Lunch Break: That's-a Spicy Meatball!

Customizable meatballs, fantastic Sichuan food in Midtown Manhattan, or cheese on anything you please - it's all in today's New York Lunch Break. By Yvo Sin.

The Meatball Shop

84 Stanton Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 982-8895
themeatballshop.com

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Personal customization is the name of the game at The Meatball Shop. Kick your week off right by having things exactly the way you want them: 'balls made from your choice of beef, pork, chicken, vegetable, or whatever the special of the day is (a recent special: the buffalo ball, made of chicken, slicked with hot sauce and drizzled with blue cheese) topped with your choice of tomato, spicy meat sauce, mushroom gravy, parmesan cream, or pesto. Have these in a sandwich, on a hero, on brioche, or over pasta, mashed potatoes, risotto, even polenta; go crazy with the combinations, as the possibilities are almost endless. Start off with the classic beef meatballs served with the classic tomato sauce, and top classic spaghetti with that. Or get a little feisty and try the spicy pork with the spicy meat sauce on top of mashed potatoes, and add 'the family jewels' – a fried egg – to just about anything you please. When you're done going nuts with the choices, don't forget dessert, which is just as customizable: pick two cookies, mix and match encouraged, and choose your ice cream flavor to smush into the center. It's almost like being a kid again… but better, because no one's making you eat vegetables if you don't want to – but if you do, you can have those 'balls over a salad, too.

Wu Liang Ye

36 W 48th Street
New York, NY 10036
(212) 398-2308

Perhaps you want something spicy to warm you up, given the recent chill. Indulge in Wu Liang Ye's deliciousness with a special lunch menu that will run you in $8.50+tax range with many dishes you'd see at any Chinese restaurant, plus some standouts. These include double cooked pork, a Szechuan specialty; shredded pork with spicy garlic sauce; or baby shrimp with Szechuan chili sauce, all of which come with a spring roll, choice of rice, and will leave you completely stuffed. Feeling adventurous? Move away from the lunch menu and order the Szechuan pork dumplings with roast chili vinaigrette, a fiery red chili oil that might make you think twice, but really isn't nearly as threatening as it looks (unless you drink it straight, which some have done). Add on the dan-dan noodles (pictured); chewy strands of noodles topped with minced pork and some of the same chili oil as the dumplings – make it twice as nice by dumping excess oil from the dumplings onto the dan-dan noodles, and enjoy the burn of deliciousness.

Roll-n-Roaster

2901 Emmons Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
(718) 769-6000
rollnroaster.com/

While "You can have CHEEZ on anything you PLEEZ" would be enough to entice even the strongest will-powered man into Roll-n-Roaster, there are reasons galore to visit – though most do include said CHEEZ. First and foremost is the wonderful roast beef sandwich; thin slices of beef with a pink center arrive piled high on a soft bun, a sandwich that would put to shame that fast food sandwich chain that claims to make these. Add cheez indeed, but go a step farther and include some grilled onions (free as a topping) to bring your sandwich to a transcendental level of delicious. Wash that all down with a nice tart, cold lemonade – homemade – and you've basically got an amazing lunch, but if you want to push a bit more, try the fries (thin chips deep fried to crisp perfection) or the corn fritters, golden nuggets filled with creamed corn. You can't really go wrong at a place whose prices haven't changed in well over 5 years… so have fun eating your way through the entire menu.

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Yvo Sin is the founder and head writer of Feisty Foodie.