Photo via The Meatball Shop.
The Upper West Side’s two newest restaurants are…drumroll please… The Meatball Shop and Chicojulio!
The Meatball Shop, which started on the Lower East Side, opened its sixth location today on Amsterdam Avenue between 81st and 82nd street. It’s known for excellent meatballs so it’s got foodie cred, but the owners are also slightly ridiculous. In fact, they always seem to be making some bad double entendre about “balls” in sly reference to the male anatomy and to meatballs of course. You can get hero sandwiches or just meatballs with a side of parmesan cheese and focaccia bread. Here’s a menu from their website.
This location will also have a walk-up meatball window and an ice cream cart. Hours for the first week are posted here.
“The UWS is the first location to feature an ice cream cart! Starting July 14th Monday-Sunday, 2:00pm-5:00pm and 10:00pm to close until further notice. Special flavors will rotate daily based on the season. Ice cream flavors will include Sour Cherry Lambic, Lemon Fro-Yo, and Sweet Corn with matching cookies such as Dark Chocolate Fudge, Hazelnut Snickerdoodle, and Butter Cookies.
There will be one golden ticket in every 100 ice cream sandwiches given away at the ice cream cart to celebrate UWS’s first month open. Lucky winners will take home a TMS merchandise gift such as their signature Grinder Baseball Hat, TMS Cookbook, and our Meat Grinder Tie made in collaboration with Graham & Withers.”
Chicojulio just opened this weekend on Amsterdam between 97th and 98th in the former home of Orale Mexican Kitchen. Orale apparently didn’t catch on. “It was a purely business decision. I believe that the concept of Órale, as tasty as it was, didn’t make enough of a punch in this changing neighborhood,” owner Cristina Castañeda told us.
Chicojulio features seafood, according to a release from Beyond Restaurant Group, which also owns Cafe Frida and Communal.
“ChicoJulio is a fresh and innovative concept, not seen before in NY nor in Mexico. It is a casual restaurant serving traditional seafood dishes from the coasts of Mexico and beyond. It is the first New York location of a concept embraced by diners in Mexico City and Guadalajara. The menu will offer ceviches, tacos, aguachiles, sandwiches as well as a whole fish of the day in a coastal cantina-style atmosphere, inside and in the backyard patio. (Meat lovers will not be neglected.) Agave cocktails will come from a carefully curated list of family-owned tequila and mezcal distilleries committed to agave sustainability.
Beyond’s founder, Cristina Castañeda, is thrilled that Juan Pablo Castañeda, a family member and originator of the ChicoJulio concept, is joining her in Beyond’s mission to bring truly authentic Mexican cuisine and culture to New York. ChicoJulio’s beverage program was created by Juan Pablo’s partner, Sergio Mendoza, a 5th-generation tequila producer from Jalisco, Mexico.”
Thanks to Tony for the photo above.
Interior photo via Beyond Restaurants Group.
So looking forward to The Meatball Shop…. I use to frequent the store in Chelsea on 9th Ave….Now I can step out my front door!
I wish ChicoJulio the best and feel compelled to voice just one recommendation/request/plea — if the owners do one thing, make it to serve good chips and salsa. By this I mean freshly fried and liberally salted chips, and normal lime-and-tomato salsa, as opposed to all the overwrought five-chile concoctions that NYC restaurants think are innovative. Back in Southern California, you get simple, straightforward chips and salsa – we could really use the same out here.
We loved Orale! Ate there at least 5 times since they opened. They had innovative Mexican cuisine, not seen on the UWS at any of the dozens or so competitors. They were reasonably priced and their tuna tacos and Brussel sprouts will be achingly missed!!! A call to their Jersey City outpost said “their NYC partnership did not pan out but they hope to find another partner for a restaurant on the UWS.”
That was a fast change from Orale. I went there once for Margaritas. They were very good, hopefully Chicojulio will have similar drinks.
We ate at Chicojulio yesterday and it was great. Fantastic food (seafood and non seafood alike) and they brought back the margs that are reminiscent of Frida. This is my favorite food of the three iterations that have been in this location. I wish them MUCH success.
Can someone bring back Pampa? Thanks.
How we miss Pampa!!!
I see they don’t have “schveddy balls” on the menu…
Any reasonably priced restaurant is welcome on the UWS. They are a disappearing breed.
love the meatball shop.
good luck to both new establishments.
who says there are no new mom and pop businesses on the UWS.
open your eyes.
How many, meatball restaurants, are going to open on UWS? On the same street one block up, is Polpette (meatballs)!
by my count, that’s two. Polpette was known to be opening in that location before Meatball Shop announced their plans to move up to the UWS. I was surprised that Nicky went ahead with Polpette, but do wish him a lot of luck. despite the core menu items being the same, the demographic is a bit different.
Maybe meatballs will be the new iteration of the fro-yo and cupcake craze.
Amen re: Pampa. Bring it back. That place was great – yummy food at reasonable prices!
These ice cream choices sounds like flavors from Jeni’s Ice Cream! Has to be. It’s an amazing ice cream shop out of Columbus, Ohio and I’ve been waiting for them to make their way to NY!
Nice to see so many UWSers coming out and supporting the new businesses in our neighborhood.
This is the future. The past is not coming back, despite the whining of the entitled few who think communism and socialism are better. There days are done.
so we had socialism and communism on the UWS before the Meatball Shop opened?
Another new place opening in the neighborhood is ” THE HALAL GUYS” on 95th and Amsterdam.. They are taking their midtown carts global