Bite of the Day - 10/29/2008 - Homemade Meatballs at Adrienne's Pizza Bar

It's been too long since I've last checked in, which, somehow, someway, has been over two weeks ago. I have the combination of long days at work, and extended weekends outside the city to thank for my injunction of involuntary incommunicado.

Yet, like any storm, the vortex of confusion, mental consumption, and work-related angst has dissipated as quickly as it formed, leaving me, the Ubereater, as eager, and hungry as ever.

So what better way to return from this harrowing hiatus than with a quick, and poignant bite of the day about an edible treat that, as one of the most enticing, most fulfilling, most familiar foods of our existence, remains painfully under appreciated, dare I say it, overlooked, among the concentric culinary circles that tell the story of eating in our great city. I speak of the almighty Meatball, and more specifically, the homemade meatballs at Adrienne's Pizza Bar in the Financial District.

You are already aware of my deep love for the square pie at Adrienne's made abundantly clear in one of my very first posts as the Ubereater. But what you may not know is that the meatballs at this Stone Street dynamo are some of the best you'll ever have. In fact, they will rekindle your innate love for the simple, but oh so sexy meatball.

Having made their way on to the menu no more than year ago, these perfectly formed globes of gastronomic glory wade leisurely in a moat of hearty, almost-ragu-like red gravy. Slightly bigger than a golf-ball, and tender on the outside, each specimen is packed to just the right consistency, so as to make sure to give way to a firm use of the fork without crumbling into a zillion pieces.



The velvety red gravy is as deserving of recognition as the meatballs themselves, bringing a tart, slow-cooked acidity to the meat, walking the fine line between a thick ragu, and a thin, more liquid marinara. There is no question this gravy may very well be the perfect dressing for these meatballs. Neither thick, nor watery, these beauts are almost buoyant in Adrienne's curiously tangy red gravy.



Without question my relationship with meatballs had all but completely disappeared over the past few years as these age-old treats fell hard from the graces of tradition as attention to detail gave way to fast-food mass production. Still, after a childhood marked by a true appreciation for the homemade meatball, I had all but given on a food my grandmother was able to make so perfectly.

And then came Adrienne's, where on a stage lit vibrantly by a a backdrop of near-perfect, mind-blowing Square Pies, world-shakingly wonderful meatballs do more than hold their own.

Try the meatballs at Adrienne's, and you too can become a believer.