The inaugural Meatball Challenge of Fairfield County took place on June 5th at the Factory Underground in Norwalk. There were 11 challengers from all over Fairfield County (including 1 New Yorker whose food truck will be ballin out in New Haven). Each had their own unique creations, but there could only be one reigning champ.
But first, the contenders:
Meatball & Co – Lamb Gyro Ball
Have a Ball – arancini ball with meat sauce
Craft Butchery’s Backyard BBQ Balls made with beef, pork, and hot dog with pork and beans
Bar Sugo – Meatball with Gouda, Red Onion Jam and Truffle Oil
Chef Matt Storch of Match makes “Beef, Pork, Veal, Ricotta, Sofrito & Love”
Chef Michael Lucente of Barcelona’s Albondigas, made with pork butt, short ribs, veal breast and Mangalica ham
Bobby Q’s Holy Chipotle BBQ Ball with Mac n Cheese
The Local Meatball’s “Nach ‘Yo Ball”
The Spread’s Veal and Ricotta Meatballs
Strada 18 served a Classic Italian Meatball made of beef, pork and veal in a house made tomato sauce on top of grilled fontina polenta cakes. Chef David Cingari of David’s Soundview Catering served Bombay Curry Chicken Balls.
Quite a list, and yes we tasted all of them. And we had to try our top picks twice: Meatball & Co, The Spread, and Bar Sugo. Who did we vote for? The Spread.
At the end of the night, the votes were tallied and the winners announced:
2nd Runner Up was a tie between Saugatuck Craft Butchery with their Backyard BBQ Balls and David’s Soundview Catering with their Bombay Curry Chicken Balls.
Saugatuck Craft Butchery with their Backyard BBQ Balls
1st Runner Up honors go to The Spread and their Veal and Ricotta Meatballs.
The Spread with their Veal and Ricotta Meatballs
And finally, the champion and 1st Place Winner…
Bar Sugo and their winning Meatball with Gouda, Red Onion Jam and Truffle Oil
Stay tuned. Next year they will be rolling it out in New Haven.
