Oh, the mighty meatball.
As anyone raised in a large Italian family — or just those who appreciate Italian food — can tell you, meatball is king. Entire meals and menus are built around it, and throughout Philadelphia, there are several new Italian-focused restaurants whose meals are built upon the meatball’s bedrock.
SIN Philadelphia
At Northern Liberties’ SIN Philadelphia, Executive Chef Steven Kim said its’ meatballs were designed to be “tender, juicy and melt-in-your-mouth perfection when paired with our signature homemade gravy,” a tomato base whose inspiration is updated from a recipe Kim used at Jose Garces’ 24. Though Kim won’t reveal what goes into his meatball — it’s “top secret” — SIN’s chef does state that this appetizer is a great starter to a full meal.
“It comes with house-made focaccia topped with rosemary and confit garlic,” he said. “One pasta dish I’d choose next, is ricotta gnocchi with broccoli rabe, mild Italian sausage with white wine garlic butter sauce. Then one of our steaks from Creekstone farms – prime and packed with a lot of marbling. Maybe even the steak Oscar with béarnaise sauce, asparagus and lump crab meat.”
Mia Ragazza
Manayunk’s recently-opened Mia Ragazza is a dream date with cozy Roma-style cuisine, one “full of Italian comfort food, fancy, authentic, accessible and delicious,” noted its Executive Chef Felipe Calixto, a man famed for his ragus and gravies.
Unlike other, smoother ground mixes of veal, pork and beef, Calixto’s mega-Mia-meatball is textured and tactile, filled with pancetta, pecorino Romano, parmesan cheese and onions along with “my signature spice” blend. Onto that, Mia Ragazza makes “Grandma” gravy featuring a mix of cheese rinds and a selection of cured meats, all of which we let simmer over low heat for at least six hours.”
Calixto planned for its meatballs to be central to Mia Ragazza’s sophistication and family feel: “We tested different recipes and sizes, ultimately deciding on a larger 8-ounce variety. We want this to be not just a great meal but an experience that you share with your whole family. The meatballs with its whipped ricotta on top and special ‘grazy’ are meant for sharing, though customers often keep it all to themselves.”
It may be impossible to not eat the entirety of the 8-ounce meatball. Still, Mia Rigazza diners should save room for their oversize, traditional panzanella with soaked sourdough croutons, tomato, fresh mozz, onion, olive and cucumber in red wine vinaigrette, its 20-layer lasagna in ragu béchamel and a heartily refined-but-homey bone-in chicken parmesan with fettucini e olio.
“I want each dish to taste like something amazing and homemade that you would find on your home table,” said Calixto.
Pizzeria Salvy
Then there is Pizzeria Salvy, a Comcast Center-ed restaurant so devoted to the holy roll of the meatball that Marc Vetri named it after his father, a man whose recipes are part-and-parcel of the Chef-owner’s inner life, and who passed away one month ago.
“When we were trying to come up with a name, Sal was always the name we gravitated to,” said Vetri. “It was almost as if it was supposed to be that. He was such a big fixture in all of the restaurants, making family meal and mentoring so many, that we wanted to honor him. Calling it Pizzeria Salvy seemed like the right thing.”
For a chef so respected for his twists on rustic Italian traditionalism, Vetri focused Salvy’s meatballs on his family’s recipe, rather than finding his own new way into the pork-veal-beef-blend.
“This is actually Jenny’s recipe (Sal’s mother),” said Vetri. “I originally learned it from her, but my father would make it so much that it became his. I’m just honoring the tradition.”
What’s most interesting about the Salvy meatball is its use of white bread and grapeseed oil.
“I think it’s the mixing first,” said Vetri. “You have to mix enough so the meat is sticky, then the white bread really makes the ball softer, some meatballs are like hamburgers…these are super soft, that’s the milk-soaked white bread. Frying is very important. That also gives the gravy flavor because you put the meatballs in the sauce with all of that char and stuff from the meatball frying pan. All small details, but they are all important.”
As for how Sal’s Meatballs set the tone for the perfect Salvy meal, one filled with delicate Escarole salads with green apple and lemon vinaigrette or hearth-baked pizzas, such as his Sweet Onion crepe with gruyere, truffle and parmigiano fonduta or his Fiorella sausage and peppers, Vetri is frank.
“You can’t eat at Salvy without throwing down a meatball before you eat pizza. It’s just the right thing to do.”
