Food won't be the only attraction at soon-to-open Urban 7 in Scottsdale. There will be world beat dance music, showings by local artists, and fashion shows, too.
It's the vision of Frank & Lupe's owner Teddy Bernal and his wife Diana Prieto-Bernal, who have transformed the nearby Marshall Way space that used to house Bada Boom Pasta Room (4151 N. Marshall Way) into a restaurant/watering hole with five different "zones" -- dining room, bar area, lounge for casual dining, VIP room, and outdoor patio.
According to today's press release, it's geared toward "the chic and arty crowd the Bernals expect to frequent the new dining establishment." A worthy endeavor, to be sure, although these days, the gallery scene around Marshall Way is really hurting.
Let's hope executive chef Edgar Hernandez's dinner menu is a better draw. It combines American, Latin, and Asian inspirations in dishes such as grilled marinated beef skirt steak with peppercorn-garlic paste and pickled red onions, garlic shrimp pan pizza with pesto and feta, and seafood casserole with clams, mussels, shrimp, scallops, merguez sausage, and garlic tomato sauce. There will also be a "martini kitchen" mixing up specialty cocktails.
A grand opening is scheduled for Saturday, February 27.
