As a reader of every legitimate news source about DC local news (real estate development, crime, and of course, bars/restaurants), Barred in DC has observed great reporting by legitimate journalists and full-time(ish) bloggers alike. Folks have found their own voices as well as collectively comprehensively covering the scene. That being said, /rant begins/ could y’all include cross streets once in a while? It’s not needed when the cross street is obvious (for example, an address on a letter street like 2100 P St. NW), but not many people know off the top of their heads where, say 2204 14th St. NW is (more on this later).

In fact, a whopping 77% of those polled on Twitter said they wouldn’t know the address without Googling. More information might be necessary for addresses avenues named after states (See Lucky Bar at 1221 Connecticut Ave. NW, which is near 18th and M/N Streets) or those outside the numbered/lettered streets. The writer would have to add a few more words, but doing so provides a wealth of information that allows the reader to know exactly where the author is talking about.

A recent example shows how widespread this shortcoming is. There was wall-to-wall  coverage (kudos to their PR rep) for the new Sakerum Latin-Asian fusion bar featuring the sushi cocktail. Among others, The Washington Post, the Washingtonian, Washington City Paper, and Zagat all covered the opening with gusto. At best, the outlets mentioned the old Mova, the “hill” on 14th, or being near 14th and U. Not even the press release (yes PR should do that too) mentioned that Sakerum is at 14th and W, which one could only figure out if they’re one out of four people in DC who can ID non-obvious addresses. Of course, Google or Apple Maps isn’t far away for most, but why make the reader add the extra step? Barred in DC has tried to include cross streets from the very beginning, but then again, I’m a fake journalist.

From the corner of 1st and 1st /rant over/