Cleveland Park, which food lovers seek out for some of the most seductive salads, pastas and roast chicken in Washington. Coinciding with Palena’s anniversary this month is its expansion into the former Magruder’s next door, some freshening up in the original two dining areas, and a few signifi cant cooking and service hires (the new maitre d’ for the restaurant hails from the four-star Komi). If everything goes according to the script, Palena will be new and improved by the addition of a wood-burning grill and oven, 60 more seats for fans of the cafe, and a small retail market. Ruta is a chef ’s chef and a diner’s dream. If I want to conjure summer, all I have to do is remember my last meal here: a still life of poached leeks, summer beans and shaved truffl es garnished with a delicate pork fritter followed by hand-cut tagliatelle with juicy marbles of tomato and a brilliant pesto. Had I thought of it, I would have asked for a glass of Ruta’s own wine, which he makes with his brother in small quantities. // 3529 Connecticut Ave. NW; 202-537-9250; www. palenarestaurant.com. Open: dinner Tuesday through Saturday. All major credit cards. Prices: Fixed-price menu $58 to $76. Sound check: 70 decibels.


★★ PIZZERIA ORSO Washington’s best pizza? Right now, it’s in Falls Church. That’s where Edan MacQuaid, a former talent at 2 Amys and Pizzeria Paradiso, is stoking the wood-burning oven at the new Pizzeria Orso, a big, friendly barn of a place done up in yellow walls, soft green booths and red sound-soaking panels, with images of bears here and there. (“Orso” is Italian for “bear.”) MacQuaid’s Neapolitan crusts are thin, pliant, a tad sour, beautifully charred — and served unsliced, so the dough can continue to cook after it leaves the fi re. His margherita upholds tradition with tangy crushed tomatoes, fresh basil and near-liquid pinches of genuine buffalo mozzarella, but the daily specials bear investigating, too: a round decked out with a lattice of grana cheese, briny capers, red pepper fl akes and juicy mussels in their shells deserves a permanent place on the menu. Pizza


Clockwise from top: at Sushi Taro’s Omakase Sushi Counter, a bowl of broth, eggplant and eel includes green noodles; chef-owner Nobu Yamazaki rules the space; a “brick” reveals dried roe and a dip of squid ink, sake and chili pepper. Review on Page 43.


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