MATT TAYLOR-GROSS

SAVEUR Celebrates the Much-Anticipated Opening of Fausto

Erin Shambura and Joe Campanale revive an old Brooklyn restaurant with some new Italian soul

Published on December 7, 2017

You could tell from the flames glowing in the wood-ovens, reflecting all the way to the rainy sidewalk: the wait was over. SAVEUR was happy to host the preview opening of Fausto—a wine-focused restaurant with an Italian soul and Brooklyn heart.

The location in Park Slope is familiar for many: Franny’s, a restaurant beloved for its pizza and wine, stood here for years. Its closure was devastating news for many customers, including a restaurateur and sommelier Joe Campanale (dell'anima, L'Artusi and Anfora) and chef Erin Shambura (Lupa, Del Posto and L’Artusi). But for them, it also meant they had finally found a perfect place for their new restaurant. The wood-ovens stayed, but the pizzas were out: those flames are now use to cook fish, meat, and vegetables.

Fausto's menu is inspired by chef Shambura's previous work in Italian restaurants in New York, as well as her travels in Italy. The menu includes seasonal bites, vegetable-loaded antipasti, crudos, seven varieties of handmade pastas, meats, fish, and desserts. Chef Shambura is especially excited about her bigoli alla torchio, a duck-ragu topped pasta that she discovered while living in Treviso. The pasta is twisted with a hand-operated torchio. Bigoli was also the first dish Shambura knew she want to have on the menu in Fausto.

The space itself transports you to old-world Italy, with interiors inspired by post-World War II Rome, a vintage-fitted dining area, and a cavernous wine cellar downstairs that also serves as a private dining room. The wine cellar is the other heart of Fausto: Campanale's selection highlights bottles from small Italian producers—those who harvest their grapes by hand, ferment with ambient yeast and utilize organic or biodynamic growing methods.

Fausto opens on Saturday, December 9th at 348 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11238.

ADVERTISEMENTAD

Fausto's Amarcord is a mixture of three different bitters, tonic and prosecco.

Fausto’s interiors are inspired by vintage Italian dining rooms. In the design of Brooklyn-based HOME Studios, modern elements meets art deco.

The heart of Fausto: wood-ovens.

Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster Garrett Oliver, Fausto's Co-owner Joe Campanale, Editor and Writer Michael Wilson, Chef Adam Leonti, and Word Of Mouth host Leiti Hsu.

Bites from Fausto: Arancini with quadrello di bufala, a water-buffalo cheese.

ADVERTISEMENTAD

Spoonful of Italian seaside: red-snapper ceviche with winter citrus and fennel.

Allure Executive Editor Danielle Pergament, and writer Devin Friedman.

Writer Ted Lee, Writer Brad Thomas Parsons, SAVEUR's Editor in Chief Adam Sachs, and Test Kitchen Director Stacy Adimando.

Fausto highlights wines from small Italian producers, who harvest their grapes by hand, ferment with ambient yeast and utilize organic or biodynamic growing methods.

Silky butter sauce covering tortelloni with sweet potato and parsnip.

ADVERTISEMENTAD

Fausto's casa, SAVEUR's casa.

Grub Street Editor Alan Sytsma, and Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster Garrett Oliver.

Co-owner and Beverage director of Fausto Joe Campanale, PUNCH Founder and Editor in Chief Talia Baiocchi, Chef and Co-owner of Fausto Erin Shambura, Chef and Owner of Lilia Missy Robbins, and SAVEUR Editor in Chief Adam Sachs.

The perfect dish for a rainy December night: comfy braised pork shank with white beans and gremolata.

Writer John Bonné, PUNCH Founder and Editor in Chief Talia Baiocchi, and Writer Peter Liem.

ADVERTISEMENTAD

Chef Eli Sussman and guest.

Ilyssa Satter from Fausto's marketing with Tommy Wenzlau, Manager of Wenzlau Vineyards.

At the end of the night, guests got special treats from to the extensive digestive collection: amaro, chinato, grappa, and several vintage amari, produced in Italy in the 1960s and 1970s.