{"id":2293,"date":"2015-09-23T04:30:30","date_gmt":"2015-09-23T04:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.diningtraveler.com\/?p=2293"},"modified":"2015-09-23T04:30:30","modified_gmt":"2015-09-23T04:30:30","slug":"travel-influences-daisuke-utagawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diningtraveler.com\/2015\/09\/travel-influences-daisuke-utagawa.html","title":{"rendered":"Travel Influences: Daisuke Utagawa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daisuke Utagawa is responsible for two of my favorites restaurants in Washington, DC: Sushiko and Daikaya. When I’m missing Japan<\/a>, I know where to get my fix of Japanese cuisine. \u00a0This summer, I met Daisuke for an Omakase dinner at Sushiko<\/a> and I was not only taken by the food but his travel stories. He actually gave me some amazing travel tips for my Liguria trip<\/a>. \u00a0I asked him to be part of my Travel Influences series and he graciously agreed. \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Daisuke<\/a>
Daisuke Utagawa at his Sushiko Chevy Chase Restaurant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

About Daisuke Utagawa Travel Influences<\/h2>\n

1. What was your first trip abroad as an adult? What were your\u00a0impressions?<\/p>\n

This is a tricky one. My first overseas trip as an adult was moving to USA\u00a0(for the second time) from Japan as a Sushi Chef. \u00a0My first visit to the\u00a0US was in 1969 as a kid. \u00a0I left the US when anti Vietnam war\u00a0sentiment was raging (George McGovern was running for the president),\u00a0and hippie culture was the norm. \u00a0I returned\u00a0to the US in 1983 and the popular culture was completely\u00a0different, \u201cbusiness \/ corporate \/ currier\u201d was the main focus of most\u00a0people.<\/p>\n

My first trip out of the US I think, was to the British Virgin Islands. There, aside\u00a0from obvious things such as amazing sea and scenery my impression was\u00a0how different the cuisine was to that of the US. Even though available\u00a0groceries locally are very similar to what one can find in US, what people\u00a0did with it was totally different, especially home cooking. Growing up in\u00a0Tokyo, I was pretty familiar with Chinese and European cooking, but this\u00a0was something really different, and it made me started thinking about a cuisine as crystallization of a local culture.<\/p>\n

\"Daisuke<\/a>
Small dishes from Sushiko’s Omakase menu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. How does travel inspire the menus of your restaurants?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Although my restaurants are Japanese restaurants, I learn a great deal\u00a0from experiencing how other culture relates to the local cuisine. I\u2019m always\u00a0looking for different thought processes in creating dishes; algorithm, if I\u2019m\u00a0permitted to call it that. This algorithm is formed by the long process of\u00a0environment and people arriving at the particular local cuisine. I also have\u00a0fun trying to figure out the people by what and how they eat. Bringing all\u00a0that back and juxtapose it to the Japanese cuisine helps me to have\u00a0deeper understanding of my own cuisine. And incorporating the algorithm\u00a0\u2013 or thought process- to our cuisine where it fits is also fun.<\/p>\n

\"Daisuke<\/a>
Daisuke at Sushiko. He actually has a photo of Tsukiji fish market in his sushi bar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. You grew up in Japan and travel back there often. What are you must-see places?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n