Serious Eats: New York
Meatballs from Heaven
Meatballs are one of those things you find in virtually every ethnic cuisine. But that just means there are a lot of really bad meatballs to sample in this world. So when you come across a great meatball, you want to tell everyone you know who loves to eat. I had lunch today with Mr. Eater himself, Ben Leventhal, at Gusto on Greenwich Avenue in NYC, a stone's throw from the Village Vanguard, where I spent hundreds of hours in my twenties seeing every great jazz musician I could, from Sonny Rollins to Art Blakey.
Ben ordered the meatballs before I could, so I felt obliged to order something else, the braised chicken with prosciutto. Now the chicken was delicious, don't get me wrong. It was moist and actually tasted like something, with crispy skin and crisped pieces of prosciutto on top.
But the meatballs were transcendent. They were ethereally light and intensely flavored with raisins, pine nuts and a garlicky tomato sauce. Gusto chef Jody Williams might make the best meatballs I have ever tasted. But I haven't tasted them all, so I want to hear from all of you about great meatballs everywhere.
Gusto photo courtesy newyorkmetro