There are times when one must have this kind of Italian food. The smooth, rich red sauces on pastas in many configurations are comforting. Even better is the array of seafood dishes. They are as excellent as they are original, with an almost endless variety of possible sauces and garnishes. Remember: because an Italian restaurant makes great veal Marsala or manicotti doesn't imply that a soft-shell crab or a big filet of fish with shrimp and crabmeat might not be better. You can always get a small order of pasta marinara to satisfy that appetite.
Fausto's vends some of the finest current examples of the Sicilian-inspired, New Orleans-style Italian menu. A pair of brothers who, with other members of their family, have run such restaurants around town for decades. If there's a dish you recall from an Italian restaurant a long time ago, Fausto's probably still prepares it at least as well as the version in your head. Casual, unpretentious, inexpensive, Fausto's outperforms expectations.
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. Interesting management program: the brothers take six-month turns running the place.
The restaurant is small, and most people seem to know many other people in the room. A striking mural depicts scenes from Venice. Between these are mirrors to virtually expand the space.
Really, believe me: if you miss the seafood, you've missed the best cooking here.
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