Sandwich, pizza spot serves heart of Crestview

A decades-old dream to own a restaurant came true eight years ago for Tony Villani when he took over Little Deli & Pizzeria.

The longtime sandwich and pizza shop has become a destination for Austinites in and beyond the Crestview neighborhood since making Yelp's national Top 100 Places to Eat list in February. Little Deli (No. 86) shared the honor with other notable Austin restaurants such as Franklin Barbecue (No. 8), Turf N' Surf Po Boy (No. 35), Uchiko (No. 85) and Uchi (No. 99).

The attention has been gratifying for Villani, who said he spent years compiling a folder of ideas should he ever own a restaurant.

"My path was definitively very humbling," said Villani, a New Jersey native who came to Austin about 20 years ago.

After working his way up the restaurant hierarchy as well as a stint in the corporate tech world, he took over Little Deli from his neighbor at the time, expanding the sandwich operation to also include East Coast–style Neapolitan pizza. The pizza recipe came after months of friends taste-testing different pizza dough and sauces each Wednesday night, Villani said.

"Some nights were absolute flops, and some nights were a huge success," Villani said. "But we always had a good time."

Aside from touting his pizza crust as one of the best in Austin, Villani said he also uses fresh ingredients and minimally processed tomato sauce to create a natural, sweet flavor in every pizza.

But about half of all business still comes from sandwich sales, ranging from hot and cold sandwiches to Italian subs. Also, five of the six salad dressings served at Little Deli are homemade, he said.

"You don't normally get the best of all those worlds together, but I think we do OK," Villani said.

Also helping to attract repeat business is Little Deli's locale, tucked away in an old Crestview shopping center—open since the early 1950s—surrounded by a neighborhood.

"People often say it feels like you're in a small Texas town that time forgot, yet you're in the middle of a big city," Villani said.

Six tables are located indoors, with plenty of outdoor, dog-friendly patio seating otherwise available. And because Little Deli has no liquor license, Villani allows patrons to bring their own adult beverages. He also offers patrons free coffee and Wi-Fi.

"I like to think of it as community goodwill," Villani said.

New Italian concept coming

Tony Villani on June 3 obtained a property across from Little Deli, where he will open his own Italian restaurant sometime in 2015, he said. The yet-to-be-named restaurant will offer East Coast–inspired Italian food in a casual, non-pretentious setting, said Villani, who hopes to make the eatery a neighborhood destination rather than a place reserved for special outings.

"I'd like to think of it as casual dining finely done," the Little Deli & Pizza owner said.

The new eatery may also help to relieve space concerns at Little Deli, which has reached capacity, Villani said.

Sandwiches

One of 13 cold sandwiches on the Little Deli menu, the roast beef and cheddar sandwich ($8.50) combines thinly sliced roast beef, cheddar cheese, horseradish sauce, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise and tapenade on a toasted kaiser bun. The shop also serves chicken and tuna salad sandwiches as well as hot sandwiches and Italian subs such as a classic pastrami sandwich and a cheesesteak served on a hoagie roll.

East coast–inspired pizzas

Using a homemade dough recipe, minimally processed tomato sauce and a house cheese mix, Little Deli's pizza is sold by the slice ($3–$3.60), as a medium pie ($12.25 + toppings) and large ($15.50 + toppings). Toppings cost $2.25 each. Little Deli also sells specialty pies ($16.60–$22.60) such as the Spicy Hawaiian, Special White Pizza and the Mediterranean.

Calzones, salads and soups

Calzones ($7.75–$8.75) are filled with a mixture of ricotta cheese, mozzarella and imported Romano cheese and served with a side of marinara sauce. Little Deli serves traditional, pepperoni, and spinach and mushroom calzones. The restaurant also serves six types of salads with six dressings, five of which are homemade. In addition, Little Deli prepares different soups of the day each morning.

Little Deli & Pizzeria, 701 Woodrow Ave., 512-467-7402, www.littledeliandpizza.com