WIT Life #275: DC’s Daikaya
Food & Drink, Translating/Interpreting, Uncategorized, WIT Life, Writers 
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WIT Life is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends along with her own observations.
Thanks to a State Department interpreting assignment starting this past week, I was able to spend some quality time in DC. At the top of the list of restaurants I wanted to try was Daikaya, a ramen shop/izakaya located in Chinatown. It opened last year but I never had a chance to visit, so a friend and I decided to make that our Friday night dinner destination. We had reservations at the osshare second floor izakaya so didn’t get to try the ramen on the first floor, but people were lined up out the door waiting to try the Hokkaido-style salt broth creations.
The offerings on Daikaya’s second floor go beyond classic izakaya fare and are truly inventive. Some of the standouts from the variety we tried were the okonomiyaki-style pork belly and Brussels sprouts skewers (and I am not even a huge okonomiyaki fan) and the grilled avocado served with wasabi and nori shio. The creamy mentaiko (cod roe) spaghetti was absolutely amazing (probably my favorite dish), and the miso braised saba with mustard “caviar” was out of this world as well.
If beer is your thing, Daikaya is sure to satisfy. Recently chef Katsuya Fukushimai teamed up with local brewery 3 Stars to create a house beer called The Sansho Panza. The yuzu peel and sansho peppers it is brewed with give a citrus flavor to the saison, and my friend and I loved it! I also enjoyed the Hitachino Nest Anbai, a sour wheat ale brewed with sea salt and plums. I have never seen Hitachino on tap here in the States, and sure enough our server said Daikaya is likely the only place where you can find it. There are so many other dishes/drinks I want to try that Daikaya is still at the top of my restaurant list when I visit DC, though next time I’ll try and also leave room for the ramen downstairs…
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