Little Deli & Pizzeria

Reviews 3

LE

Leila Rahil

I rarely do a same day review, but man, was I less than impressed w/this place!? It came highly recommended by some friends and co-workers and has a good rating on Yelp, but I dont see myself coming back here (though, I was also told to give the pizza a shot, well see...I need to let the sting of this visit dissipate a little). First, they really need to either take out the two tables in the their little indoor space and make their entrance a double door because w/the line they had today at 1pm for lunch it was just way too crowded and people could not get in and out easily (also, because Austinites have this terrible habit of not realizing they are the only people on earth, their spacial sharing reasoning is severely compromised and they tend to just block the path of others until you bring it to their attention that they are, in fact, in the way...but I digress). Secondly, maybe I missed it, but I didnt see the half sandwich option on the menu, so I was a little thrown off when the cashier asked if I wanted a whole or a half reuben. Im so glad I went w/the whole because unless you are getting a little side salad or chips or slice of pizza, you will definitely still be hungry w/the half portion size. Thirdly, this place is way too overpriced, in my opinion, for what it is. I dont know why there has been this trend to New York deli price sandwiches (just the sandwich and a pickle spear) in Austin, but at least in NYC their sandwiches have heft and can stand alone. That was not the case here (and sadly, in a lot of places that do this around Austin). If you are going to charge $9.75 for just a reuben sandwich, that thing better be spilling over with meat, melted cheese, kraut, and dressing! My brother got a meatball sub, and he said it was good, but he also felt that the portion for the price was definitely lacking. Now on to the reuben. If you follow me or my lists, you may have noticed I am a reuben nerd and a bit of a reuben connoisseur, as it were (when done properly) as it is the greatest warm sandwich known to (wo)mankind! So, yes, I hold my reubens to a higher standard than most, but that is only because it holds a special place in my pastrami/corned beef hear! The reuben here is completely subpar! It was thin on the meat (see photo) and then one side was griddled/toasted greasy and the other side semi-soggy greasy. Also, not nearly enough cheese or kraut and the thousand island was non existent. Honestly, this was more on the panini side than what should legally be able to be called a reuben. I make a better one at home w/a side of sweet potato bisque and it still doesnt cost $9.75. So sad this place didnt live up to the hype, at least for me.

MA

Mason West

Theres a certain humility in using the word "Little" in the first name of a restaurant, especially when most eateries alert the public to their existence with masses of light pressed into words comprehensible to motorists passing at 50 mph. The Little Deli & Pizzeria, tucked away discreetly in the Crestview Shopping Center at the confluence of the very suburban streets of Woodrow and Arroyo Seco, hardly gets passed by motorists at all, much less at 50 mph. Instead of huge signs there is an ancient (by neighborhood standards) oak tree towering over the south end of the little strip mall, and that tree likely pre-dates the neighborhood of GI Bill tract houses that grew up around it in the late 1940s. Trees in this grassy area were rare, as old photos reveal, so I think of it as a kind of Treaty Oak where the Texans and the Italians reached a major accord on Neapolitan cuisine in Crestview. Maybe the idea that discreet, all-but-hidden places that are left to chance to find is a cliché, but in the case of the Little Deli, that discretion means some of the tastiest and most authentic pizza in town as well as a wide variety of super deli sandwiches (which look and sound delicious, but Im so fixated on the pizza that I havent got to that part of the menu yet). I especially like that the Little Deli typically has three pizzas of the day from which I can buy a slice or two before shopping across the way at, well, it was the Crestview Minimax for sixty years, but it has recently become Arlans Market (which I note has taken care to preserve many of the old neighborhood traditions established over the years by Minimax). But along with saying that the Little Deli is a well-hidden secret that I love to discover, perhaps I should say that its a neighborhood eatery in a city only now reaching the maturity to have neighborhood places. So out of the vast tracts of anonymous and originally identical houses from Koenig Lane to Anderson Lane, through the Brentwood and Crestview neighborhoods, individuality, renewal, and, yes, a peculiarly hip kind of gentrification are scattering diversity and originality throughout a neighborhood once known for a rigorous conformity. Little Deli has tables inside, safe from the elements and in the intoxicating kitchen aromas, but there are also many outdoor picnic tables as well. I couldnt recommend this place more for its food, ambiance, or convenience to neighborhood residents.

AA

Aaron Arnold

Little Deli is the epitome of a hidden gem. The first time I tried to find it, I nearly drove past it until my friend assured me that the deceptively elementary school-ish exterior had what we were looking for. I had come to try out their Reuben, as the late, great Katzs departure has both left an unfillable void in the Reuben cosmos, and yet has also motivated me to try places that I might not have otherwise. Little Deli has a powerful contender for Best Reuben - for $8.49, a titanic mound of corned beef crowned with sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing nestled in between two groaning slices of toasted rye bread. It was blissful, and Ive since noticed a pattern whenever anyone else Ive taken here has tried it: when you see it, your eyes involuntarily widen, like youve just seen some parlor trick with loaves and fishes youre not sure is totally on the level. Then you try it, and your fate is sealed. And yet theres plenty of other stuff to get too. Good as the Reuben is, their pizza comes in solid NY-style big-as-your head wedges that tempt me more often than not. Cheese is $3, with pepperoni a quarter beyond that and always-interesting slices-of-the-day an additional quarter beyond that.Two slices should do it, unless youve just done something unusually strenuous, like try to lift the Reuben without the aid of a forklift. I dont know where they get their mushrooms, but Im always happy whenever they make an appearance on a slice of the day. Ive also had and liked some of their other sandwiches, like the superb muffaletta, but I have a confession. Dont tell anyone I said this, but their vegetarian sandwich is actually pretty amazing. Its got artichoke hearts, avocado, roasted eggplant, cheese galore, olive tapenade, tomatoes, and lettuce, and the whole thing is stupid good. If youre in the neighborhood, you should make this a regular stop, and even if you arent, you wont regret a trip to relax on one of their tree-shaded park benches with some great food. The staff is always friendly, the prices are reasonable, and the food is delicious. If only they were open on Sundays too....