H is for Happening - Give me a break.

Is it just me, or do others think that the press hype the H Street Corridor in NE - excuse me, the Atlas District - receives is well beyond what it deserves? I mean who does their PR? Did they bring Bill Bernbach back from the dead? Is Miles Drentell involved?

Anyway, the Washington Post article this week in the Wed. food section, H is for Happening, went head over heels for the area.

I have nothing against this part of town. It has certainly received some much needed revitalization and my favorite Italian market is in that neck of the woods. But c'mon. The Post article went on at length about the area becoming a food destination. But quickly looking over the map provided with the article, all we see are 5 restaurants (with one being a bar/nightclub) in a half-mile stretch of H Street. The 5 other places highlighted have yet to open with a couple not expected to come on-line till 2010!

I don't get it. This neighborhood is on its way back, but it hardly should be considered a food destination just yet.

Now I am biased, but the offerings in SoCo well outnumber those in the Atlas District. But because we're about a mile north of the District line, we're considered some suburban backwater. It's always startling to hear folks from DC talking about a trip to SS - like they need to pack their passport and apply for a visa. I mean what, we're 15 minutes from Union Station on the red line and about 20 minutes from Metro Center.

But I'm not holding my breath for an S is for Smoking piece in an upcoming Post food section. Because what do we really have to offer - Italian, new American, Mexican/Salvadoran, Indian/Nepalese, Lebanese, Thai, Burmese, Ethiopian (and I'm not even including the spots on Hellsworth).

Maybe our hip quotient is not as high as the Atlas District, but man, what a joke. Perhaps we should take up a collection to rent the Post's food section staff a car and driver to take them into our neighborhood. Otherwise, I don't think they'll make it. Their loss.