Hat tip to And Now, Anacostia for pointing this latest foolishness out. I know I promised I wouldn't go crazy (frustrated maybe)  if people didn't know the difference between Anacostia and Congress Heights but really,  who could possibly think that Ray's the Steaks - EAST RIVER is in Anacostia? (to avoid any further confusion East River is not a neighborhood name it is the name of the shopping center).  Rays the Steaks East River is almost 3 miles and a eight minute drive from the Anacostia neighborhood! Let's not even mention that Ray's the Steaks is in Northeast and the Anacostia neighborhood is in Southeast.


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MY GOD HOW HARD CAN IT BE TO CHECK A MAP OR TO DO A GOOGLE SEARCH?!

I really have to blame the local media. Inaccurate reporting has really left a lot of people living and working in the metro area with no concept of where neighborhoods or wards are even located.  It is almost as if East of the River might as well be another country the way people have a total lack of understanding of the basic geography.

Post title and excerpt for the Marginal Revolution blog:

Why are there so few cheap restaurants in Anacostia?
had lunch there lately, in the new and excellent Ray's the Steaks, Anacostia edition (superb chili, fried chicken, mac and cheese; recommended). Yet I drove around the general area for about forty minutes and hardly saw any other restaurants to speak of. The five or six other times I've been to Anacostia I had similar impressions, even more than in other "ghetto" areas I have visited.


What might be possible explanations?
1. Poverty: Yet there are other retail establishments and per capita income there is surely not so low. Plenty of poor countries have plenty of restaurants.


2. Risk and crime: Yet you will see other cash-intensive retail businesses in Anacostia. Is it so hard to hire a guard?


3. Traffic: It is easy to get in and out of Anacostia, so perhaps residents drive to eat out elsewhere.


4. Diversity: Perhaps it is the demand for different kinds of food which increases the number of restaurants; yet Anacostia is not so ethnically diverse, as it is heavily African-American.

5. Labor supply: Cheap restaurants rely on low-wage laborers who do not have cars, and it is actually fairly hard to get to, and get around, Anacostia.


6. Proximity to business lunch demand. Not so much.


7. Fast food: You will find McDonald's and Subway in Anacostia. Since they serve high volumes, maybe that lowers the total number of restaurants needed. This is related to #4.


8. Foot traffic: Not so much, although the suburbs deal with this problem just fine.


What do you think are the major factors? What have I failed to list?

I love bloggers --I'm a blogger--but we get no free pass either. This was just really sloppy. Apologizes are in order.

Pardon me MR but perhaps things would get better in "Anacostia" actually learned where the hell  it is located!  Perhaps if people stopped lumping all the bad things that happen everywhere else in the East of the River universe to Anacostia (and the rest of our EotR neighborhoods) then people will learn more about our communities (like their names), visit them and invest in them. I am sure your faux pas was not on purpose but those of us who live, work and yes, blog East of the River are left to deal with the constant ramifications of mistakes  like this post.

NOW GET A MAP!
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