Oh, hi New York restaurateurs! Take a seat. You may have guessed by now that you didn't win a Jet-Ski shaped like Mario Batali. But everyone in this room loves you very much, and we're all here to talk to you about your budding addiction to boutique, meatball-themed restaurants, and why it has to stop. more ›

Yes, Torrisi Italian Specialities is an idiosyncratic oasis of Italian food in a sea of sameness. And yes, their prix-fixe dinner is worth ditching work at 4 p.m. to get your name on the list. But sometimes you don't need a culinary tour-du-force as much as a mozzarella bear hug. Parm, the new venture from the owners of Torrisi (it's right next door) serves Italian soul food good enough to forsake Sunday family dinner for. more ›

Inspired by the news of IKEA's impending $9.99 Kraftskiva blowout celebration (or Crayfish Party, as it's called in these parts), we would like to take a moment to herald the unsung delights of IKEA's edible offerings. While it may not be your first thought for destination dining, the food at IKEA is more than serviceable—it's even pleasurable. more ›

We knew that the new Meadowlands had to have a chef in there somewhere but we never really thought about how many it takes to feed a stadium, until now. The answer? According to executive chef Eric Borgia: "For a 1 PM game, we’ll have 200 chefs onboard by 6 AM. But I mean the production starts throughout the week. Like the roast pork production starts on Tuesday, the meatball production is a constant ongoing thing. There’s a crew of about 12 people just literally hand-rolling meatballs. We did have the opportunity for a manufacturer to make them for us, and we did a tasting of them and they’re just not the same." And now you know. more ›

Right now history is going down (one man's throat) at Fulton Ferry Landing, as champion eater Takeru Kobayashi attempts to break the world record in meatball eating. How many meatballs can one human eat in one minute? Until now that answer has been 26. Our man Tien Mao is on the scene and we'll update as soon as we hear where the new record stands, that is, if Kobayashi doesn't buckle under the pressure of television cameras (it's being filmed). more ›

Is New York City known for its meatballs? Well, Dish du Jour magazine is hosting its 8th annual food and wine gala which includes the first ever Best Meatballs of the Boroughs contest, and the publisher of the mag says “When it comes to meatballs, everyone thinks they’ve got the best. So we’re asking borough restaurants to put their meatballs where their mouths are. This is going to be a tight competition!”. That said, cocky restaurateurs out there are invited to compete for the title of Best Balls in the Boroughs which will be judged by a panel of celebrity judges. Participating restaurants will be visited by a "meatball phantom" (the important question here is, how does one get that job?!) and the undercover eaters will then narrow down the top 10 best balls in New York. Finalists will then be invited "to put their balls on the line at the main event on May 19th." Hopefully the organizers will be accepting vegetarian "meatballs" as well, like the ones at Rice and Foodswings. So...who's got the best balls out there? more ›