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