The cover of the Spring 2010 issue of Rosslyn magazine contains a clue about the city’s branding offensive: “Manhattan on the Potomac,” it proclaims. Housing Complex flipped eagerly to the article, which is not yet online, curious about the editors’ defense of their bold statement.

The short piece is a mashup of cheery news about low vacancy rates and new development. The closest thing to an analogy between Rosslyn and the Big Apple comes in the subhed: “a modern, vibrant, centrally-located hub of important business and government activity.”

Hoping to get some on-the-ground perspective, we asked recently-departed City Paper editor Erik Wemple—now settled into new digs at Politico’s Rosslyn office—what he thought.

“It’s like Manhattan on the Potomac, minus the bagels,” he writes. “Or Manhattan on the Potomac, Plus Quizno’s!”