Diary 4|14|2015: Blaze Pizza. Florentine At Fausto's.

Written by Tom Fitzmorris April 22, 2015 12:01 in

DiningDiarySquare-150x150 [title type="h5"]Tuesday, April 14, 2015. Erik Veney Is Back. Pizza Chain Invades CBD.[/title] The rain shows no sign of letting up until Sunday, at the soonest. Meanwhile, the weeds that shoot up before the year's first lawnmowing are getting high. I dare not roll the lawn tractor into that kind of soft mud, or try to serpentine between the crawfish chimneys, which are the biggest I've ever seen. Yet, after looking since I was about five years old, I have never seen a living thing enter or exit those mud towers. On a brighter note, the Queedle-deep birds ask and answer their musical question as if it were a fine sunny day. The Radio Round Table features a visit from Erik Veney. He was the chef who made Muriel's as good as it is. He's the creator of the crepes stuffed with goat cheese and topped with crawfish, which has become a signature dish at Muriel's. Erik left Muriel's for a stint as the chef de cuisine at Stella!, during the years when that restaurant was one of the top three. But Stella! died at the same time the old Brennan's did, and with comparable fireballs. Erik came back to Muriel's just as Chef Gus Martin moved from Muriel's to Dickie Brennan's restaurant group. Also here is Greg Hazard, owner of Unit #63 of a will-be national chain of pizzerias. It's in that newly-redeveloped part of the CBD between Rampart and Baronne, Common and Poydras. Across the street from the great new Rouse's Market. Blaze Pizza's come-and-get-it is that you walk through their array of possible toppings, ask for whichever ones you want (a la Chipotle), and then watch your pizza bake in three minutes. It's all fresh product, they make their pizza dough and sauces in house, they use whole-milk mozzarella. But the more he tells me, the more it sounds like a fast-food, take-out-dominant shop. I think I'll let the Marys try it first--as they almost certainly will. Greg didn't bring any of his pizza, so I have no idea. I have explained before why I don't much care for these you're-the-chef restaurants that have become so popular. I don't care how individualistic your tastes are, a chef will do a better job of making a dish than you will, unless you're a very good cook. But nothing I say will stop this for the next few years, by which time it will die of its then-lack of novelty. Mary Leigh and I meet at Fausto's for dinner. I like it when she calls me for the date. We always have much to talk about. [caption id="attachment_47296" align="alignnone" width="480"]Triple caprese salad at Fausto's. Triple caprese salad at Fausto's.[/caption] We start the meal with the triple-size insalata caprese, with its fresh-milk mozzarella, ripe tomatoes and fresh basil. She gets her usual spaghetti and meatballs (my record of expanding my kids' culinary horizons is embarrassingly poor). [caption id="attachment_47295" align="alignnone" width="480"]Trout florentine at Fausto's. Trout florentine at Fausto's.[/caption] I am interested in a special of speckled trout florentine. With the obligatory crabmeat and lemon butter, of course. But I am thinking about the standard florentine dish, with its underlayer of creamed spinach. This is made differently, to excellent effect. The spinach is barely wilted, and remains in whole leaves at the bottom of the plate. A much better flavor than the standard. But Fausto's has always been great with its seafood specials. [title type="h5"]Fausto's. Metairie: 530 Veterans Blvd. 504-833-7121.[/title]