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The Shaw location of All-Purpose Pizzeria will double as a Jewish deli starting on Aug. 7. The take-out only operation, which Chef Mike Friedman dubbed Delikatessen, will operate Fridays through Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. After a costume change, the restaurant located at 1250 9th St. NW will reopen as a pizzeria in the evenings.
Colorful platters that can be pre-ordered the day before are the star of the long-term pop-up. Picture deli classics like smoked salmon, lox, and smoked trout salad arranged in a pinwheel with Bullfrog Bagels, schmears, house-made pickles, and all the trimmings.
Customers can also order a la carte for same-day pick-up and delivery. That menu spans all of the deli offerings sold by the quarter pound, plus potato latkes, black & white cookies, and five breakfast sandwiches also served on Bullfrog Bagels. The Katz Reuben brings house-smoked pastrami back to the block where Smoked & Stacked was once located across the street. Bartender Sam Nellis is working on to-go cocktails including a Manischewitz mimosa and an egg cream with bourbon. See the food menu below. Pricing is still being determined.
For Friedman, Delikatessen is a deeply personal project. “My father, growing up as a Jew in the Bronx, would take me to every famous deli you hear about,” he says, ticking off places like Russ & Daughters, Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery, and Katz’s Delicatessen. “He wasn’t teaching me, he was passing on the excitement. That stuck with me forever.”
His family ate spreads like the platters Delikatessen will serve almost every weekend. “Dad would always test out how thin the lox was,” Friedman continues. “He’s since passed away, but this is something near and dear to my heart. I want to do it right. I don’t want to do it with touches that are mine. I want to honor the tradition.”
There was always Hebrew National beef salami in the refrigerator at Friedman childhood home in New Jersey. His dad would pile thick slices of it on white bread lacquered with deli mustard. “He’d save the [salami] ends and chop them up and make scrambled eggs with them,” the chef says. Delikatessen’s “Bleeker & Broome” sandwich nods at this specific food memory. It combines scrambled eggs, cheese, and house-made beef salami on a bagel.
All of Friedman’s D.C. restaurants attempt to pull at diners’ food memories, whether it’s the deck-oven pepperoni pizza at All-Purpose or the mezze rigatoni at The Red Hen. “Food has to be to a certain extent nostalgic,” Friedman says. “That’s when it tastes better. It’s the idea of 1 + 1 = 3. The memories you connect with make it even more special. Everyone can read a recipe, but there are some things you have to experience.”
Some items at Delikatessen will be made in-house including the pastrami, lox, and pickles. Other items Friedman will bring in from New York. He hopes to be busy enough that his team wouldn’t be able to keep up with bagel demand if they made their own. That’s why they partnered with Bullfrog Bagels.
The latkes, however, are a family recipe. Asked about the secret to a perfect latke, Friedman says, “At its basic level, a latke is strained grated potato, matzoh meal, salt, pepper, and eggs. Some add grated onion, which is a natural binder. I don’t think you fuck with it past that.” Friedman says the the best way to eat the potato pancakes is with sour cream and caviar.
Delikatessen will have two kinds of caviar available by the ounce—sturgeon and paddlefish. Caviar during a pandemic? “If there’s anything we can celebrate right now during this time, let’s try,” Friedman says. “Splurge a little. Life is short.”
Those looking to purchase a platter must order in advance through Toast on the All-Purpose website. The cut-off for orders is 5 p.m. the previous day. Platters can be picked up Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings starting at 8 a.m. A la carte orders can be placed through Toast for same-day pick-up or delivery.
Delikatessen at All-Purpose Pizzeria, 1250 9th St. NW; allpurposedc.com/locations/shaw
DELI
Bagels—baked fresh daily by Bullfrog Bagels
PLAIN
SESAME
EVERYTHING SPICE
Schmears—house-whipped cream cheese
PLAINVEGGIE
SCALLION
SMOKED SALMON
STRAWBERRY SWIRL
Salads—traditional appetizing deli salads
TUNA SALAD
EGG SALAD
SMOKED TROUT
Pickles—house-cured delicacies
HALF SOURS
BREAD & BUTTER CHIPS
SAUERKRAUT
BEETS
Other
SMOKED SALMON – NY – ¼ lb
HOUSE-CURED LOX – ¼ lb
CA STERGEON CAVIAR – 120/OZ
PADDLEFISH CAVIAR – 65/OZ
HOUSE-MADE BAGEL CHIPS
Sweets
RICE PUDDING
BLACK & WHITE COOKIES
Platters
2ND AVENUE
½ dozen bagels, ¼ lb smoked salmon, ¼ lb house-cured lox, choice of one cream cheese, traditional accompaniments (tomato, sweet onion, caper, lemon)
LOWER EAST SIDE
1 dozen bagels, ½ lb smoked salmon, ¼ lb smoked trout salad, ¼ lb egg salad, choice of two cream cheeses, pickle assortment, traditional accompaniments
PARK AVENUE
1 dozen bagels, ½ lb smoked salmon, ½ lb house-cured lox, ½ lb smoked trout salad, ½ lb egg salad, pickle assortment, ½ dozen potato latkes, choice of three cream cheeses, traditional accompaniments
A La Carte
POTATO LATKES
potato pancakes, sour cream, chives (add a bissel of caviar!)
SPANISH SARDINES
cultured butter, bagel chips
SMOKED TROUT SALAD
dill, capers, salmon roe, bagel chips
Sandwiches—served with North Fork potato chips & pickle
BLEEKER & BROOME
choice of bagel, scrambled egg, cheddar cheese, beef salami
THE RABBI
choice of bagel, choice of cream cheese, smoked salmon, tomato, sweet onion, caper
DELANCEY
choice of bagel, egg salad, heirloom tomato, spicy mayonnaise, butter lettuce
CATSKILL TUNA MELT
choice of bagel, tuna salad, celery, melted cheddar, chives
THE KATZ REUBEN
house-smoked pastrami, melted swiss, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, rye bread