Sections
  • News & Politics
  • Food
  • Things to Do
  • Washingtonian Events
  • Home & Style
  • Editors’ Picks
  • Events Calendar
  • Health
  • Longreads
  • Parenting
  • Real Estate
  • Shopping
  • Travel
  • Weddings
Reader Favorites
  • 100 Very Best Restaurants
  • DC-Area Events Calendar
  • Brunch
  • Neighborhoods
  • Newsletters
  • Directories
  • Washingtonian Events
Washington’s Best
  • Apartment Rentals
  • DC Travel Guide
  • Dentists
  • Doctors
  • Financial Advisers
  • Health Experts
  • Home Improvement Experts
  • Industry Leaders
  • Lawyers
  • Mortgage Professionals
  • Pet Care
  • Private Schools
  • Real Estate Agents
  • Restaurants
  • Retirement Communities
  • Wedding Vendors
© 2023 Washingtonian Media Inc.
Privacy Policy
All Rights Reserved
 Rss
Skip to content
Washingtonian.com
  • Search
  • Subscribe
  • Menu
Washingtonian.com
  • Subscribe
Reader Favorites
  • 100 Very Best Restaurants
  • DC-Area Events Calendar
  • Brunch
  • Neighborhoods
  • Newsletters
  • Directories
  • Washingtonian Events
More
  • Subscribe
  • Manage My Subscription
  • Digital Edition
  • Shop
  • Contests
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
Sections
  • News & Politics
  • Food
  • Things to Do
  • Washingtonian Events
  • Home & Style
  • Editors’ Picks
  • Events Calendar
  • Health
  • Longreads
  • Parenting
  • Real Estate
  • Shopping
  • Travel
  • Weddings
  • News & Politics
  • Things to Do
  • Food
  • Health
  • Shopping
  • Home & Style
  • Real Estate
  • Weddings
  • Travel

  • 100 Very Best Restaurants
  • DC-Area Events Calendar
  • Brunch
  • Neighborhoods
  • Newsletters
  • Directories
  • Washingtonian Events
  • Trending Now in Food
  • Adams Morgan
  • Makoto
  • Grubhub
  • Kappo
  • Van Leeuwen
Food

All-Purpose Pizzeria in Navy Yard Is Also Becoming a Pasta Place

Chef Mike Friedman is going for "classy and classic."

Written by Jessica Sidman
| Published on March 15, 2023
Tweet Share
All-Purpose's "verde" rigatoni with a spring pea cream, asparagus, mint, parm, and roasted garlic bread crumbs. Photograph courtesy All-Purpose.

All-Purpose chef/co-owner Mike Friedman says his original vision for the Navy Yard location of his pizzeria was to make it more of an Italian-American trattoria—not just a place for a deck-oven pies and beers after a Nats game. But when it opened in the spring of 2018, the ballpark volume made Friedman hesitant to expand the menu. Then, of course, came the pandemic. Now, the restaurant is planning to go slightly more upscale—though not more expensive—with a new lineup of salumi, pastas, entrees, and an elevated wine list launching Friday, March 24.

“Sometimes we get overlooked that we’re an actual restaurant, that we have a lot more to offer. And so talking to the chefs, they wanted some more challenges,” Friedman says. “We’re really going for what I call classy and classic.”

Is Friedman basically trying to make the restaurant more like upscale sister Italian spot and pasta haven, the Red Hen, in Bloomingdale? “I would call it All-Purpose 2.0,” he says. While you won’t find the Red Hen’s famous, Biden-approved rigatoni with fennel sausage ragu, you will find a different “verde” version of the rigatoni with a spring pea cream, asparagus, and mint.

All-Purpose is adding new salamis and antipasti to the menu in Navy Yard. Photograph courtesy All-Purpose.

The new menu includes salumi boards with cured meats from California-based Fra’ Mani alongside antipasti such as king salmon crudo with crispy risotto, toasted sesame, and lemon aioli. Staples like calamari are sticking around, but with an upgrade: the 2.0 version is semolina-dusted with basil aioli and a spicy pepper sauce. “It’s a nod to old-school calamari where you might get those pickled peppers, but kind of reimagined,” Friedman says.

Linguini with clams is coming to All-Purpose Capitol Riverfront. Photograph courtesy All-Purpose.

Back to the pasta. New options include cavatelli with broccoli rabe and sweet-spicy sausage, or a garlicky linguini with clams. New “for the table” entrees will include Tuscan fried chicken with crispy rosemary and chili honey. Meanwhile, the pizza menu will be slightly condensed—probably six options instead of nine. Favorites like the “Sedgwick” with whipped ricotta and black truffle honey and “Buona” with pepperoni and Calabrian chili honey aren’t going anywhere.

Sip spritzes, negronis, and other amaro cocktails. Photograph courtesy All-Purpose.

The restaurant group’s wine director, Joe Quinn, is also expanding and revamping the wine list to highlight Italian coastal and island wines alongside those from Long Island and the New York area. For cocktails, you’ll still find vodka-lemon slushies come summer, but the restaurant is also growing its amaro list and playing around with negroni variations.

Friedman says the changes will not apply to the Shaw location of All-Purpose, which has a smaller kitchen, but that Navy Yard is a “great testing ground” for Shaw.

“We set out to do this three years ago, and we just got sidetracked,” Friedman says. “And so this year is the year to do it because we feel like DC is back.”

All-Purpose Capitol Riverfront. 79 Potomac Ave., SE. 

More: All PurposeCapitol RiverfrontMike FriedmanNavy Yardpasta
Join the conversation!
Share Tweet
Jessica Sidman
Jessica Sidman
Food Editor

Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.

Most Popular in Food

1

A Mexican Rooftop Bar Opens in Adams Morgan With $5 Margaritas and Taco Towers

2

The 100 Very Best Restaurants in Washington

3
Kappo Makoto opens in the Palisades with a wagyu beef-focused omakase menu. Photography by Kimberly Kong

A Master Japanese Chef Is Opening a Wagyu-Centric Omakase Restaurant in the Palisades

4

How to Best Support Restaurants When You Order Takeout

5

Popular Ice Cream Chain That Created Ranch and Mac and Cheese Flavors Opens in DC

Washingtonian Magazine

March 2023: 50 Great Dates

March 2023: 50 Great Dates

View Issue
Subscribe

Follow Us on Social

We'll help you live your best #DCLIFE every day

Follow Us on Social

We'll help you live your best #DCLIFE every day

Related

It’s Totally Cool If You Want to Steal Cups From This DC Bar

Duke’s Grocery Opens in Navy Yard With a Mule Cocktail Bar

Maxwell Park Navy Yard Becomes a Cocktail Bar With Late-Night Party Vibes

100 Very Best Restaurants: #2 – Albi

More from Food

How to Best Support Restaurants When You Order Takeout

Popular Ice Cream Chain That Created Ranch and Mac and Cheese Flavors Opens in DC

A Mexican Rooftop Bar Opens in Adams Morgan With $5 Margaritas and Taco Towers

Kappo Makoto opens in the Palisades with a wagyu beef-focused omakase menu. Photography by Kimberly Kong

A Master Japanese Chef Is Opening a Wagyu-Centric Omakase Restaurant in the Palisades

Ron DeSantis Is Allegedly the Latest Politician With Unhinged Eating Habits

Mattie and Eddie's Irish breakfast, offered all day every day. Photograph courtesy of Mattie and Eddie's

6 Great Pubs for a Full Irish Breakfast Around DC

7 Fun Food Events Around DC

It’s Totally Cool If You Want to Steal Cups From This DC Bar

© 2023 Washingtonian Media Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Washingtonian is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Privacy Policy and Opt-Out
 Rss
Get the best news, delivered weekly.
By signing up, you agree to our terms.
  • Subscribe
  • Manage My Subscription
  • Digital Edition
  • Shop
  • Contests
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs