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!
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.
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.
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.
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….
180 East Davie Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
919.714.9014
Randy Owens says
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! 🙂
Ken says
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
Ron Wen says
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
Randy Owens says
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!
Ron Wen says
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
beth says
Exactly great food,employees,and great for any age!!!!! Awesome place, Congrats!!!
Ron Wen says
Sort of a mini-dynasty here on E. Davie now! Woder what they’ll open next…
Ron