The Meat Ball Shop- a little taste of Heaven

Having been raised by an Italian mother, trust me when I say I know good food. I have, numerous times, sat and listened to people rave about a dish or restaurant only to taste it for myself and think, "My mother's is better." Even in New York (arguably the greatest City in the world to eat) if you want my approval, you are really going to have to work for it. I am particularly judgmental when it comes to anything that contains red gravy (or as you probably call it "sauce") because I have been raised eating one that time and time again beats out that of three and four star restaurants. Still I love food so I'm always up for the challenge.


I had heard about the Meatball Shop and was instantly intrigued. It is an entire restaurant that serves only meatballs as the main course. Yes, there is a large variety of meatball choices but even so, those must be some meatballs. So this week, after many weeks of debating, Lauren and I decided we would try it out so i could see for myself what everyone was raving about.


As soon as you enter (we did lunch but apparently the dinner waits aren't bad) you are greeted with a "choose your own meal" menu.


This is something I absolutely love! The only other time I had seen one was a the Macaroni Grill and I just love the idea that you can pick and choose, it adds a homey feel to it. The second positive of the restaurant is that everything is local, fresh, mostly organic, and free range. This makes me feel good because I went to a liberal hippy college and have since loved the idea of eating food that has very little processing and the lack of guilt that comes from eating an animal that lived a good life. This isn't the way I always eat, unfortunately, but when I find out that I am suporting an establishment with such good beliefs, it makes me feel like a good person.


For our meal, each of us ordered a "Meatball Smash" which is two meatballs (in my case all beef) with your choice of cheese (mozzerella) and sauce (classic red), on a brioche roll (if you don't know that taste like challah.) The roll was amazing and the mixture of the sauce and melt in your mouth cheese, just thinking about it my mouth is watering. True to form, I thought the meatball was delicious but I have to admit ball vs. ball my mother's recipe wins out.


Then came dessert. I know what you are thinking, is it really nessessary to have dessert with lunch. Well, not all lunches but when having something acidic like an Italian meal, it is always a good idea to balance it with something basic like a milk product. If this isn't reason enough, dessert at the Meatball Shop is a homemade cookie sandwhich and ice cream has always been my favorite food. Not to mention, only a week before, I was seconds away from dying in a car crash so if I want to eat an Ice Cream sandwhich in the afternoon once in a while, I can. Who is it hurting?




I ordered two chocalate chips surrounding a heaping scoop of chocolate ice cream. It was delicious. When thet say homemade, they aren't kidding. Not only are the cookies made in house, but so is the ice cream and you can really taste the freshness. Lauren ordered mint chip ice cream with one peanut butter cookie and a chocolate chip and you actually see the little pieces of mint leaf on your spoon. She said it reminded her too much of toothpaste to finish, but I took a spoonful of it and, though I admit I am not a fan of mint ice cream, it was the greatest tasting mint icecream I've ever had because it tasted like mints and not flavoring.


If I have to find one negitive to report about the restaurant it would have nothing to do with the food itself. My only issue is, there is a giant painitng of a cow in the restroom, surrounded by smaller pictures of chickens and pigs. I understand it goes with the whole, "straight from the happy farm to your table without the middle man" vibe but I don't need the guilt of looking my food in the eye as it is already on a journey into my belly. However, for that icecream, I'll get over it.