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Restaurant & Bar Reviews » Raleigh » Oak City Meatball Shoppe, Raleigh for Mini-Meat and More!

January 23, 2014 by Ron Wen 7 Comments

Oak City Meatball Shoppe, Raleigh for Mini-Meat and More!

Oak City Meatball Shoppe, Raleigh- NC Triangle Dining
Oak City Meatball Shoppe, Raleigh- NC Triangle Dining

You’ve heard of the cupcake craze. Or cronut-tiness.  But how about meatball madness?  Well my friends, it looks like meatball madness has hit the Triangle in the form of newly opened Oak City Meatball Shoppe!  (Note the “e” at the end. Cool…)  The empanada crazy folks from Calavera are now delving into meat-a-balla’s to the benefit of folks in downtown Raleigh and points beyond.  I had stalked this place for a while after seeing a blurb from my friend Kristen at Gadabout Food and then pics popping up on their Yelp page but I kept on running into issues trying to visit. Since the Oak City Meatball Shoppe is new, they are not doing lunch and closed on Sundays which made things more of a challenge.  But thankfully I was able to stop in for a visit after stopping in at Crank Arm Brewery.  After a beer, I was definitely ready to feast on some spheroid-like meat objects!

Dining room at Oak City Meatball Shoppe, Raleigh- NC Triangle Dining
Dining room at Oak City Meatball Shoppe, Raleigh- NC Triangle Dining

For the outside, Oak City Meatball Shoppe is pretty plain jane but once you step inside you get a mix of hipster cool, homey warmth and a bit of funk from the music overhead.  Cool-looking staff just like Calavera, the warm red sidewall is dotted with framed pictures and the specials board is flanked by meat grinders in homage to the humble meatball’s origins.  I grab a seat at the bar and the place feels very comfortable from the start.  With five or six beers on tap, I go with their Narrangansett which is the house beer. They’ve also got a ton of bourbon’s behind the bar if you want something stronger.

Kitchen window at Oak City Meatball Shoppe, Raleigh- NC Triangle Dining
Kitchen window at Oak City Meatball Shoppe, Raleigh- NC Triangle Dining

The menu at Oak City Meatball Shoppe is really basic in formula but allows for a multitude of taste combinations: five different meatball types (beef, spicy pork, chicken, veggie, special of the day), six different sauces (tomato, parm cream, pesto, meat sauce, mushroom gravy, sauce of day) and twelve sides/carbs ranging from collards to mac n cheese, smashed potatoes, kale salad and more.  Add in three different sandwich options (slider- 1 ball, sandwich- 2 balls, hoagie- 3 balls) and you can see they’ve turned a simple menu into one with a bazillion custom permutations!  I go with the spicy pork four ball plate, parm cream sauce and risotto to keep things simple.

Spicy pork meatball plate at Oak City Meatball Shoppe, Raleigh- NC Triangle Dining
Spicy pork meatball plate at Oak City Meatball Shoppe, Raleigh- NC Triangle Dining

While I wait at the bar, a quick scan of the dining room shows off an eclectic set of faces from 25 – 45.  Bartenders are popping to Bruno Mars “Locked out of Heaven” and the place is lively.  Good vibe here for a Monday night.  My plate of meatballs shows up and it’s a nice pile of food!  The balls are a solid 2″ diameter and tasty.  Paired with the cream sauce and well-cooked risotto it makes for a delicious bite.  Everything’s well-cooked, probably could use a bit more flavor and spice to the risotto but otherwise, very solid.  I pass on the only dessert here, cake-pops, sticking to my beer.  Service at Oak City Meatball Shoppe is very good, they had about 4 people serving for a pretty small space but I can see this place getting crowded, quickly.

Hoagie and salad at Oak City Meatball Shoppe, Raleigh- NC Triangle Dining
Hoagie and salad at Oak City Meatball Shoppe, Raleigh- NC Triangle Dining

Not every food craze is worthwhile but how can you go wrong with meatballs?  From spaghetti sauce to subs and even Chinese lion’s head, the concept of a rounded portion of meat permeates a lot of different ethnic cuisines.  So yeah, I expect the Oak City Meatball Shoppe to do well given their food, prices, service and ambiance!  And yes, they deserve the solid press so far.  Thank you so much for the lovely plate of comfort food Oak City Meatball Shoppe!  I’ll be back soon unless I get pulled over into Calavera and all their delicious empanadas….

 

Oak City Meatball Shoppe

180 East Davie Street

Raleigh, NC 27601

919.714.9014

 

Oak City Meatball Shoppe Menu

Location on Google maps

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Filed Under: Raleigh, Restaurant & Bar Reviews Tagged With: Bars and Lounges, Comfort Food

Comments

  1. Randy Owens says

    January 23, 2014 at 2:12 pm

    Good review Ron. A few items that jump out at me – No lunch svc? One can only assume that this is due to the early stage of the business because they could probably bring in good $$ during lunch with their current location. Reviewing the menu it states ‘no mix and match’. Did you get any impression on the reasoning behind that? I can understand that it would be tricky to mix/match sauces on a single plate, but for God’s sake – we are talking MEATBALLS! How hard can it be to grab 2 beef and 2 spicy pork and toss them on the same plate? Your review commented that service was good, but this makes me wonder about the pretentiousness of the restaurant if even the most basic of accommodation can’t be made, particularly when their whole approach is built around basic foods which can result in multiple combinations based on the choice of the diner.
    Lastly – the 25 – 45 crowd comment – I guess I’ll have to stay away given that I’m 3 days away from turning 50! I know that the downtown nightspots are catering to a younger clientele, but can’t a man have a common meatball and some marinara without feeling like he inadvertently showed up at an industrial techno party spot? Then again, after reviewing the bourbon list on the menu and noticing the conspicuous absence of not even a single Jack Daniel’s line, I’m not sure they totally have things together at this point! 🙂

    Reply
    • Ken says

      February 22, 2014 at 3:37 am

      Hey Randy,You are totally correct about lunches. We wanted to make sure that we didn’t take on too much all at once and are slowly rolling out in stages. First week of March is the plan though. Our reasoning for not mixing and matching is we’ve found that things get easily “mixed” up. If you have 4 different meatballs on one plate with tomato sauce and another order comes up for another table at the same time that is say 2 different meatballs also with tomato sauce it can be a nightmare trying to decide which is which. So I promise it’s not us not trying to be accommodating, it’s us trying to make sure that we do our best to be error free. Pop by, I think you’ll find us anything but pretentious.
      In the early evening you’ll hear anything from Frank, to Etta James and the Avett Brothers. In the evening we transition to a bit more of a late night bar mix with some Biggie but no techno yet. And don’t let 50 keep you home, I’m not too too far away myself!! Now lastly, our first printing of the menu was missing a few items but Jack Daniels has been on the shelf since day one I promise! Gentlemen Jack is there now as well. http://www.oakcitymeatball.com/menus/ We still have a ways to go but we’re working on it!
      Ken

      Reply
      • Ron Wen says

        February 22, 2014 at 3:27 pm

        Excited to hear that y’all will be starting lunch service, Ken! Need to get back for a re-visit soon and I’m sure you’re crushing it over at Oak City Meatball Shoppe…
        Ron

        Reply
      • Randy Owens says

        February 24, 2014 at 3:00 am

        OK Ken. I’ll be watching the website for lunch service and will bring my work team by to try things out once you get up and running at lunch. Looking forward to it!

        Reply
  2. Ron Wen says

    January 23, 2014 at 11:08 pm

    Ha, hey Randy appreciate the detailed comment! Yeah, I didn’t notice the no mix and matching but if I had to guess, it’s just to keep service simple. Who knows, maybe they’ll add it per your request. This place is so new that there’s plenty of room to evolve. And the 25 – 45 crowd, yeah you know that hipsters are sorta young un’s! Once you have kids, who has time to be hip and cool, right? And I’m sure you’re totally welcome there even though you’re pushing the big 5-0. Happy birthday, old man! 🙂
    Ron

    Reply
  3. beth says

    February 1, 2014 at 12:10 am

    Exactly great food,employees,and great for any age!!!!! Awesome place, Congrats!!!

    Reply
    • Ron Wen says

      February 1, 2014 at 2:37 pm

      Sort of a mini-dynasty here on E. Davie now! Woder what they’ll open next…
      Ron

      Reply

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