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Restaurant Ratings

The ratings are based mostly on the degree to which the food excites us, and a little on environment, service, and other considerations. I rate restaurants relative to all other restaurants in the New Orleans area. Here's what the stars mean to me:

starstarstarstarstar
Among the best locally.

starstarstarstar
Excellent and ambitious.

starstarstar
Worth crossing town for.

starstar
Recommended.

*
Acceptable.

No star
Unacceptable.

Cost Ratings
Each dollar sign indicates a ten-dollar range, including a normal meal for the restaurant (dinner, if they serve other meals), not including drinks, or tips. So, for example. . .

1$--$5-15
2$--$15-25
3$--$25-35

. . . and so on, with no upper limit. While this scheme may suggest mathematical precision, know that perception of price varies from diner to diner as much as the star ratings do. So consider this an estimate.

All reviews are based entirely on meals I have personally taken at the restaurant and paid for from my own pocket. I don't take free review meals, nor am I reimbursed by anybody for my restaurant expenditures.

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Fausto’s

Italian.
Metairie: 530 Veterans Blvd.. 504-833-7121. Map.
Lunch Monday-Friday. Dinner Monday-Saturday.
Casual.
AE DC DS MC V
Website

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
A textbook example of Sicilian-inspired, New Orleans-style Italian cooking, executed by a couple of guys who have been at it for decades. Casual and inexpensive.

WHY IT'S GOOD
Not a thing on the menu fails to ring the bell of familiarity. Lots of pasta, veal, chicken, and seafood, abetted with lots of smooth, herbal red sauces, garlic, olive oil, and mozzarella cheese. The prices belie the portions, most of which bring more food than you really ought to be eating. The seafood side of the menu is better than one might suspect.

BACKSTORY
Brothers Fausto and Roland di Pietro and their family have run many Creole-Italian restaurants over the years, going back to Renata's in the 1970s. This one opened in 1990, and collected a big following with its early-evening dinners and very ample portions. They have a family connection with Irene's.

DINING ROOM
Fausto's loyal clientele that keeps the small, crowded dining rooms busy. The look is that of the neighborhood Italian cafe, with posters of Italy and lots of red, white, and green.

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Eggplant in carrozza (a baked casserole with prosciutto and tomato sauce).
Fried eggplant sticks.
Arancini (rice balls stuffed meat and cheese).
Stuffed artichoke hearts.
Italian salad.
Manicotti.
Lasagna.
Fettuccine with artichokes and shrimp.
Pasta shells stuffed with spinach.
Chicken Parmigiana.
Shrimp scampi.
Fish Siciliana (lemon-herb butter with shrimp).
Fish or veal Vittorio (with garlic butter and crabmeat).
Veal Saltimbocca.
Chicken Sorrentina (with eggplant and Marsala).
Tiramisu.
Lemon ice.
Italian ice creams.

FOR BEST RESULTS
Avoid the early evening hours, when the inexpensive specials draw a big crowd and the cooking is a shade less careful.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
If you're put off by dining rooms with tables very close to other tables, you may not be comfortable here. The wine list could be more varied.

FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES

This review was updated with new information on 11/16/2009.

A list of all 275 full, current reviews is here.