Restaurants
Hey Meatball
Hey Meatball just rolled in as the latest restaurant addition to Little Italy, located near the intersection of College and Crawford. As you probably guessed, meatballs are the main dish and focal point. Chef Rodney Bowers, formerly of The Citizen and The Rosebud, brings a new offering that goes beyond the pizzerias and red sauces that dot this stretch.
House-made jarred veggies line the walls as does eclectic images of Chef Bowers professing the quality of his, ahem, balls. The counter service may put some off but I thought it was a casual approach that keeps with the down home feel of the space .
The house-made Ginger-Ale ($3) definitely had bite and was not for the faint of heart - this ain't no Canada Dry. A Strawberry Cream Soda ($3) is also offered to satiate your sweet tooth.
As a vegetarian option, eggplant and ricotta 'meatballs' ($11) were served over a plate of polenta and drizzled with a parmesan cream. The polenta was cooked perfectly and, coupled with the sauce, was a real knock out in flavor and consistency. Unfortunately, this posed a problem for the veggie meatballs which had a tacky quality and lacked enough flavour. I felt they were overwhelmed by the rest of the dish. But, with that said, I'd still get it again just for the polenta.
Of course we had to order the meatball sandwich, appropriately called The Godfather ($11), which was accompanied by a small chopped salad. Created with the "holy trinity of pork, veal and beef," the meatballs were delicious and stood above what you might find stewing all day down the street. And on a small side note, the knife work on the chopped vegetables in the salad maybe a small detail but showed the high caliber and attention to detail Chef Bower's is committed to serving.
What's unique to Hey Meatball is the family friendly space and Chef Bower's ability to serve upscale comfort food that's still approachable and familiar. Since it's still a soft opening, most dishes were prepared to order which insured quality but also a slight backlog during the dinner rush.
The grand opening will be next week with the unveiling of the full menu and hopefully their organic soft serve ice cream ($3). Apparently, the full menu will allow you to choose which type of meatball (veal, turkey, beef, or veggie), sauce (pesto, marinara, or alfredo), and side (risotto, polenta, or pasta).
Photos by Peter Henderson
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Thanks, and keep it up.
And while I'm sure they taste okay, those veggie meatballs + polenta could not look more unappealing. It looks like a plate of baby vomit studded with cheese-coated owl pellets.
My issues come with the rest of the meal/atmosphere. I don't know I guess I was expecting more after visiting a similar style place in NYC....but Hey Meatball really needs to work on their sides. They only had one option, which was a tiny salad containing lettuce, carrots and a couple red peppers. No other side options. I recognize that it is a new restaurant and the full menu isn't available yet, but maybe that's the problem. I think it would have made more sense to open with a full menu and being fully licensed.
I think with the current menu offerings, this is a good lunch spot if you are in the area. As a dinner option, well....I left hungry and ate again a few hours later.
Overall great quality food, smallish portions, blah atmosphere. That being said, I will likely go back to try it again once they have a full menu available.
Also, the menu has recently been updated.
Comments about the service are misleading as well. It's just more of a laid-back Ossington feel than typical Little Italy.
I bet you a dollar you'll like it here.