With Chai Pani in Asheville, Meherwan and Molly Irani created a totally new genre of Indian restaurant in America, by showcasing everyday Indian culture and its underestimated street food with their downtown chaat house, opened in 2009. Chai Pani changed the perception of Indian food in America and was named the country’s most Outstanding Restaurant by the Beard Foundation in 2022. This summer, Chai Pani will make its debut in DC, helmed by one of the South’s most influential chefs (and longtime friend of Meherwan’s) Vishwesh Bhatt. For nearly 30 years, Vish has preserved the foodways of his home in the American South, and now for his boldest step yet, he’ll mine the food traditions of his home in India too.