One of the things I love about living in Austin is the abundance of really great family-owned neighborhood restaurants. Located in Wells Branch in the same spot as the original Gumbo’s, It’s Italian is one of those neighborhood jewels. The owners and their staff are friendly and a lot of care goes into creating each menu item. The food is not only delicious, the presentation of each dish is gorgeous.

Salad

I ordered the house salad with the house Italian dressing. The lettuce was fresh and had lots of extras — cucumbers, olives, carrots, cherry tomatoes and shredded mozzarella. A great start to a delicious meal.

Main course

There is a wide variety of Italian dishes to choose from. Appetizers include bruschetta, fried ravioli, shrimp scampi, calamari and grilled asparagus. The menu includes pizza with a wide variety of toppings, pasta, chicken, veal, steak and seafood.

My husband ordered the meat lasagna. It also comes without meat or with meatballs and/or sausage.

The veal marsala was divine, with tender mushrooms and a wonderful warm marsala sauce. The fettuccine was coated with a creamy light sauce with a hint of garlic.

Dessert

We were so full that we almost didn’t order dessert. The menu lists creme brulee, chocolate colossal cake and Italian cream cake; however, the owner/chef had made an interesting sounding lemon cake. All I can say is, “WOW.” The cake was soaked in a sweet lemon flavoring and the filling and topping was a creamy sweet lemon sauce. It was topped with a yellow lemon sauce and a dusting of powered sugar, making for a really beautiful dessert.

It’s Italian is vegetarian friendly, with items on the menu such as fettuccini alfredo, eggplant or portabella parmigiana, pasta primavera, or non-meat pizzas.

It’s Italian
14735 Bratton
Austin 78728-4304
(512) 252-1444
Hours: Mon-Sat, 5-9:30pm

I have a new favorite restaurant — El Faro Taco & Cafe on Wells Branch Parkway in North Austin. The food at this family-owned restaurant is incredible. And so is the service. Owner and Chef Morales — as well as his wife, son and mother-in-law — made my husband and I feel like we were part of the family.

Friday nights feature an all-you-can-eat buffet. I decided to try a few items and then go back if I had room for more.

On my plate and in my tummy:

• Pozole
• Enchiladas Tejanas
• Tacos Dorados
• Picadillo
• Lengua
• Chicken Pepe  (this was my favorite)
• Carne Guisada
• Rice
• Flour Tortillas

The chicken and lengua were incredibly tender and tasty.

I was stuffed and wanted to save room for dessert, so I will have to wait until my next visit to try something different from the buffet.

What I will try next time:

• Costilla de Puerco
• Huesitos de Res
• Puerco a la Mexicano
• Charro Beans
• Chiles Rellenos

Mrs. Morales is the pastry chef at El Faro. My husband and I shared a flan and a piece of tres leches cake. WOW. The flan was great. And the tres leches cake has to be the best I’ve eaten in Austin. The photo above is a tres leches cake that she had prepared for a birthday party.

If you are a fan of fresh and delicious food, served with care and a smile, then El Faro is just the place for you!

El Faro Taco & Cafe
1779 Wells Branch Pkwy # 108
Austin, TX 78728
(512) 252-3430

Hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday through Friday: 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Saturday and Sunday: 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM