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Fazzio's
Mandeville: 1841 N Causeway Blvd. 504-624-9704. Map.
Casual.
AE DC DS MC V
Website
WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
Fazzio's is a landmark at the busy intersection of Causeway Boulevard and LA 22. With Italian food of the kind your mother used to make (or like you wish she had made), the appeal of the place is easy to understand. Lots of thick, sweet, smooth red sauces on enormous piles of pasta, meatballs, and veal, often covered with thick strata of melted cheese. And almost as many dishes with rich cream sauces. With seafood and steaks filling out the selection. The prices are low, the wait staff is friendly, and there are many regular customers.
WHAT'S GOOD
The dominance of tomato sauces is something you know as soon as you step inside. The alluring aromas jump-start your appetite, een if this isn't your kind of Italian food. Despite all those the homestyle Italian dishes, the best food here involves seafood. A good meal can be made from the appetizer list alone, with
BACKSTORY
Fazzio's opened in 1987, which makes it one of the oldest restaurants in Mandeville. Lots of people were relocating to the North Shore, but not many restaurants were there to serve them, and Fazzio's lock on the homestyle Italian segment built a numerous clientele.
DINING ROOM
Rustic on the outside, the restaurant has a dimly-lit, borderline romantic environment which nevertheless usually has a few tables filled with families. The bar has always been busy, but in recent years--with the help of new laws--the cigarette smoke that used to drift from bar into the dining room is gone.
ESSENTIAL DISHES
Starters
»Da Fazz shrimp (like BBQ)
Fried eggplant
»Fried calamari
Southwestern eggrolls
Shrimp remoulade
Crabmeat au gratin
Onion rings
Eggplant royale (cream sauce and shrimp)
Shrimp cocktail
Popcorn shrimp or crawfish
Ahi tuna, ponzu glaze
Crab cakes
Soups And Salads
Seafood gumbo
Soup du jour
Shrimp salad
Chef salad
»Italian salad
Black and blue salad (steak, greens, blue cheese)
Caesar salad
Garden salad
Salad options:
Popcorn shrimp or crawfish
Grilled or blackened chicken
Lump crab crabcake
Grilled yellowfin tuna steak
Skewered grilled shrimp
Entrees
»Fried catfish, shrimp, oysters, or combination platters
Jimbob shrimp (stuffed with crabmeat)
Crab cakes
Filet mignon
»Ribeye
»Skewered jumbo shrimp
Boneless skinless chicken breast
Angel hair pasta, red gravy, Italian sausage or meatballs
Angel hair pasta, crabmeat cream sauce, stuffed shrimp or crab cake
»Fettuccine Alfredo (with shrimp or crawfish)
»Lasagna
Fresh fish of the day
Chicken or veal, marsala or parmigiana
»Eggplant parmigiana
Chicken Fazzio (grilled, crabmeat cream sauce)
»Veal Fazzio (mushrooms, artichoke, capers, cream sauce)
Filet mignon Fazzio (topped with sauteed shrimp, mushrooms, peppers, olives, cream sauce)
Veal Ledet (crawfish, artichokes, brandy cream sauce, baked with mozzarella)
»Veal Milanese (panneed, with fettuccine Alfredo)
Daily specials (notably braciolone)
Desserts
»Bread pudding
Tiramisu
FOR BEST RESULTS
Order light, show up very hungry, or split entrees. Ask for more information than you usually would about the specials. If you're thinking about a steak, you might find it better with three or four ingredients removed from the platter.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
A section of dishes that would not have been seen in 1965 would be welcome. It wouldn't be a bad idea to serve the pasta that comes with many of the entrees with a different sauce than the one on the main item.
FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.
- Dining Environment
- Consistency +1
- Service+2
- Value +1
- Attitude +2
- Wine & Bar
- Hipness -2
- Local Color -1
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
- Romantic
- Good for business meetings
- 8-25
- Open Monday lunch and dinner
- Open all afternoon
- Unusually large servings
- Good for children
- Easy, nearby parking
- Reservations accepted
