Carlsbad’s Tutta Pasta Has Something for All

It isn’t hard to grasp the thrust of a restaurant that names itself Tutta Pasta.

What is a bit surprising in the case of this Carlsbad eatery is that the menu not only goes well beyond pasta to offer a decent selection of Italian-style meats and seafoods but extends to listings of several grandiose “ cena ,” or set-piece, multi-course dinners.

Tutta Pasta takes a something-for-everyone approach by offering both formal dining at tables furnished with starched cloths and armchairs, and ultra-casual eating in the “pizza bar,” very much a come-as-you-are room equipped with a bar, minimal accouterments (bare tables, paper napkins instead of cloth) and a wide-screen television tuned to sports events. The building itself has been around for quite some time as home to a succession of restaurants, including one called Le Marengo that, before toppling from the lonely heights it so bravely scaled, briefly flared as a wonderful and locally unique French eatery. Remaining is the one-of-a-kind Le Marengo decor, with rooms framed in marble and mirrors.

The cooking by and large takes the high road, and most recipes seem straight from Italy and not edited by American opinions of what Italian food should be. In other words, there is no mention of spaghetti and meat balls, but the plate of pappardelle (very broad egg noodles) with bolognese-style meat sauce seems very much the real thing, or hearty, richly flavored and just plain rich. But it cried out for a heavy dusting of freshly grated Parmesan, a need by no means satisfied by the shakers of powdery granulated cheese on every table.

There are 22 choices of pasta, of which about one-third are finished in the oven. Baked pastas occupy a special category in Italian cooking, as they do at Tutta Pasta, which offers the rarely found timballo (this can be many things, but here is macaroni baked with mozzarella and green peas), along with vegetarian, meat and seafood lasagnas and a rather nice cannelloni stuffed with minced fish and shellfish. The flavor is briny but mild, and the menu suggests this with either white or pesto sauces; on the whole, the cream sauce, which simultaneously smoothes and enriches the dish, seems the more logical choice. Pesto goes best with plain pasta, which, oddly enough, the menu does not mention, although it comes close with a toss of bow tie pasta and pesto that also includes snippets of smoked salmon.

Other interesting pasta offerings include rigatoni alla Moreino (macaroni with sweet sausage, artichoke hearts, chicory and white sauce) and the “ pollo siciliano ,” a garlicky mix of eggplant and chicken arranged on a bed of pasta.

But the menu goes well beyond these dishes to include such ambitious plates as grilled veal chops with porcini mushrooms and Marsala, lamb chops brushed with mint and lemon and a nice, basic plate of plump sausages with mixed sweet peppers. This last dish, very much in the style of home cooking and very well done, might be described as a prime example of Italian “comfort food.” It certainly is delicious.

There are pizzas, of course--several familiar versions, as well as a seafood pie topped with grilled shrimp and pesto--and a number of reasonably dressy seafood entrees, notably grilled mussels flavored with garlic, lemon and basil, and squid with Italian parsley (stronger than American curly parsley) and capers.

The three elaborate cena (the word simply means “dinner”), served for a minimum of four guests and priced from $14.95 per person, range from the romana meal of antipasto, pasta and dessert with coffee to the fiorentina , which offers a starter, a pasta, a full selection of the menu’s various meats and dessert for $19.95. These probably would make the most sense at some sort of hosted, semi-formal affair, such as a wedding rehearsal dinner.

The desserts, generally quite rich, are made on the premises and take off on Sicilian themes--the loveliest and most fantastic Italian pastries come largely from Sicily, and Tutta Pasta’s ultra-rich molded cake with fruits and cream will not disappoint. One serving should feed the table.

Tutta Pasta

3050 Pio Pico Dr., Carlsbad

Calls: 434-3444

Hours: Lunch and dinner daily

Cost: Pastas and entrees $5.95 to $12.95; dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, about $25 to $50