eatAspen.com

Aspen, Colorado's local dining guide.

eatAspen.com

Aspen, Colorado's local dining guide.

Meatball Shack (Closed)

User Reviews

Sydney M.

Aspen, Colorado

August 7, 2012
When dinner is at a place called The Meatball Shack, it's only appropriate to invite three of your best guy friends and your brother to join you. After all, don't males and meatballs go together like women and Cosmos? Located on South Mill Street, The Meatball Shack's patio offers front row seats for the bustling action of the mall - if you can get a table. Our party settled for an indoor table in lieu of waiting an hour to be seated outside - just fine with us as the Olympics were being aired on the two flat screens at the bar. The atmosphere inside the restaurant is very sports bar-ish - lots of noise and action around a bar that dominates the center of the room. I can definitely see the place getting a little rowdy during football season. We decided to start our meal with buffalo chicken balls and truffle fries. These six "for the table" meatballs are half-sized, dripping with spicy buffalo sauce, and served with a side of blue cheese to calm the heat. The truffle fries, while not a standout (I'm pretty much an expert in this category, trust), were still tasty and not too greasy. On the menu, the main course meatballs are comically labeled "Our Balls". Patrons may mix and match four different types of balls - classic meat, chicken, shrimp, and veal - with four different sauces - housemade tomato, buffalo and blue, Zingara, and Marsala (with lotsa shrooms). I went with the chicken meatball/Zingara combo, which I found delicious. The Zingara, a tad picante olive and caper tomato sauce, nicely complemented the juicy and flavorful chicken. At $13, though, I definitely could have used more than three small balls. My dinner companions enjoyed their entrees as well. While we all focused on meatballs, the menu also offers a couple of pasta dishes and salads. The quinoa bowl looked yummy, as did the brussel sprouts with pomegranate and the jalapeno pancetta mac and cheese. We were on a bit of a time crunch, so had to forgo dessert. Given that the Meatball Shack has one of the most creative dessert menus that I have ever seen, passing on dessert was a tremendous sacrifice. Patrons who order the housemade cookie get to pick their own dough (original, fudge, or oatmeal) and then choose two fillings from an extensive list. Had I had enough time, I would have opted for the oatmeal dough with marshmallow and heath bar fillings. Even more decadent is the Highlands Bowl, a cookie dough of your choice plus three fillings and two scoops of ice cream! A dish to share- or not. All in all, good company, good food, and friendly service. Maybe meatballs aren't just a guy thing after all. Read more reviews by Sydney

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JILL

boca ratón

July 20, 2012
our group got back from aspen about a week ago.we had an awesome meal at this new restaurant the meatball shack.after looking at and ordering from the amazing wine list we ordered our meal. and what an extraordinary meal we had. we loved the quinoa salad and had the best brussel sprouts ever. the homemade pasta was beyond and with the balls ( veal, meat, shrimp, and lobster) we were truly amazed. i must mention my husbands double veal chop was a must.can't wait to go back and try more

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Phil Kupperman

Boca Raton

July 14, 2012
OMG! Just got back from Aspen and have to write this. Heard so much about this place before we got there and even more when we arrived. Yes, they were all right; it is the place to go. We ate the veal balls with marsala sauce and the shrimp and crab balls - unreal! Didn't have the steak special that night but the table behind us said it was a moaner. A must next time in town. Great concept; great execution and did I forget to mention, GREAT POURS.

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Out and About

Basalt

July 1, 2012
Outstanding! The food is fantastic, and the concept is well executed. The staff is friendly and the atmosphere is laid back. I find all to often in Aspen, you either go to a very high-end restaurant and get great food, or go to a dive and get okay food. It is nice to go somewhere easy going with FANTASTIC food. The buffalo chicken sandwich is AMAZING! They have a great balance of a fun bar scene coupled with being family/kid friendly, a hard act to find, but they do it impeccably! Will definitely frequent this place often! The owners Eddie and Mike make it a point to be involved which is so refreshing to be able to chat with the people that created this awesome place, sure to become a staple in Aspen. Thanks guys!

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