Mark’s Famous Meatball: The Pasta Near Scottsdale Worth the Drive
There is one meatball on the menu at Tarbell’s, served with pappardelle and organic tomato marinara. It is large, it falls apart under a fork, and it took the better part of two years of days off to get right.
It began, of all places, in a grocery store in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that was open about two hours a day. This is how a teenager’s after-school habit became a dish people drive across the Valley for.
Taste it in Phoenix, ten minutes from Scottsdale
Emilio’s Wednesdays
Chef Mark Tarbell grew up in New England, in a town where many of his friends were Italian. One of them had a genuine piece of local legend attached to him — a grocer named Emilio, who made meatballs by hand one day a week, behind a closed door at the back of his shop.
“When I was a kid, back in New England, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, I grew up around a lot of my friends who were Italian, and one of the guys in town was named Emilio. He had a grocery store that was open like two hours a day. And he made on Wednesdays these meatballs, and he made them by hand. And it was all secret in the back. And us kids would go there after high school and just eat his meatballs, or we would skip school, often, and go eat Emilio’s meatballs.”
— Chef Mark Tarbell
Two hours a day, one day a week, made entirely by hand. It was never quite a business — more something Emilio did because he wanted to, and a town that arranged itself around it.
Eighteen months of Sundays
Years later, trained in Paris and running his own kitchen in Phoenix, Mark was still thinking about those meatballs. There was no recipe to work from—it had never been written down, and the man who knew it was in New Hampshire—so he cooked toward a memory instead.
By his own account, it took roughly eighteen months of Sundays, his one day off each week, to arrive at a texture he remembered from being fifteen. Guests began asking what he did on his days off; when he told them, he started bringing the results in. Before long he was making around a hundred at home each week and had no day off left at all and taught the kitchen to make them instead.
What he was after the whole time was a particular quality—pillowy and tender, holding together on the plate and then giving way completely to a fork. A dense meatball is straightforward. That one is a matter of technique, and it is the part that took a year and a half.
What is actually in it
The meatball arrives with pappardelle and an organic tomato marinara that is as short as it sounds: tomatoes, garlic, a little red wine, a little Chianti, and nothing hiding behind them. The sauce is vegetarian; the meatball is not.
The detail worth noticing is the tomatoes. They come from the same growers Tarbell’s has worked with for more than twenty-five years — the reason the marinara tastes consistent across years rather than batches, and part of a broader way of sourcing that runs through the whole kitchen.
Because there is Chianti in the marinara, there is an obvious bottle to set beside it. Ask, and the team will choose one — or take one home from The Wine Store.
Where to find this pasta near Scottsdale
Mark’s Famous Meatball is served at Tarbell’s on Camelback Road in Phoenix, about ten minutes from Old Town Scottsdale. For anyone looking for pasta near Scottsdale without staying inside Old Town, the drive west along Camelback is short and the parking is easier.
It is a good dish to share, and a natural one to order after the beef carpaccio and hamachi crudo — the raw plates first, the meatball to the middle of the table after.
Reserve a table, or see the full menu first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I get good pasta near Scottsdale?
Tarbell's on Camelback Road in Phoenix is about ten minutes from Old Town Scottsdale and serves Mark’s Famous Meatball with pappardelle, along with hand-cut ribbon pasta.
What makes a meatball tender instead of dense?
Mostly restraint. Overworking the mix and packing it tightly compresses the texture, while a gentle hand, enough moisture, and the right binder keep it light.
What wine goes with meatballs and marinara?
Follow the sauce. There is Chianti in this marinara, so a medium-bodied Italian red with good acidity is the natural match.
Is the recipe published anywhere?
No. Emilio’s version was never written down, and Mark’s came out of eighteen months of trying to reach the same result.
Can the pasta be made gluten free?
The menu marks gluten free dishes and gluten free availability throughout, so ask your server.
Does Tarbell’s take reservations?
Yes. Book a table online, or see hours and directions.
