In honor of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (in theaters this Friday) we ran a meatball marathon after the film’s premiere. The movie is really good, not just kid stuff but a lot of smart, adult pop culture references and humor. Also a lot of action (referencing Star Wars, Armageddon and other Bruckheimer/Bay blockbusters). Not to mention Mr T voices a great role.
The first stop of the meatball marathon was Larchmont Larder. We grabbed two big meatballs and headed to Mozza 2 Go, where we grabbed some more. Then the comparison began. First, Larchmont Larders’ are softball sized, densely packed meatballs vs Mozza’s small, light fluffy version. Flavorwise they’re quite different. LL’s were on the bland side while Mozza’s were overflowing with garlicky, herb-infused richness. It doesn’t hurt that Mozza’s packaging is so superb- strong, clean, spill-free.
Not satisfied with just two stops we headed to one of my favorite pasta purveyors, Al Gelato. My grandma used to make the sweetest pasta sauce so Al Gelato strikes a childhood cord with me. Their sauce is so plentiful (to the point of overdosing) and sweet (to the point of dessert), that a lot of people hate it. I love it.
We ordered spaghetti with their giant meatballs, the first of which was a bit overcooked but the second was perfect. In terms of density, Al Gelato’s fall between Mozza and Larchmont Larder. They crumble with a poke of the fork but maintain good spongey texture in your mouth. In terms of flavor they can’t compete with Mozza’s, but come in second place for the marathon.
Go see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and if you need meatball recommendations, we didn’t have the stomach capacity to try Dan Tana’s or Dominick’s- both of which have highly esteemed meatballs. Also, I hear Ikea has great meatballs as well. Let me know what you think.
September 15, 2009 at 11:30 am
I grew up on Ragu and Prego so sweet sauce is good sauces as far as i’m concerned.
September 15, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I prefer garlic and herbs to sweet. Mozza is the best of the three and you have to see Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs in 3-D!
September 15, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Sounds like a fun night. Good write-up. I’ve had meatballs from Larchmont Larder and Pizzeria Mozza in the past week. Mozza’s sauce definitely has more zest to it, and I liked their meatballs better, but the sauce was the big difference. Still, the Larder’s meatballs are a good option if you’re in the neighborhood.
September 15, 2009 at 2:24 pm
If you do a round 2 meatball marathon, check out the lamb meatballs at Rustic Canyon in SaMo. They were meat-o-licious, though were not served with a traditional sauce or spaggetti.
September 16, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Forget the pasta, I could eat Al Gelato’s red sauce with a spoon.
September 17, 2009 at 6:25 am
i’m more surprised that the movie was actually good, the trailer looked pretty cheesy. i’m curious to try Al Gelato now…for their pasta haha
July 25, 2012 at 11:12 am
[...] Gusto is a loud little Italian restaurant with great service, white table clothes and fantastic, dense pork meatballs. They would have ranked very high on the meatball marathon a few years ago. [...]