Food

Sonoran pasta truly amazing

There's a sweet joy when you can satisfy your worldly culinary whims with one stop. You're in the mood for Chinese; your kids want good- old-fashioned American, and the hubby sure could go for Italian. Wild Noodles, Tucson newest fast-food pasta eatery, puts America, Asia and Italy in the spotlight with its pasta dishes. The bright star on the "Amazing American" menu was the Sonoran pasta ($7.50). The creamy chipotle sauce was bold with a pleasant burn. Caramelized corn added zing to the perfectly al dente fettuccine noodles spiked with diced tomatoes and wilted spinach. We also liked the Thai curry ($7.50 with choice of chicken or beef), although the rice noodles were overcooked and mushy. Raw snow peas restored some crunch and cooled the slight heat from the creamy, rich curry sauce, which had a bold zing that tickled the tonsils. The shrimp scampi ($8.50) on the "Sassy Italian" menu, though, was disappointing. The perfectly chewy spaghetti noodles were soured by an overdose of lemon juice that drowned out the flavor of the roasted garlic and white wine in the delicate sauce. We still can't figure out the logic behind potsticker salad ($6.95). Who would have thought about putting four pan-fried chicken potstickers resplendent with the tang of fresh ginger atop a bed of fresh greens doused in honey lime vinaigrette dressing. Unfortunately, the hot potstickers wilted the greens, which were a sopping mess from the drive home. Wild Noodles has one dessert offering: won-ton s'mores ($3.25). If you're envisioning ooey, gooey melted marshmallow sandwiched with a thick chocolate bar between two graham crackers, think again. This is a mound of fried won tons drizzled with marshmallow and chocolate sauce, then dusted with powdered sugar. It's cold, uninviting and about as sinful as eating an Oreo cookie without the sugary frosting in the middle. We suggest (gasp!) skipping dessert and filling up on pasta.