{"id":3334,"date":"2016-05-30T11:57:21","date_gmt":"2016-05-30T11:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.diningtraveler.com\/?p=3334"},"modified":"2016-05-30T11:58:38","modified_gmt":"2016-05-30T11:58:38","slug":"paul-carlson-of-the-royal-dc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diningtraveler.com\/2016\/05\/paul-carlson-of-the-royal-dc.html","title":{"rendered":"Travel Influences: Paul Carlson of The Royal DC"},"content":{"rendered":"
When I met Paul Carlson, the owner of The Royal DC, a beautiful and unique cafe in Shaw, Washington, DC, I knew I had to interview him for my Travel Influences series. \u00a0A son of \u00a0an American diplomat, he grew up traveling and living all over the world. \u00a0He brings that international flair to the menu and walls of The Royal. \u00a0I’ve dined there several times and truly enjoy the Colombian influence of the menu (Paul mother is Colombian) whether it is the corn empanadas or homemade butifarra.<\/p>\n 1<\/strong>. Tell us about your first trip as an adult? What were your impressions?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Travel was a large part of my upbringing as I grew up in various countries in Latin America due to my father\u2019s career. This exposed me to many different experiences, cultures,\u00a0and foods. My first trip as an adult, which provided me with many memorable\u00a0experiences, was my trip Morocco. I was in my early 20s and traveled there with my sister to visit my parents, who were\u00a0living there at the time. It was only a few months after 9\/11 and was my first time\u00a0traveling to a Muslim country. \u00a0It was amazing to experience a culture that was so different, especially during a time when\u00a0there was so much conflict in the world.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2. Which destination gave you a completely different perspective on\u00a0travel?<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n I traveled to India a number of years ago. It was the first time I traveled somewhere where the language was so vastly\u00a0different than my own and one I had been exposed to. It forced me to find other ways to communicate while being\u00a0respectful of the culture. I find it very important when traveling to show an effort to communicate with locals in their\u00a0language as it demonstrates one\u2019s interest in learning about their culture (especially when it is much easier to just speak\u00a0english).<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n My favorite travel decoration is our vintage ice shaver. It was an item that remind me of my youth growing up in Latin\u00a0America, and knew it was something that I wanted to showcase at The Royal DC. I traveled to Guatemala,\u00a0which is one of the places I lived at as a child, to find one of these and brought it back to DC on the plane with me. It now churns the base for our shaved ice cocktails.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n<\/a>
Travel Influences: Paul Carlson of The Royal DC\u00a0<\/em><\/h2>\n
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\n3. You’ve decorated your restaurant, The Royal DC with many of your travel mementos. Which one is your favorite and why?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n