O what a buzz there has been around The Meatball Factory opening! It occupies the Northwest corner of 14th and 2nd. The space used to have a Nathan's, and other such fast food spots. An actual restaurant is an upgrade. However, it is somewhat sad that it opened just a few weeks after its neighbor, IHOP, opened right up the street. I am not a huge fan of having an IHOP in the neighborhood.
The Meatball Factory is brought to you by Dave Martin, the infamous "I am not your bitch, bitch" from Top Chef Season 1. Seeing as that aired 7 years ago, Dave Martin is also famous for being a slightly frantic and eccentric chef in NY. He teaches classes at ICE, has cookbooks, works with charities, etc. I did an interview with him once, which you can read here.
I was excited to hear he was opening another restaurant. His first restaurant, Crave, was pretty great. He served his famous truffle mac and cheese, as well as other somewhat southern inspired comforting American dishes. But the location was a stinker - 42nd street between 11th and 12th! There is literally nothing over there other than Lucky Strike Bowl.
I went to the Meatball Factory five days after its opening. Some people like to wait for a place to be open a bit longer before they try it because restaurants tend to have a few kinks in the beginning. I love seeing the kinks. More interestingly, watching a restaurant grow up and evolve is pretty amazing. Restaurants get better, change menus, come up with new concepts, and grow before your very eyes. It is cool to see it when it first open, recognize the kinks, and see if those kinks iron out.
The Meatball Factory menu primarily consists of 8 types of meatballs to match with eight sauces, offered in a bowl or as a sandwich. There is also mac and cheese and pizzas, which seem kind of random. I happen to know that Chef Dave loves pizza, so I have a feeling he could not do a menu without it.
I ordered the lamb meatballs with truffle sauce on a challah roll. The sandwich comes with fries. First, the challah is perfect. Not only is it tasty, but it holds the meatballs well. This was shockingly not a difficult sandwich to eat. I had a meatball sandwich from Almond recently and with each bite, the meatball would slide further back and would drip on my hand. The meatballs themselves were great. I don't think my lamb and truffle combo was a good one though. It almost seems that the eight balls match with one sauce perfectly. Definitely ask for combo recommendations. The fries were good too.
Now for the kinks. Some tables got the wrong dishes. It took awhile for the waitress to take our dessert order. There is a hectic frantic energy in the air. But seriously, who cares? This place is new and they are just trying to make people meatball happy. And considering how crowded this place is, they must be doing a good job!
http://www.themeatballfactorynyc.com/
Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl
I was excited to hear he was opening another restaurant. His first restaurant, Crave, was pretty great. He served his famous truffle mac and cheese, as well as other somewhat southern inspired comforting American dishes. But the location was a stinker - 42nd street between 11th and 12th! There is literally nothing over there other than Lucky Strike Bowl.
I went to the Meatball Factory five days after its opening. Some people like to wait for a place to be open a bit longer before they try it because restaurants tend to have a few kinks in the beginning. I love seeing the kinks. More interestingly, watching a restaurant grow up and evolve is pretty amazing. Restaurants get better, change menus, come up with new concepts, and grow before your very eyes. It is cool to see it when it first open, recognize the kinks, and see if those kinks iron out.
The Meatball Factory menu primarily consists of 8 types of meatballs to match with eight sauces, offered in a bowl or as a sandwich. There is also mac and cheese and pizzas, which seem kind of random. I happen to know that Chef Dave loves pizza, so I have a feeling he could not do a menu without it.
I ordered the lamb meatballs with truffle sauce on a challah roll. The sandwich comes with fries. First, the challah is perfect. Not only is it tasty, but it holds the meatballs well. This was shockingly not a difficult sandwich to eat. I had a meatball sandwich from Almond recently and with each bite, the meatball would slide further back and would drip on my hand. The meatballs themselves were great. I don't think my lamb and truffle combo was a good one though. It almost seems that the eight balls match with one sauce perfectly. Definitely ask for combo recommendations. The fries were good too.
Now for the kinks. Some tables got the wrong dishes. It took awhile for the waitress to take our dessert order. There is a hectic frantic energy in the air. But seriously, who cares? This place is new and they are just trying to make people meatball happy. And considering how crowded this place is, they must be doing a good job!
http://www.themeatballfactorynyc.com/
Have a delicious day!
NYC Menu Girl
Does the Meatball Factory to LES' Meatball shop?
ReplyDeleteI would honestly say they are different. The Meatball Shop is great, and I love the sandwich there. I like the more restaurant-like environment of The Meatball Factory. Both worth a shot.
ReplyDelete