Rolling out the Best Meatballs in Town East to West

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Meatballs as far as I (and my young, beautiful Paleo neighbor are concerned) are the “new hamburgers.”  And, as it turns out, meatballs not only have a fascinating history but a very complicated set of rules and regulations for their names with the USDA. We offer choices to the best, the most unusual ones from under the radar.

To the east in Philadelphia, Martorano’s Restaurants serves chef-owner Steve Martorano’s “meatball salad” is the new favorite of our writer, Roberta Deen.  Big, bold, bald, tattooed, Chef/Owner Steve Martorano and his wife, Marsha, are in the restaurant and up front at events booths with hearty Steve directing diners on how to eat this fine dish.  “You take a bite of meatball with a bite of salad, a dip of bread in sauce and Parmesan.

“One doesn’t expect to eat a meatball in sauce with salad,” reports Roberta, who met him at Las Vegas Uncork’d.  “But, oh, it was great.  The crunchiness of the salad and the warmth of the sauce and the flavor of the meatball make a perfect mouthful.”

 

Recipes are in chef-owner, Steve Martorano’s cookbooks.  //www.cafemartorano.com

 

At Harissa Restaurant and Catering, (the former Got Kosher?, Chef Alain Cohen is known for his (eastern North Africa) Tunisian cuisine, served “boulettes de ma mere”–delicate meatballs made using his mother’s recipe–on a bed of couscous.

 

www.harissala.Location: 8914 W. Pico Blvd. (1 block west of Robertson), Los Angeles, California 90035, Telephone: (310) 858-1920.

In eastern Europe, both to both Greek and Turkish cuisines meatballs are fried, “keftedes,” in Greek and “Kofte” in Turkey. Prepared with breadcrumbs and salt/pepper seasonings, zealous critics in both countries judge dishes by the proportions of meat to bread for just the right texture and taste.

And it was as a result of another war, Turkish “kofte” traveled as far away as Sweden. Their meatballs have been adopted as a national dish called, “Kaldolma.”   Charles XII of Sweden introduced the dish after spending some years in Turkey early in the 18^th century while recovering from a defeat by Peter the Great at the battle of Poltava in Russia.

Italian Cecconi Restaurant serves up its generous portion of meatballs in a copper pan to retain the heat.  Like the restaurant itself, the meatballs are pretty to look at and develop a wallop of refined spiciness.

Over the hill in Studio City, chef-owner Steve at Antonio’s Pizzeria and Restaurant boasts a recipe from the original owner, Antonio Miceli’s grandmother in Italy.  The key is the unusual flavor of bay leaves while the traditional seasonings, onion, garlic, and breadcrumbs are mixed in with the highest quality ground beef.  “We updated it by using a little more meat than breadcrumbs,” Chef Steve told us, ” and we bake it rather than fry them to make them lighter and satisfy our customer’s craving for more healthy foods.

Three hefty meatballs are offered as a starter with green peppers and meat sauce ($11) and for the same price, nestled into a large plate of spaghetti.

Finally, if you want the best at home, ready-made are the Primitive Feast entrees use grass fed/grass finished beef that is free of gluten, milk, and soy, and contain only olive oil or other healthy fats.

Grass-Fed Beef Meatballs in a substantial but delicate Marinara Sauce that any Italian cook would be proud to have made. I ate the entire portion. Each single-serving package ranges between 240-440 calories apiece and provides between 27-38 grams of protein per serving.

Learn more at primitivefeast.com.