Austin's IL Saporis food truck serves up homemade pasta

IL Saporis, the Italian food truck off of South First and West Live Oak, offers fast, affordable, mouth-watering Italian takeout, and the father-son duo running the operation has big plans for its future.

The big picture: The business is operated by Tony DeStefano and his father Giuseppe DeStefano, who was born and raised in Italy and worked as a chef for 40 years, owning restaurants in San Antonio and Dallas.

• The menu is full of hearty dishes — passed down through their family — and made with handmade pasta and sauce, prepared from Monday to Wednesday each week.

It's a perfect option if you're looking for delicious takeout, especially during the latest COVID surge.

• Must eat: Try the tagliatelle ala vodka — their most popular dish — with sautéed mushrooms and sausage in a Tito's vodka cream sauce. It's rich and packed with flavor.
• Don't skip the classics: Spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parm and lasagna won't disappoint.
• Honorable mention: The gnocchi is served with your choice of pesto sauce or bolognese.
• The app: The chicken parm bites are cut into small pieces, covered with cheese and served with spaghetti marinara for dipping.

Behind the truck: Tony DeStefano, 28, and his father opened IL Saporis ("The Flavor") in October 2019.

Their food truck model allowed the duo to keep their business open when COVID first hit and dining rooms closed, Destefano told Axios.

• Since then, their business has only sped up, even requiring them to scale back hours and menu volume to meet demand.

They're closed Monday through Wednesday, allowing the food truck's three employees to make their pasta and sauce for the week.

• "We make everything we serve except for the bread," DeStefano said. "It’s all my great grandma's recipes."

DeStefano's favorite is the spinach ravioli "probably because I have to make like 700 raviolis a week. My heart and soul goes into these raviolis."

• The ravioli has made it on every single menu of his parents' restaurants since he was 11 years old, DeStefano added.

What's next: DeStefano said they're currently negotiating a lease for a brick and mortar store in East Austin, which they are aiming to open early this year.

• "It'll be counter service — the same flow of fast-casual Italian food," DeStefano said. "We're going to have a live pasta station all open to the dining room" and an expanded menu that includes burrata and a cheese station.
• They're also exploring drying their homemade pasta to sell in stores.

Find them on Uber Eats or head over to their truck at 603 W. Live Oak.

Hours: Thursday and Friday from 4-11pm. Saturday and Sunday from 2-10pm.