In gentrifying neighborhoods from U Street to Upshur, top-notch D.C. chefs and restaurateurs are jockeying for prime positions. Along the U Street corridor, Al Tiramisu owner Luigi Diotaiuti has opened Al Crostino and Saied Azali followed suit with Viridian, Perrys’ sibling venture. Nora Pouillon of the eponymous Nora and Asia Nora allegedly has her eye on 14th Street for a new place (U Nora, perhaps?) and James Beard nominee Ann Cashion of Cashion’s Eat Place…

Part two of two. While conducting research for his book Pizza — A Slice of Heaven: The Ultimate Pizza Guide and Companion, Ed Levine tried 1,000 slices of pizza in 20 cities. Some would love to follow in Levine’s footsteps, travelling in search of excellent slices, but our day jobs confine us to the Washington metro area for our pizza-sampling expeditions. Though not traditionally a mecca for pizza connoisseurs, D.C. boasts some serious pie-makers. DCist…

So, the unofficial close of summer has come and gone in a spectacularly gorgeous weekend. Agree? But we all know that living in the District not only means our dog days linger longer than August, but also that the best of 2005 is yet to come, with fall weather making its slow and graceful entrance in the next few weeks. Our thoughts this past week have been preoccupied with the devastation in the Gulf Coast….

For way too long, it’s seemed that D.C. has suffered from an extreme dearth of excellent (not to mention affordable) Italian food. Dinners at local establishments were either astronomically priced, mediocre-tasting, or, disappointingly, both. In the past few months, though, that’s all been changing. With several tapas/enoteca-inspired Italian restaurants opening in the area, it’s easier than ever to find a delicious plate of fresh pasta, a full-bodied glass of wine, or an authentic Italian meal…

Tell Us about Your Meals! During a DCist restaurant week dinner last night (yes, we interact in real life as well) we realized that our views and reviews on the food world come from a self-selected group of food watchers both on and offline. But since Restaurant Week offers the opportunity for many more people to check out restaurants they can’t normally afford, we thought it would be a good idea to hear the voices…