Boulders on Broadway is the kind of restaurant I really want to root for.

Erick Geryol worked as a pizza cook at what was an Old Chicago restaurant while attending ASU. A decade later, he fulfilled a dream by buying the Tempe restaurant and renaming it to reflect his passion for rock climbing.

He and his wife, Rochelle, even diversified an affordable menu by adding food items they encountered during their climbing travels. It’s a heartwarming story. But stories won’t satisfy a hungry diner and, unfortunately, neither will most of the items I tried on Boulders’ menu.

Like the pizza nuggets appetizer ($4, pictured at left), a huge platter of pizza-crust squares brushed with garlic butter and accompanied by a dish of cheese-sprinkled red sauce. The flatbreadlike thin crust has an uneven texture, and the sauce tastes like buttery Ragu.

My dining companions and I can eat just one of the small squares. Several minutes later, our server removes the still-full platter without comment, leading me to suspect it isn’t the first time she’s seen a reaction like ours.

A pear quesadilla appetizer is a little better, with thinly sliced honey-roasted ham and Swiss cheese baked in folded flour tortillas. A faint pear taste is evident, although pulling apart the layers fails to uncover much fruit.

We sample a medium-sized barbecue chicken pizza ($15.69). It arrives in a deep dish pan, although the menu describes it as having “true Chicago style thin crust.” It has the same flat crust as the pizza nuggets.

The chicken is all right, and the barbecue sauce is serviceable if unremarkable. But at nearly $16 for a 12-inch pie, we expect a better overall pizza.

The Italian sausage stromboli sandwich ($7.99) is another disappointment. The sausage is loosely ground and devoid of any spiciness. Sparse helpings of onions and peppers, along with more red sauce, do little to help.

The only item we finish? A large bowl of angel hair pasta with spinach, prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, red onions and mushrooms ($10).

We try to recall what was on the dessert menu. Our server, however, walks by, drops off the check without a word and disappears. Oh, well.

With an extensive roster of beers — I counted 27 drafts, 39 domestic bottles and 33 imports — and lots of daily happy hour deals and weekly specials, such as half-price bottles on Thursdays, this neighborhood hangout seems like it at least would be a fun place to meet friends for a drink.

Because, despite my experiences, a part of me still is rooting for Boulders on Broadway.

REVIEW | Boulders on Broadway
Where: 530 W. Broadway Road, Tempe (northeast corner of Roosevelt Street
and Broadway Road)
Open: 11 a.m. to midnight Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday
Prices: Appetizers $4-$9.75, salads $7-$9, sandwiches $6-$10, pizzas $9-$17.99,
entrees $8.49-$13.
Info: (480) 921-9431 or bouldersonbroadway.com