All-Purpose Shaw — Restaurant in Washington

Unmatched Pizza in DC Market. Try the Straticcella and Meatball. Service is 5+ We have a friend who works in the DC restaurant industry. This grants us certain luxuries. For example, we were lucky to hear about the then newly opened Rose's Luxury before it blew up and was voted best restaurant of the year for US. (A must trust for anyone in DC)

We were referred to All Purpose as a phenomenal new place. The place is in fact phenomenal. Imagine the coziness of an old Pizza Hut from your youth but updated to a cool new hipster level with much better lighting and service. That is how I would describe the place.

The waits can be long so you should get reservations in advance. Not hard to do if you give yourself a few days. If you walk in your wait will likely be an hour or hour and a half. The bar seating is generous and you can get lucky sometimes as it is first come first serve.

The service is phenomenal. We have been two times and top notch both times. They have clearly poached seasoned waitstaff from other places. They are knowledgeable about all of the food and drink. Service is attentive. It would be a 6 if you could give a 6.

The menu offers meat and cheese, hot/ cold antipasti, and also pizzas. For two, we've found that one hot and cold antipasti and a pizza will get you completely full. To me, one of the signature dishes to try is the Stracciatella. It is a young mozzarella that is wet and tender and delicious. They serve it with various fresh veggies such as corn or peas along with herbs. You eat it on top of some toast and you advance directly to heaven.

As far as hot anti pasti, I would suggest the meatballs. These are the lightest and most flavorful meatballs I have ever tasted. The rest on a bed of whipped ricotta and tomato sauce. In addition, the have a secret little pocket of mozzarella in the middle. This secret surprise, along with pops of fresh herbs, will make you happy.

We all have seen the uptick in Neapolitan. The one-minute thin pizzas cooked at 500 degrees. Some are done well, and some are just too well-done. Pizzas here are deck-oven fired and lean toward the Neapolitan style, but they are really a style all their own. You get some crisp and some chew to the dough and it is delicious. We've tried a simple pepperoni and also the Cossimo. Can't lose with either. The Cossimo is rich with the mushrooms and the truffle sauce. It should be eaten on a spring afternoon in some forest it is so earthy and good.

Go eat here. And, find this review helpful...

All Purpose Pizzeria is an Italian restaurant that serves small plates, salads, and artisanal pizzas in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC. The restaurant is a short walk from Mt. Vernon Square metro station on the Green Line.

For drinks, they have a nice variety of beer and wine offerings. During dinner, I enjoyed a glass of Potter's Craft Passionfruit Mosaic Dry Hopped Cider.

For dinner, we shared two appetizers, two pizzas, and three desserts. We felt that it was a perfect amount of food to feed four hungry mouths.

For appetizers, we enjoyed the Crispy Squash Blossoms and Calamari Fritto. The Crispy Squash Blossoms consisted of two squash Blossoms stuffed with fresh ricotta and garlic scapes lightly battered and friend to golden brown. They were served over a slice of Prosciutto San Daniele, roasted corn, and fennel. The Calamari Fritto consisted of crispy fried squid and lemons on a bed of creamy Calabrian Chili aioli and garnished with fresh dill.

For pizzas, between the Buona and Brassica, I savored the Buona more. The Buona Pizza consisted of tomato sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella, chili honey, basil, and grana. Adding chili honey to a pepperoni pizza was interesting (in a good way). The Brassica consisted of broccoli, parm fonduta, Italian sausage, mozz, and smoked spring garlic. It was great combination of ingredients but it had a more predictable flavor.

For dessert, among the Vanilla Soft Serve, Rainbow Cookie Cake, and Chocolate Cheesecake, I enjoyed the Vanilla Soft Serve more than the rest. The Vanilla Soft Serve consisted of a sundae dish filled with layers of vanilla soft strawberries, rhubarb, and pine nuts. It was topped with whipped cream and cherries. It was light, creamy, delicate, and smooth in texture. My second favorite would be the Chocolate Cheesecake which consisted of a double decker chocolate cheesecake in between oreo cookie crusts, topped with Nutella cream and candied hazelnuts and drizzled with fudge sauce. It was heavy, rich and chocolatey. The rainbow Cookie Cake consisted of a colorful multi layer almond cake, drizzled with chocolate sauce and topped with a scoop of whipped cream. It was much denser than I...

All-Purpose is located between Shaw and Convention Center amongst a couple other trendy restaurants. The space is small, but cozy and elegant. It’s a good choice for an intimate dinner date or happy hour, however during popular times, you may find yourself sitting too close to your neighbor’s table and their conversation. They focus on pizza, but have a good selection of antipasti, charcuterie, and bruschetta, and other appetizers. We came here primarily to try the pizza and to see how it stacked up against some of DC’s other pizza spots. We tried some appetizers and pizzas, and left quite surprised. The appetizers we had were much better than the pizzas. The AP Caesar Salad was incredible – crispy lettuce with a nice balance of parmesan, breadcrumbs, and anchovy dressing. And yet, the Roasted Garlic knots were even better – hot, slightly crispy, flavorful, and adorned with herb butter and parmesan fonduta! Which is why we were so disappointed with the pizzas. The menu featured some very creative and interesting pizzas, so we went with our waiter’s recommendations – the Buona and the West Randolph. The Buona featured a chili honey, which although sounded interesting at first, did not mix well with the mozzarella and pepperoni, and pooled in parts of the pizza. The West Randolph had entirely too much rosemary on it, and the potatoes were a undercooked and too firm. Lesson learned: sometimes it’s best to stick to the basics and perfect them before getting creative with non-traditional ingredients. We’d definitely come back – just for the salad and roasted garlic...