the buzz

“Meatballs, the Shop”

It was only time before something like The Meatball Shop would open, as it did last week. After all, we have eateries specializing in just burgers, pizza, and porchetta. 

Co-owners Chef Daniel Holzman (of Le Bernardin and San Francisco’s Campton Place) and manager Michael Chernow (a veteran of Frank in the East Village) have a simple formula at this Lower East Side establishment.

The Meatball Shop will specialize in five types of meatballs, with a selection of sauces and side dishes. You can mix-and-match classic beef (made with all-natural Creekstone Farms beef), spicy pork (made with Heritage Farms pigs), a fennel seed-and black peppercorn-studded savory chicken ball, a croquette-like salmon version, and a hearty vegetable option with lentils, walnuts and mushrooms.

You can order these golf-ball size morsels “naked” (at $7 you order four with focaccia and choice of sauce), slider ($3 with one ball on a bun) and hero ($9 with Il Forno baguette dressed in cheese and sauce). The $3 side dishes include white beans, mashed potatoes, risotto and more. Or you can order light with salads and side vegetables ($4 each). Once you’ve sat down in one of the 39 seats made of reclaimed wood from a 100-year-old Lower East Side tenement, you can order on the sweet side with ice cream sandwiches ($4 each). You can pair fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies or brownies with homemade chocolate, vanilla or caramel ice cream. The shop will be open noon to 4 a.m. daily. Enjoy!
 
The Meatball Shop is located at 84 Stanton St. (at Allen St.), 212-982-8895, www.themeatballshop.com.
 
— Bao Ong
 

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