Meatball Mania

Last weekend, I fulfilled a long-running desire to dine at the Meatball Shop, a restaurant that opened just over a year ago in the heart of the Lower East Side. What a concept: meatballs every which way, with gourmet variations and ingredients thrown in and trendy but cozy, communal atmosphere.

The best part, in my opinion, is how you order: you customize your own plate by marking your selection of meatballs (5 to choose from), sauces (another 5 variations) and sides (from polenta to risotto to greens to roasted veggies), on a laminated menu. There's something so gratifying about being able to be so creative and in-control over what you're served. You're even asked to specify where you want your side dishes in relation to your meatballs: on the side, in a separate dish, or directly under your meatballs.


I wound up with spicy pork meatballs smothered in classic tomato sauce, along with a side of truffle risotto and an arugula market salad. The meatballs were incredible, and the market salad fresh and delicious. The risotto was a miss (texturally, at least) but the rest of the meal more than made up for it. For dessert, Meatball Shop offers (again, customizable) ice cream sandwiches, which are inventive and delicious but quite hard to eat unless you're OK with using your hands.

If you go, the bad news is that you'll have to wait 1-2 hours to be seated, as we did on Friday. The good news is that there are dozens of places to grab a drink nearby, so if you have a snack beforehand, you should last long enough to make it to the meatballs, and make a fun night out of it. And for my fellow West Siders, they're opening a new location on Greenwich Avenue this summer, according to Grub Street. Hallelujah!