Bethesda Is Getting a Chain With an Encyclopedic Menu of Southeast Asian Street Food

Incoming dumplings

A growing chain of Southeast Asian restaurants based in the Southeast United States will plant a location along Bethesda Row early next year. Washingtonian reports that Hawkers Asian Street Fare will open next year at 7115 #B Arlington Road, bringing the ritzy Maryland suburb a lengthy menu full of dishes from Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Korea, China, and elsewhere. That means roti canai, a Malaysian flat bread served with curry sauce, shares space with soft shell crab in chile sauce from Singapore and dry Sichuan cauliflower. There are also more modern innovations (We’re looking at you, five-spice fish tacos). The four partners behind the brand say they lean on family recipes and their own interactions with street hawkers on extensive travels. Founded in 2011 in Orlando, Hawkers lists eight locations on its website, including six in Florida, one in Atlanta, and one in Charlotte, North Carolina. [Washingtonian]

Copycat in Dupont

A new bar from the founder of Copycat Co., the popular H Street NE cocktail bar and dumpling spot, opened in Dupont Circle last night. Astoria shared scenes from opening night on its Instagram story, including a peek at a food menu that featured mapo tofu and Dan Dan noodles. Devin Gong signed a lease on the space at 1521 17th Street NW last spring.

Pineapple down?

Southern Hospitality’s days appear to be numbered. Popville spotted an ad from realtor KLNB listing the space for the Southern-ish restaurant in Adams Morgan for sale. [Popville]

Cheesy debacle

A mac and cheese festival planned to run this weekend in Loudoun County has been postponed and moved to Maryland, and the organizers haven’t been offering refunds. Washington City Paper has the story on the ill-fated NOVA Mac & Cheese Meltdown Festival, which has been rerouted to Frederick, Maryland, and scheduled for August. According to WCP, organizers are blaming Loudoun County health officials for sabotaging the event. The officials say vendors didn’t leave enough time to get permitted in Virginia. [WCP]

Still cheap

Northern Virginia Magazine is putting out its annual “Cheap Eats” issue in May, and dining editor Stefanie Gans wrote a post explaining the decision to keep the terminology intact for a term that others have criticized as loaded and limiting for immigrant cuisines:

“While Northern Virginia Magazine’s May issue—on newsstands now—uses “cheap eats” on the cover, the focus isn’t only on how much things cost. The focus is on mixian, another noodle soup to love, and Peruvian chicken, because there’s one more place you’ve got to compare to your current favorite. It’s a tribute to Egyptian breakfast, take-out Indian, Malaysian dessert and millennial-approved smoothie bowls. The focus is on scoring delicious eats, as always.”