Meatballs! Meatballs!

One thing I love about living in NYC is the abundance (maybe even over abundance!) of restaurants. So when my friends mentioned The Meatball Shop (WARNING - When you mouse over the icon of the two guys on the right side it makes a farting noise - scared me the first time) I was skeptical. The only thing I knew of meatballs were those faraway days of rock hard meatless tasting meatballs in school cafeterias or really small ones in canned soups and what not. The prices were okay but then again I never thought of eating just meatballs as being a meal all in itself.

The place is always busy at the usual dinner time and I've tried twice to go but alas the waits around prime time eating time (6pm-8pm) had a 2 hour waiting time. Once we went there around 9pm and the waiting time was still 2 hours but granted we had four people and it was a beautiful Autumn evening. The restaurant inside is rather small so two people would be the best for the shortest wait time.

Third time's the charm! Finally got in on a Sunday at 3pm with no wait (not very surprising). The decor inside reminds me of those old garment factories I use to spend my childhood in. In fact I'm pretty sure all the chairs were salvaged when those factories closed down. It's a very nice comfy ambiance and there's a heavy curtain covering the door to come in which is great since it keeps the drafts (mostly) out!

Any ho! The most important part was the meatballs! My friend and I ordered the "Naked Balls" (I had to giggle at that when I read it on the menu) She ordered the spicy pork while I got the beef one. It's served with this ultra soft bread and choice of cheese and sauce. I personally liked the spicy meatballs because it had that kick in it and also the tomato sauce. The Parmesan sauce I ordered was overwhelming the taste of the slightly dry beef meatballs.
We also shared a side of spaghetti. Nothing special... just regular old spaghetti with tomato sauce and we didn't think it was worth ordering. I totally loved the Arugula and Apple salad. It was very refreshing and crisp and complemented my heavily cheesed up meatball meal. Surprisingly these meatballs were very filling! Don't let their size fool you. I ate 3 and was very full but then again I don't eat too much.

Verdict:
Food is good for the price but not for a 2 hour wait. Next time I'll just order the "Smash" which is 2 balls (hehe) and side salad. This time definitely make room for the dessert which sounded delicious (ice cream with homemade cookies) but I was way too full the first time!

Yelp Reviews for Meatball Shop

Until next time... happy eating!