverse backgrounds, the seven-course omakase experience won’t be, as Schlow says, “here’s a bunch of sushi, now eat.” (Although there will be some sushi and sashimi.) Modern dishes include a summery crab and cucumber salad; steamed dumplings in truffle-soy broth; duck meatball yakitori; and ribs with shoyu-togarashi caramel. Tickets are $75 (inclusive of tax and tip). Sakes, wines, and Japanese-inspired cocktails can be purchased separately.
Going forward, team Schlow is still deciding what to do with the intimate City Vista space that will host Adachi; it was previously home to long-term Spanish pop-up Calle Cinco and crudo bar Conosci. Schlow says it might become an oyster bar next. Or a bar-bar. Or if all goes well this weekend: a Japanese restaurant.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
