The Meatball Shop

Last night, my roomates and I ventured through a massive snow storm to "The Meatball Shop," a new restaurant that opened in the Lower East Side only two days ago. The atmosphere was perfect for such a cold night - it was cozy and romantic with old photos hanging on the dark red walls. When we walked in, we were greeted by the owner, Micheal, who led us to a long communal table where he explained the menu.

The menu is barely one page but offers diners a wide variety of options. There are four different meatballs which can be served as heroes, sliders, or in a platter with different sides (pasta, polenta, veggies or white beans). You can also mix and match different meatballs with any of their unique and original sauces.

My roommates, Andrew and Dan, both had pork meatball heroes with spicy meat sauce. I tried the salmon and pork meatball sliders. The pork meatballs were definitely the best - they were juicy and their spicy sauce complemented them well. The salmon meatball slider was okay, perhaps a little too fishy for my taste.

We all inhaled our dishes very quickly and eagerly awaited dessert. The owner had explained to us that his wife makes the ice cream herself so we felt compelled to order two different ice cream sandwiches. We shared a vanilla ice cream and peanut butter cookie sandwich, and also the brownie and espresso ice cream sandwich. While eating our dessert, the chef came out of the kitchen and asked us for our feedback. We told him the cookies and ice cream were probably among the best we ever had.

I imagine "The Meatball Shop" will become a local haunt among all of my friends. The service, food, and affordability definitely make it a place worth visiting often.