"I had a ball" at Uva Wine Bar, NYC : Meatball Edition

Uva, NYC

While hunting for a Monday night special to celebrate a friend's birthday, I stumbled upon the most interesting special I've seen so far! Uva, in the upper east side (2nd Ave between 77th an 7th St.) has a Monday night meatball night! I had been to this very cute, romantic restaurant in the past for a date, but had only had wine and the regular dinner menu. I was excited to try out something so revolutionary as a meatball night in the romantic backyard setting.

You have the option of ordering anything from the meatball menu A La Carte, or ordering all 3 courses Pre-Fix with a glass of wine for $32. I don't think you can get a better deal than that!

Monday Night Meatball Special

I luckily went to dinner with a large group, so I was able to see and taste all the entrees on the menu, than just my 3 courses! :) 

Meatball Appetizers

I ordered the Manzo to start, which was the kobe beef appetizer. All the appetizers came with 6 meatballs, and the kobe beef came with 4. These meatballs were extremely juicy, succulent, and had such a strong flavor. They were served with shallots and a white polenta block in the center. The polenta added a nice contrast to the juicy meatballs, because it sucked up the remaining sauce from the plate. 4 meatballs were the perfect amount because of how rich these were in flavor. 

Manzo Appetizer - Kobe Beef Meatballs with shallots and dry porcini sauce, served with white polenta

One of my friends ordered the Pollo meatballs appetizer. These were made of chicken and were accompanied with polenta croutons,  tarragon and sun-dried tomatoes, in a wild mushroom sauce. I did have the pleasure of trying this appetizer. For a chicken meatball, these were definitely on the moist side, as compared to chicken meatballs that I have had in the past. The sauce they were in was also very delicious. It reminded me of a marsala type of sauce, which is one of my favorites! I did think that the Manzo appetizer that I had ordered was still definitely better than this one, because of the rich flavor. 

Pollo Appetizer

Another friend of mine ordered the Vitello Appetizer. This appetizer is on their regular menu as well. So if you go on another night than Monday, you can still order it! This one was veal meatballs with grilled ciabatta bread. I didn't ordered this one because my meal had veal meatballs in it, and also we were served bread before the meal. This definitely looked delicious, but I am glad I did not order it because it looked as though it was in the same sauce as the spaghetti entree, which was amazing, but I definitely did not need the same sauce in my appetizer and meal. 

Vitello Appetizer - Veal Meatballs with Ciabatta Bread 

Meatball Entrees

I ordered the Spaghetti. It came with veal meatballs, vidalia onions and rosemary in a savory tomato sauce, with square cut spaghetti. The flavor of the sauce was full of flavor. It didn't taste just like any regular sauce, it tasted hearty and spicy all at once. It had a great texture and had elements of garlic, sugar, and spice all in one. I would definitely order this pasta again, just for the sauce alone! On the other hand, the veal meatballs were not that extraordinary. They tasted a little on the dry side, and were also a little hard in texture. They definitely were a little overdone, as compared to the meatballs in my appetizer, which were so moist and soft. Interestingly enough, the pasta tasted even better as leftovers the next day! I think I must have been so full at that point in the meal to even enjoy my meal. 

Spaghetti Entree - Veal Meatballs 

A friend of mine ordered the Vegetariano Meatball entree. I did taste this entree and thought it was very tasty, but not as good as the spaghetti. It definitely tasted on the healthier side because there was no meat in it. 

Vegetariano Entree - Ricotta Cheese, Spinach and Nutmeg Balls in a Fresh Tomato and Basil Sauce with shaved aged Ricotta 

Another friend of mine ordered the Ravioli, which was a meatball filled ravioli with artichoke ragout, tomato sauce, thyme and cream. It was definitely an amazing looking dish. I didn't order this dish because the idea of it being ravioli, gave me the impression that it was going to be flat and small. Much to my surprise, this dish was very different that I imagined. They looked like meatball dumplings!! I definitely would consider ordering this dish next time because of my love for dumplings and meatballs. I didn't have the chance to taste it, however, my friend described it as being in a delicious vodka sauce. I guess there is always next time! 

Ravioli with Meatball Filling and Vodka Sauce

Dessert Balls

The dessert menu was definitely greatly varied. The 3 options gave every type of dessert lover something of their liking, There was a warmer richer dessert, a cold refreshing dessert, and a heavy fried dessert. 

I ordered the Chioccolata dessert because of my love for rich chocolate. This dessert was to the farthest extreme of being rich. I am not one to not finish a delicious dessert, but I could only eat 1 1/2 out of my 3 chocolate balls because of how rich and heavy they were. I would definitely order it again for its intense flavor. 

Cioccolata Dessert Balls 

Me enjoying the Cioccolata Ball

My friend ordered the Budino Di Riso, which to be honest, was not the best dessert at the table. It was described as rice pudding balls with concord grape sauce and chopped pistachios. The dessert was non other than a few fancy donut holes. They were tasty, but comparing them to the other choices, they were the most dry and most non-exciting at the table. They were sweet and tasted fried. 

Budino di Riso 

Lastly, the best and most interesting dessert on the menu was the Polpetta Di Gelato. If I were to attend meatball night again, I would order this dessert. It was the most refreshing and also the cutest dessert I have ever seen.  When it was delivered to the table, I was so impressed with the way it was set up on the plate. It was almost too cute to eat! It was a cinnamon ice-cream ball served inside of a slider bun with a caramel sauce on the side, which looked as though it was ketchup and fried apple sticks, which were supposed to resemble french fries. What a great idea! The ice cream was so refreshing with its very cinnamony taste and cold temperature. After such a filling meal, the best dessert to indulge in, is definitely ice cream! 

Polpetta Di Gelato 

I would definitely suggest attending Meatball night at Uva. Otherwise, in general this restaurant is extremely adorable, with an amazing ambiance for dates and dinner gatherings. In the summer, the backyard garden adds such character to this restaurant! Enjoy!