Don’t’ fret. It’s not just a Garden of Eden of meatballs at The Portland Meatball Company that opened on the Upper Exchange Street restaurant row. Rather, there’s more than meets the balls of these eyes. High-brow pizzas, composed salads, inventive sandwiches and house-made pastas round out a menu of eminently casual fare. In fact, the room looks more like a bar that serves food rather than a restaurant with a bar license.
A small bowl of meatballs over the day’s pasta, house-made spaghetti with tomato sauce
Two big dining counters run the length of the room: at the bar itself and in the middle of the room. The rest of the space is ringed with booths, which on the evening I was there housed packs of kids and their parents out for family dinner. (The restaurant is child friendly.) But as the evening progresses it gets more adult with the usual pack of Old Port denizens. If you don’t cotton to the whelps of toddler falsettos, go after 7 PM. But forget about street parking. We circled the block five times and finally went into the garage next door where there was plenty of parking. Beware of that garage, though. Early on you can drive in from Exchange Street, but into the evening the Exchange Street entrance is barricaded with bright yellow fences. The garage is like a Roach Motel. You can check in but not easily check out.
The dining room and bar during the day
Essentially the Portland Meatball Company showcases a select menu of meatballs in a rabble of guises. And one wonders if such a limited scope is enough to attract a critical mass from a city as small as ours. But look at it this way. Roving bands of gastronaughts generally keep the culinary fires burning here and support a great many restaurants in our city as though we were a real metropolis hungry for diversity.
Noah Talmatch, who also co-owns Timber Steak House and North Point with his brother Dan, seems very confident that this third endeavor will be just as successful as the others. They’re all located in the Old Port and Meatballs is virtually next door to their popular steak house.
After going for both lunch and dinner I’ve only just cracked the menu. There’s no beet-carving hoopla here but rather simple food made well. At lunch Noah suggested that I try the baked macaroni and cheese sandwich with house-smoked bacon, Cheddar and mayonnaise. Oy vey! Was Nosh’s Jason Loring in the kitchen? I could feel the caloric bulge happening before the first bite. All this was mitigated because you can choose half a sandwich (half as fattening?) with a cup of soup for about $9.
A classic onion soup and an inventive mac and cheese sandwich with house-smoked bacon
The soup of the day was a robust onion soup, and it held a rich broth topped with a hefty scrim of melted Gruyere. It was good, and I found myself tipping the cup to get every drop. The sandwich was very tasty. But I would have preferred lighter fare like the Mexican chicken melt—a chicken salad mixed with chili, cumin cilantro, salsa verde, guacamole, sharp cheddar, etc., etc. It’s hardly derivative Icelandic fare. But eyeing a BLT or tuna melt is so much more approachable. I saw a few of the pizzas being served, and they looked splendid– de rigeur thin crusted, a rainbow of colors for toppings.
While the room is bright and colorful during the day (lots of takeout lunch traffic), at night the lighting casts a sultry, sexy glow. And forging a dinner menu of pasta, meatballs and salads makes for an inexpensive dinner (the medium bowl of pasta with meatballs is only $12). We shared a fine caprese salad of sliced tomatoes, mozzarella and pesto–all so refreshing. Though once we added drinks, an a la carte bread order, tax and tip the bill for two added up to $75.
The night lighting in the dining room; caprese salad and medium bowl of pasta with meatballs and meat sauce
The pasta choice changes every day, and that night spaghetti was featured. It’s made in-house and they did a great job cooking it perfectly al dente. I ordered the medium bowl, which was plenty big and my friend had the small bowl ($9), also a decent portion for dinner.
Main courses include a plate or bowl of meatballs in a choice of sauce over pasta such as meat sauce, tomato, pesto or alfredo. The medium bowl of pasta holds five 2-ounce meatballs. These are chafing-dish small—small enough to be served with bamboo toothpicks. I would have preferred a slightly bigger ball—more to bite into. Three ounces would be a good compromise.
Still, the meatball blend of pork-veal-beef blend was moist and well spiced. Other choices include a vegetarian chick pea blend, savory duck, roasted chicken and the daily special; that night it was a Vietnamese blend.
The Portland Meatball Company follows the trend in more casual restaurants opening in town rather than the big deal ones that we all like to crow about. And it fits into the snug lineup of Exchange Street eateries as just another one to admire.
The Portland Meatball Company, 104 Exchange St., Portland, ME 207-835-0409 www.theportlandmeatballcompany.com
Rating: Good. Solid casual fare from meatballs with pasta to pizza and sandwiches.
Ambiance: Very casual
Service: Swift and friendly
Tables: Bar dining and booths
Parking: On street or use garage next door.
$$$. Moderate but extras add up
