When you walk into the cleverly named DeltaPie Pizza and Specialty Market, you immediately know you’re in for a treat. Or should I say treats, since nearly half of the restaurant is devoted to specialty foods and drinks designed to encourage sampling and pairing. Gourmet cheeses, antipasti, pickles and olives offer opportunities to round out a meal while craft beers—brands too numerous to list—offer the opportunity to mix and match six-packs to-go. A variety of wines and nostalgic soft drinks like Nehi and Cheerwine are also sure to hit the spot.
Co-owners David Bundy and Roy Revels previously operated Zillie’s Island Pantry in Ocracoke, N.C., for 15 years before moving to Deltaville in 2019, where Bundy’s family has been since the 1950s. While Zillie’s offered a similar opportunity to pair beers and wines with specialty foods, with DeltaPie they expanded into menu items, offering starters, salads, pizzas and desserts in addition to the specialty market.
The flames from the pizza oven, not only capture your attention when you walk in, it gives DeltaPie’s Neopolitan-style pizzas their hearth-fired goodness. Cooked at 700 degrees, the thin crust with a hint of crunch and smokiness, lets the ingredients shine, be it the traditional Pizza Margherita, Rappahannock Special, with white garlic sauce, crab meat, red onion, ricotta cheese and dashes of Old Bay and chives; or the popular Stingray Point Lover Boy, of Italian sausage, pepperoni, smoked ham and mozzarella.
All of DeltaPie’s pies are 12-inch Neapolitan-style. You can order from their specialty pizza menu with local names like the Piankatank Porkfella and the Horse Point Hawaiian or build your own from a variety of bases, cheeses, toppings and drizzles. Gluten-free cauliflower crust and vegan cheese options are also available.
“We wanted this to be extremely reasonably priced, using quality ingredients,” said Bundy. In addition to focusing on ingredients, the salads, starters like meatballs, focaccia and garlic knots, and of course pizza, are all made to order.
The focus on flavor does not end there. Bundy said they work with a pastry chef to offer an impressive dessert menu that includes lemon Italian cream cake, cannoli, lemon bars and pecan jewels, toasted pecans chocolate chips, coconut and cranberries all on a graham cracker crust all hand dipped in semi-sweet chocolate.
If that was not enough, there are lunch specials, a pie of the week—this week was a seafood pizza with shrimp, scallops and roasted red peppers—and a calzone of the week. Another weekly special is an upcoming heat and eat meal for two: marinated grilled and chilled pork tenderloin.
Speaking of heating, for DeltaPie fans not so close to Deltaville, you can request a partially baked pizza. Bundy said that all it takes is just 7-10 minutes in a 450-degree oven and you have a piping hot pie at home. He said this same time and temperature also works for leftover pizza—should you have any!
Our lunch started with the Rustic Caprese Salad, a refreshing summer offering of sliced, layered tomatoes and mozzarella with fresh basil on a bed of romaine lettuce and topped with a balsamic reduction.
We ordered the Pizza Margherita, a simple combination of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, which highlights the freshness of the ingredients. At Bundy’s suggestion we also tried Allie’s Hot Honey Pie, named after its creator, DeltaPie pizza chef Allie, who suggested the combo, and we were glad we listened to him. The creamy garlic base, salty prosciutto, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses, and a drizzle of AR’s Hot Honey, all came together to form a perfect salty/sweet/spicy bite with just the right touch of heat.
We closed out the meal with another of Bundy’s suggestions—the chocolate bread pudding. Once again, we were glad we listened. Sweet but not too sweet, it is a rich, chocolate lover’s dessert and in a portion perfect for sharing.
This was my first visit to this Deltaville favorite, but it certainly will not be my last. I am still thinking about the Hot Honey Pie—there were no leftovers to worry about reheating—and all of the other desserts left to try.
