Meatballs are no longer limited to Italian restaurants. Forget the classic beef, pork and veal trinity. Anything that walks, flies or swims is now fair game. Find my favorite Los Angeles meatballs, some recognizable classics, others highly original.
The name of Shawn Kerwin and Justin Urich’s sleek Sherman Oaks gastropub refers to the 30 wines by the glass, and 30 beers on draught, but don’t sleep on the bar food, including their Balls of Meat ($8). These meatballs are 80% beef, 20% pork, packed with shaved fennel and thyme, and served in cast iron skillet with buttery toasted brioche and rich, dark red marinara sauce.
At the most casual cog in the Mozza Restaurant Group compound, Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, Nancy Silverton, and culinary lieutenant Matt Molina serve some scintillating starters, including Meatballs Al Forno ($11). The mixture, which includes pork butt, veal, pancetta, day-old bread, milk, eggs and more, cook in the wood-burning oven and come with shaved Parmesan and crostini to scoop up the luxurious pomodoro sauce.
At this fashionable Italian restaurant in Marina del Rey, chef Antonia Lofaso commands a sprawling menu, with some dishes that relatively complicated, and others that are pure comfort, like the Meatball Hero ($13). She crafts juicy meatballs from chuck and tenderloin, tops with creamy burrata, showers the whole shebang with sharp Parmesan cheese, and serves the components on a soft hoagie roll.
Blog Comments
Sarah
July 7, 2014 at 10:04 AM
Not sure if Rao’s was open when this article was posted but it definitely deserves a mention. They have the perfect New York Italian style meatballs.
Joshua Lurie
July 7, 2014 at 2:08 PM
Sarah, Good to know. I think Rao’s opened right as this story was going live. I’ve had their meatballs in Vegas. Good, for sure.