Michael Carlson, Schwa
Schwa opened in September, shortly after the space’s former occupant, Lovitt, shut down, but the two restaurants share more than an address. Lovitt’s sous chef, Michael Carlson, is now Schwa’s head chef, assisted by manager Keri Putney and sous chef Nathan Klingbail. The small space’s atmosphere lacks the self-importance of other contemporary American restaurants: The staff mingles and converses with guests as independent music plays in the background—a welcome change from Muzak and 1996’s Top 40 hits. The A.V. Club recently spoke to Carlson about the clientele, the music, and, of course, the food.
The A.V. Club: You have MF Doom playing right now. Will you change the music when guests are here later tonight?
Michael Carlson: No, we usually play stuff like this during seatings. We’ll play some Atmosphere, some Cut Chemist, things like that.
AVC: Does that draw a younger crowd?
MC: Not necessarily. We find that some of the older guests will be nodding their heads along while they’re eating.
AVC: It’s rare for finer restaurants such as Schwa to be BYOB. Why do you like that?
MC: We’d prefer for diners to spend more money trying different food items—that’s why they’re here in the first place.