Deli Italiano, Great Falls and now in North Arlington

[DonRocks]

Deli Italiano has been in Great Falls since 1990, and has just opened a second location in Williamsburg Shopping Center, near East Falls Church Metro (it's the same shopping center that houses Backyard BBQ (the source of my mom's favorite brisket) and a couple other tiny restaurants (incidentally, the 7-11 in that shopping center has just closed after many years)).

I stopped by for lunch today and had a Chicken Souvlaki Sandwich ($6.79), and it was fine, the best thing being the homemade yogurt. The food I saw there, including the pizza, looks extremely similar to what you see on the menu on their website, so if this appeals to you, give it a try.

The manager (perhaps the owner) was friendly and eager - while I was there, a lady walked in and asked what time he opened on Saturdays, because her son has an upcoming birthday party.

"What time would you like me to open?" he said. You have to love this.

Cheers,

Rocks

[nanceliza]

Deli Italiano is a family favorite. Great pizza and my source for pizza dough for the backyard grill. They are a model business in terms of generosity to the Great Falls community. That (and the pizza) keep me coming back.

[wybigoo]

I live a few blocks away from the new location and placed an order the day I heard they were open. When I went in to pick up my order, I was greeted with, "Hello Julie!" and I knew I would love the place. My kids enjoyed their Gyro, baked ziti, and spinach and tomato calzone. I thought the red sauce was pretty good and there was just the right amount of cheese in the ziti (not overloaded and congealed). I also like the yogurt sauce. My favorite was the baklava, which was sticky, nutty, crispy and huge.

I also love Backyard BBQ. Try their Health Salad. Delicious!

[jwhite]

I stopped by for lunch today and had a Chicken Souvlaki Sandwich ($6.79), and it was fine, the best thing being the homemade yogurt. The food I saw there, including the pizza, looks extremely similar to what you see on the menu on their website, so if this appeals to you, give it a try.

The manager (perhaps the owner) was friendly and eager - while I was there, a lady walked in and asked what time he opened on Saturdays, because her son has an upcoming birthday party.

"What time would you like me to open?" he said. You have to love this.

Cheers,

Rocks

I found myself in need of a casual place to take the wife and two young children for dinner on a Friday night, didn't have any patience for waiting, and this post sprung to mind. Food-wise it seemed to be a pretty good version of the suburban italian / greek family spot. Nothing blew me away but it was well executed, if pretty standard fare. I did notice the eagerness you mention with examples including a behind the counter employee hustling out to help an overwhelmed mom and the manager trying to make right what appeared to be a dropped order.

Business seemed good with a mix of families and high school kids.

[DrXmus]

We've been 3 times in the last couple of weeks. Mrs. DrX loves the chicken cheesesteak. She's a huge fan of the bread they use. It's got a great texture and flavor. I had the chicken souvlaki once. Once. As mentioned above, it's OK. Not bad, and the sauce is really good, but overall just OK. I've had a couple of the Italian cold cut subs. I like that you can order them heated or toasted. I think the next try will be heated AND toasted. Nothing wrong with making it a hot sub, right? The vinaigrette is tasty, if a little too sweet, and the peppers are very good. The (frozen) steak fries are very well executed. I'll second (fourth?) the comments about the service there. We've dealt with 3 different guys at the register and they've all been great. I'm thinking Chicken Parm sub and calzone for the next couple of trips. The prices seem reasonable, especially the 8" sub/fries/drink for $8 special that seems permanent. Based on wybigoo's recommendation, I was going to get a baklava today, which looked great. They had a minor rush and I didn't feel like waiting, so that'll have to wait for another day.