It’s not every Wednesday night you can use the saying you really “had a ball” and mean it. This past Wednesday, that was the case- all thanks to the actual balls I came face to face with on my dinner plate in Westport, Connecticut- meatballs, that is.
I could sit here and list you an absurd amount of reasons stating why you should no longer be reading this article and should be in your car with your roommates on the way to The Meatball Shop. Instead, I am going to make your life easy and give you 5 reasons why you NEED to make The Meatball Shop a regular stop on your list of restaurants you consistently hit in Fairfield County.
1. More than just your average meatball
To make it clear to all: there are more options other than just traditional meatballs at The Meatball Shop- so yes, you can take that newly vegetarian girl on your dorm floor with you, no problem. The Meatball Shop offers incredible starters and meals like balls of Maine lobster over spaghetti, salmon balls over rice, veggie balls (which can also be for your vegan friend), crab cake balls, mozzarella balls, and more.
2. Salads and veggies you’ll want to eat
If you’re not in a ball-type mood, have no fear! Choose from one of the salads and add a side of your choice of veggies. Go for their salads with twists on kale salads, wedge salads, caesar salads (eat a meatball for every time “salads” was used in this sentence). Don’t knock the carrots either: they’re honey roasted with mint, topped with walnuts and prunes. Did someone say cauliflower with spiced tahini, cilantro and yogurt dill? Sounds like a good dill to me.
3. It’s all a-bowl you
I loved that The Meatball Shop gives you the option to create your own bowl of any type of balls you want. This also allows you to choose a base for your bowl (like gluten free pasta, brown rice, rigatoni, mixed greens), AND gives you the option to pick which sauce you want, like lemon butter, pesto, classic tomato, spicy meat, and more. Not to mention the option of adding any upgrades like bacon, fried egg, avocado, or Swift Kick- The Meatball Shop’s lethally good spicy sauce that will send you for a loop in the best way.
The Meatball Shop's Chicken Parm Balls Special: Chicken and mozzarella fried topped with red sauce over Gluten free pasta
4. DESSERT! Need I say more?
Honestly, I was told I would leave The Meatball Shop full, and this was not a lie- part of this was due to the Dessert Menu. You know, that little piece of paper you tell the waiter you’ll take “a look” at just to be polite, when in reality you’re already planning which flavor of ice cream to get. The Meatball Shop has a killer dessert menu starting with handmade ice cream by Ample Mills Creamery. If you haven’t experienced that yet, then you NEED to. On top of the ice cream, pick from a selection of homemade (yes, HOMEMADE, people) cookies in a variety of flavors to create your personalized, very own, ice cream sandwich *cue applause.* You don’t want to miss out on this.
The Triple Decker: 1 scoop Chocolate Milk & Cookies and 1 scoop PB Wins The Cup Ample Hills ice cream between M&M, Chocolate Chip, & Double Chocolate Chunk cookies
5. Be a Meatballer - be a regular at The Meatball Shop!
Lucky for you, The Meatball Shop in Westport opened only 3 months ago (and is already killing it). This means, if you start going now and continue to go consistently, you can be known as one of The Meatball Shop’s “regulars” or best customers- a seriously fire bragging right.
None of this even touches on the beautiful location The Meatball Shop is in with its waterfront views, the amazingly kind and accommodating wait staff and management team, the super chill and gorgeously new restaurant itself, and to top it all off, this past Wednesday they were playing throwback Panic! At The Disco- what more can one ask for?
Now, the ball is in your court, and if you take what I said to heart, the meatballs could very well be in your plate, too.