Fausto's - Iowa, LA

Chicken Fried Road Trip: New Orleans (Part 2 of 2)

On my return trip to the Lone Star State from New Orleans, a colleague recommended Fausto’s to me in a little town about halfway to Houston in Iowa, Louisiana (no, this is not a typo).

Inside Fausto’s is more like a fishing lodge than a restaurant with several impressive large mounted fish and pictures of the catch of local fishermen adoring the walls. It was clearly a family run place, with family pictures on the wall of people I recognized from the restaurant.

The CFS: Moist, tender and tasty, but clearly pre-formed and frozen. It resembled a hockey puck as it was poised curvelinearly on my (styrofoam) plate.

Breading: Dense and salty. Clearly had been pre-professed. More like a protective shell than breading.

Gravy: White and creamy but without much to it. A bit like wallpaper paste. Not much flavor or depth and too runny to be much good.

Knife: Plastic, for goodness sake. Quality aside, these were inappropriate for the size of the job.

Sides: One side to choose one that was fixed. The fixed item was a small cup of cole slaw which was awful – too much mayo and too much vinegar made for a sloppy mess. The sides you could choose among French fries, baked potato or onion rings. I ordered the French fries; my server brought me the onion rings. In a hurry, ate the onion rings. My mistake. The onion rings were awful too: cold, overly salty, dense breading and too thin to get any onion flavor. The meal also came with a roll that was like eating a cold pillow – it was clearly pulled out of a bag with hundreds of other rolls.

Cost: $ 8.99. Too much considering the quality of the meal.

Service: Counter service – place order from a large menu with small type and they bring out the food. Service was friendly although not totally competent.

Music Selection: None.

In retrospect, I should have had the fried chicken as recommended to me but I simply couldn’t resist trying the CFS when presented with the option. I mean, what kind of chicken fried blogger would I be if I didn't? So, stick to the fried chicken at Fausto’s and stick to Texas for Chicken Fried Steak.

105 E. Miller Avenue, Iowa, LA.

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