11 Aug 2010, Posted by admin in L'Epicurien, 0 Comments

tickle your sense of umami at the meatball shop

Lower East Side hotspot, The Meatball Shop, comes complete with a throw back atmosphere and a specialty concept—it specializes in meatball subs and serves them in a diner-like environment. Teeming with both carnivores and vegetarians 7-days a week (including my visit on a Monday at 6:30pm), you might have to wait. Don’t be deterred–tables are quickly turned over and bar stools are just fine for a deuce.

The watermelon lemonade spritzer with cucumber essence, was a refreshing recovery from the sweltering heat. My dining companion and I were tossed two menus with two erasable markers to check off our choices.  Choose your meatball–chicken, pork, beef, or veggie. Choose your sauce–marinara, mushroom gravy, spicy meat sauce, or parmesan cream. You are given the option between white or whole wheat bread for your sub. And finally there are two cheese options–provolone or mozzarella. If that isn’t enough, you can always order a side of spaghetti, mashed potatoes, or broccoli.

If a sub is too much for you to chew, opt for the sliders, served on a brioche bun. The special meat of the day when I visited was lamb and a pesto sauce, squeezed in a caramel colored, buttery brioche, a play on your typical beef ball with tomato sauce. For the chicken meatball lover, the savory, richness of the chicken meat along with a hearty, balanced marinara, with provolone was heaven.

For the first time in some time, I felt my umami taste receptors completely stimulated by the combination of the decadent meat and cheese.

The Meatball Shop

84 Stanton Street

(212) 982-8895

TheMeatballShop.com

–Melissa Matarese