Annandale’s Asian Food Hall Now Has Chinese-Influenced Hot Chicken

New chicken on the Block

Add Nashville hot chicken to the list of delights found inside the Block, the hip Asian food hall in Annandale, Virginia, that includes Taiwanese snocream, poke, and pork belly rice bowls. Northern Virginia Magazine reports that Mama Mei’s has taken over the space formerly occupied by Roots Thai food, offering four heat levels of chicken that get stuffed between Chinese pineapple buns on the weekends. Diana Mei, the mother of the Block and Snocream Company owner Arturo Mei, runs the counter. According to the magazine, Mama Mei’s also has corn cheese with melted mozzarella and is looking to add Chinese barbecue and pork belly bao. Another Chinese-influenced hot chicken spot, Himitsu chef Kevin Tien’s Hot Lola’s, just opened at the Quarter Market food hall in Ballston. [NVM]

Ballston rollout continues

Speaking of Quarter Market, ARLNow reports that the sharply curated food hall added a couple more options last Friday with the opening of Sloppy Mama’s barbecue and Ballston Service Station, a bar with draft lines for 20 beers, six wines, and two ciders. Pizza fans will want to check out Turu’s for wood-fired, New York-style slices from Timber Pizza Co. [ARLnow]

Restaurants can do better

Washington City Paper published a cover story online today about how some D.C. restaurants are better than others when it comes to accommodating diners with disabilities. One person who uses a wheelchair told the outlet that she’s been called a “fire hazard” and a “liability” by servers annoyed they have to maneuver around her. Many servers reportedly have a hard time directly addressing and making eye contact with people with disabilities. Other issues include finding menus that work for the vision impaired, restaurants that don’t have elevators but hold private parties on the second floor, and communicating orders for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. [WCP]

Hidden gem in Dupont

A historic mansion steps away from Dupont Circle has opened up an outdoor drinking space. DCist reports that Heurich House, the Victorian home of brewer Christian Heurich at 1921 Sunderland Place NW, has opened up a bar called 1921 that serves wine and local draft beers for $7 in the carriage house and garden. There’s also a D.C. beer museum inside. [DCist]