Spice Waala’s “chief feeding officer,” and all-around mathmagician, Uttam Mukherjee joins us for a fascinating cha(a)t! Uttam explains how he crunches the numbers on kathi rolls, the availability of legit Indian food in the U.S. and Seattle, and how to try out new menu concepts at your restaurant (and when to take the L). We also learn about the ways in which he and his wife/Spice Waala co-owner, Dr. Aakanksha Sinha, support their community through cheap and free meals.
Plus Meg’s got treats from working the orchard beat, Mark's still chasing that sweet ocean beat, and we all three beat feet on the street to bring you the freshest local restaurant news—and our most elite eats of the week.
Mentioned in this episode:
Pidgin Cooperative
Royal Room
Rockridge Country Market
Hitchcock Bakeshop
The Wayland Mill
Thai Siam
Resonate Brewery
Cloudburst Brewing
Bellevue Brewing Company
Kathakali
Indian-Nepali Kitchen
Cafe Suliman
Ken’s Market
Grann
Cafe Allegro
Monorail Espresso
Bar Miriam
Greenwood Cider Company
The Masonry
Pop Pop
Bob’s Java Jive
Señor Carbon
George Coffee and Pastries
Laurel
0:00 Intro
07:47 Spice Waala and Fried Chicken
15:35 Bhojan: Spice Waala’s Free Meal Program
17:33 Expanding Locations and Tracking Metrics
23:58 Google Review Ghosts
28:33 Meg’s Rockridge Country Market Treat
39:33 This Week’s Restaurant News
45:58 Misunderstandings of Indian Cuisine
57:50 How Can the City of Seattle Help Small Businesses?
1:04:38 Thanks, I Ate It!
1:20:51 Coming Up Next Week
