Featured Restaurant: The Meatball Shop

Arthur Bovino — February 10, 2010

Clockwise from top: Spicy Pork Meatballs with Spicy Meat Sauce over Rigatoni, Chicken and Salmon Meatball Sliders, Beef Meatball Hero, and White Beans.

Meatballs. Even if you didn’t grow up in an Italian-American household, just bringing the word up in conversations can kick off impassioned discussions that involve meat methodology, combination theorizing, and philosophizing about technique. But a restaurant dedicated solely to meatballs? That would have made my great-grandfather laugh. And that’s exactly what co-owners, Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow, are going to do with The Meatball Shop, all the way to the bank.

It’s a mix-and-match, do-it-yourself menu. There are five types of meatballs (but no veal!), and plans for a weekly special. You can choose the meatball type, and its accompanying sauce. You choose sides, and how meatballs are served, on top or separately. Eat them one at a time as sliders, or hero-style. They’re soft, they hold together with a pleasant lightness, and they are about the size of golf balls. By using one ingredient per ball, you get to enjoy the actual flavor.

 

Spicy Pork Meatballs with Spicy Meat Sauce over Rigatoni.

The Spicy Pork Meatballs with Spicy Meat Sauce over Rigatoni was the night’s best dish— a kid’s meal for grown-ups. The rigatoni was al dente. The sauce was sweet and salty, with a little bite. Hero-wise, the Beef Meatballs, Classic Tomato Sauce, and Mozzarella on pliable White Bread, made for a saucy, manageable sandwich (as good the next day, cold). We went with Chicken and Salmon Meatball Sliders with Mushroom Sauce and Parmesan Cream, the recommended pairings. Both were moist and well-seasoned, with meatier textures than you’d expect, but they’re not the reason to visit.

 

Chicken Meatball Slider with Mushroom Sauce and Salmon Meatball Slider with Parmesan Cream.

There are six sides, including two pastas, and six greenmarket options. The Polenta had good texture but needed more salt and cheese, or to be eaten with bites of the spicy meat sauce. The White Beans were like mashed potatoes with a curiously enjoyable sandy quality. Servers advised going with the Braised Greens over the Broccoli or Spinach. They’re right— even kale-haters would be happy.

Donna Chernow’s cookies are good— thin and chewy. But we found ourselves sucking out the housemade espresso ice cream to the point of needing a second order. Two scoops and a shot of espresso gets you an off-the-menu, maverick affogato that’s clamoring at the gates of the City’s Top 5.

 

Beef Meatball Hero with Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella on White Bread.

 

White Beans.

 

Braised Kale.

 

Risotto.

 

Freshly-Milled Polenta.

 

Chocolate Chip and Ginger Snap Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich with Espresso Ice Cream.

 

A Do-It-Yourself Affogato with Espresso Ice Cream.