Dinner, digs at Bada Boom! Pasta Room are divine, but dessert fails to inspire
By CRYSTAL PETROCELLI
Get Out

Wait: We arrived just shy of 8 p.m. on a Friday. Rather than wait for a prime sidewalk patio spot, we asked to be seated in one of the huge, tall booths in the back.

Service: Our slightly scruffy server was classy yet casual in both style (black slacks, tie tucked into a white button down shirt with rolled-up sleeves) and attitude. Unfortunately, he was saddled with the entire back room, which created significant lag time with drink refills. The service took another hit when the bread basket guy delivered his doughy delights to every table but ours.

What we liked: This pasta room whips up its own mozzarella, imports tomatoes from Italy and makes its pizza dough daily. The results? Smallish servings but big flavors. We started by sharing a very finely chopped Italian salad of romaine and iceberg lettuce, basil, parma prosciutto, artichokes, garbanzo beans, provolone and just the right amount of red wine vinaigrette dressing. Our small Sicilian Meat pie had a delightfully sweet and tangy sauce with thick sections of melted mozzarella and fontina cheeses that stretched to a fun-but-not-annoying length before snapping sharply. Our penne plate’s thick pink vodka sauce had enough crushed red pepper to give it a kick without masking those delicious, slightly sugary diced tomatoes. Dessert didn’t go down as smoothly as dinner. The menu boasts Bada is “the only joint in town that serves Cathy’s Rum Cake,” but both the menu and our server failed to mention that the style of rum cake rotates weekly and that we would be getting a chocolate raspberry version. We're not a fan of that flavor combo and to make matters worse, the middle layer was slightly frozen.

Scene: Like Sugo Pastaria Wine Bar before it, this new Italian restaurant ran with red. Shades of the color are everywhere, from the velvet walls, booths and seat cushions to the dark-pink street lamps lighting the 80-plus-seat patio. But that’s where the similarities with this building’s former occupant end. Sugo regulars won’t recognize the completely renovated new restaurant with black-and-white, mob-style photos plastering the walls and multiple open kitchens.

Bathroom break: The men’s and women’s doors were hung with gunsmoking, silhouetted paintings of “Bonnies” and “Clydes.” Inside, both were tidy.

Tab for two: $54 with tip and tax for a chopped Italian salad ($9), Mr. Pink’s Pasta ($13), Sicilian Meat pie ($14) and Cathy’s Rum Cake ($7).
If work weren’t buying: It’s a fun place for pasta, pizza and vino (glasses are poured from Bada’s own Mafia-inspired labels and bottles are priced from $31 for Ruffino Lumina ’03 to $225 for Opus One ’00).
Romantic patio, mobster theme save dinner scene

By CHRIS PAGE
Get Out

Wait: We arrived at 5:30 p.m. on a Sunday and were seated immediately on the patio, where only two of many other tables were occupied.
Service: The restaurant was overstaffed for such a small Sunday night clientele. Our server seemed both nervous and hawkish during the meal, hovering over us every five minutes, either to ensure a good tip or because she didn’t have much else to do. She was prompt, though, until it came time to bring our check, which took 15 minutes despite us saying we were in a rush. Also, what’s up with the bread jockey? Do we need one guy doling out rolls like they’re war rations?

What we liked: We’re big fans of the menu at Bada’s brother joint Sugar Daddy’s, so we had high hopes here. In terms of flavor, we were pleasantly reassured. Even on a Sunday night, we could taste the freshness of ingredients in our Mr. Pink’s Pasta (penne with vodka sauce) and “white pie” pizza — roasted garlic and chicken, basil and ricotta and mozzarella cheeses. The flavors were so well balanced, we could pull them apart with our taste buds. Bada-goers simply must start off with the mozzarella en corozze — pesto, olive tapanade and mozzarella on chiabatta bread, all dipped in egg, seared and served on tomato sauce. Delish! The tiramisu, however, is too rich with marscapone; it’s tiramisu for folks who hate the taste of coffee. Overall, we found the menu somewhat limited, though we’re excited to see how it evolves over time.

Scene: Like Sugar Daddy’s, Bada Boom’s interior is funky and dimly lit — crime-scene red is the primary lighting color here — and separate dining rooms form a small catacomb of intimate spaces. But the effect of the cheesier decorations in Bada make it seem less like “The Sopranos” or a legit Italian joint and more like Rocco’s from “The Restaurant.” The patio, however, is swanky-chic and, on a calm Sunday evening, pretty darn romantic.

Bathroom break: Clean and well-stocked, though we can imagine how the framed photographs of gangster scenes on the wall might — just might — hinder folks with shy bladders and nervous constitutions. Tab for two: $54 with tax and tip for mozzarella en corozze ($8), white pie ($11), Mr. Pink’s Pasta ($13), tiramisu ($7) and soft drink ($2).

If work weren’t buying: A pasta place in carb-conscious downtown Scottsdale? Good luck.

Bada Boom! Pasta Room
4151 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale

Major cross streets: Indian School Road and Marshall Way
Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday through Saturday
Reservations accepted: Yes
Health report: Not available
Kid friendly? No
Web site: www.badaboomaz.com