Saturday was a fun-filled day at SkyDive’s Dubai’s 30-day fitness challenge event. I was sweaty, tired, and hungry for something different. Last week I tried 3 Fils which I loved. So this week I decided to head to Meatballerz at JBR nearby, ‘cause I heard good things about it on Zomato by its chorus of fans. And who doesn’t want to try a street food version of meatballs of all kinds? Plus, I’m always looking for new restos to check out simply because I’m tapped out and bored with what’s out there most times. 🙂
So here’s what I discovered.
Insanely good balls of ground meat with style and sass that were just a pleasure to tear into!
The menu offers sampler options of the balls, but I felt lazy and did not feel like engaging in a build-a-ball endeavor. The House Favs options sounded just right, so we choose two: Arabian Ranches and Sticky Asian. And a side of Portobello fries. And a bottle of coke. Thank God it is was Coke rather than that dreadful Pepsi. Way too many restos in Dubai shove Pepsi down our throats. This is not OK. It’s really not. ヽ(ಠ_ಠ)ノ
Back to the food. First out was the Portobello fries. They were HELLA delicious! Light, crisp with the subtle, earthy, almost nutty flavor of good quality mushrooms. Even those with an aversion to mushrooms will like these. The aioli was good enough to just dip and lick your fingers off. I know I’ll be daydreaming about those for a while. ❣
Then came the mains. The Arabian Ranches (such a cool and locally relevant name!) is super protein-heavy and filling, so I could only eat 1 ½ of the 3 fairly sized balls served. It’s basically an opened-faced lamb meatball sandwich. Quite a showstopper with its bright green rocket pesto decorating these savory balls. They were moist, which I know takes talent because that’s the hardest thing in making meatballs. Nothing worse than a dry, crumbly meatball.
The Sticky Asian was such a delight! THE.HOISIN.SAUCE. That is all! Very well-balanced so much that I sopped every last bit with the rice. A sweet/savory dish that pushes the meatball envelope.
My only gripe is the location. It’s hard to find under a bridge yonder in JBR. There were no diners there when we arrived, but I gather they get most of their peeps during afternoons/evenings when its cooler. Also, I read that Meatballerz is a “Dubai-grown concept” created by banker-turned-restaurateur, Dipesh Babani. A quick search on Google tells me there is a food van in the A by the same name, so not sure if affiliated. The one in ATL serves Italian-style meatballs and street food though…so I dunno. Maybe same-same? Maybe not? All that matters is that the one here is pretty darn good.
I’d love the idea of the balls sold in bucket style. So long KFC buckets of chicken for beach and park picnics and ‘Hello’ balls of joy. OK, that sounded food-pornish. 😊
I rarely go back to places to eat, but this one will definitely be on repeat. So go ahead – check it out. I hope you like it as much as I do!
