Friday Foodporn: Polpette!

There's a tiny little shop right next to Fornino, on Fifth Avenue between Garfield and Carroll, and while the two restaurants share owners, the concept is completely different. It's called Polpette (Italian for "meatball"), it opened last week, and as the name implies, it's all about the meatballs. And they're good.

They come in five flavors, and can be enjoyed over a salad, crushed into a potato roll, on a seeded hero from Brooklyn Bakery, or simply with sauce. I tried them all, and came away very impressed.

"Josephine's Famous" is their classic offering, and it's the same exact recipe used by manager Frank Ferraro's grandmother back in Sicily. It's 100% beef, and is served with a hearty tomato sauce. It's garlicky, not too dense, and is a very solid flagship meatball.

The "Porco Due" is made from 100% pork, and is topped with a rich fennel sausage tomato cream sauce. This was my personal favorite of the bunch, and, in my opinion, the more pork you can squeeze into one dish the better.

Now things start to get interesting, but in a good way. This one's called the Chicken Piccata, and is exactly what it sounds like. A chicken meatball, covered with a sauce of lemon, butter, and parsley. Delicious, although it would be great if eating it over mashed potatoes were an option!

Above, the soon-to-be-famous "Day After Thanksgiving" meatball. Yep, it's just what it sounds like. The ball itself is a combination of turkey and cornbread stuffing, and it's topped with a savory homestyle turkey giblet gravy. It's ingenius, tastes exactly like Thanksgiving dinner, and I'm honestly a little jealous that I didn't think of it myself. One of the most unique offerings in the neighborhood.

The vegeterian meatball, called simply the "Veg," may seem like an afterthought but it's anything but. Eggplant is mixed with black beans, cannellini beans, and whole chick peas, and it's fried and served atop creamy basil pesto. It's like an Italian falafel, and is far more delicious than it has any right to be.

"We've been wanting to open a shop like this for over five years, since I ran Scopa to Go in Midtown," said owner Chris Walsh. And while obvious comparisons can be drawn to the trendy Meatball Shop, there's one thing that sets them worlds apart. "It's a very different approach," added Ferraro. "We're trying to guide you towards correct pairings of meatballs with sauce, as opposed to mixing and matching." It's a good call; these sauces pair perfectly with their meatballs.

There are no seats in the small space as of right now, but a few stools and a couple small tables will be added next week. Whereas Fornino opens at 5, Polpette opens (and starts delivery) at noon every day. Beer and wine are also in the works.

Polpette, Home of the Meatball. 254 Fifth Avenue Brooklyn NY 11215. 718-399-8800.

Comments

[Justin]

Isn't this just the take out area for Fornino? You can see right into the kitchen from there. I assumed they were just now starting to advertise meatballs as a new takeout item. Either way, they look great.

[Here's Park Slope]

It's technically still the take out area, but this is a completely new endeavor. Might as well be a totally different restaurant.

[cb]

is fornino still doing delivery????