Elevating the humble meatball to high art, the Meatball Shop serves up six varieties (including a vegetarian option). Order those balls on a long roll, add mozzarella and spicy tomato sauce, and voilà, you have a tasty, if happily downmarket, sandwich. (Or get them over pasta or sides.) This branch boasts a rock-and-roll vibe, with tattooed waitstaff and prominent beats.

There are five other branches in NYC. Check the website for details.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Anastasia Photo

0.08 MILES

This small gallery specializes in documentary photography and photojournalism. Expect evocative, thought-provoking works covering subjects such as poverty…

2. Sara D Roosevelt Park

0.15 MILES

The largest green space in the neighborhood, this three-block-long park is a hive of activity on warm weekends, with basketball courts, a small soccer…

3. Lower East Side Tenement Museum

0.21 MILES

This museum allows visitors to briefly inhabit the Lower East Side's heartbreaking, hardscrabble but unexpectedly inspiring heritage. Two remarkably…

4. Salon 94 Bowery

0.23 MILES

This raw space is the Bowery branch of an Upper East Side gallery and its location beside the New Museum makes it a key player in the downtown art scene…

5. New Museum of Contemporary Art

0.23 MILES

The New Museum of Contemporary Art is a sight to behold: a seven-story stack of ethereal, off-kilter white boxes (designed by Tokyo-based architects…

6. Sperone Westwater

0.24 MILES

The Sperone Westwater gallery represents heavy hitters such as William Wegman and Richard Long. Its new home was designed by the famed Norman Foster, who…

8. Hole

0.3 MILES

Known for its excellent installations, this 4000-sq-ft gallery is an anchor of the downtown art scene with monthly solo and group shows.