Ottawa Foodies

Meatball Subs
I have always had a love for meatball subs. My first job was food prep and dish washing in a little mom & pop Italian restaurant/pizza joint. The owner’s mother would come in a couple of times a week and make huge pots of sauce, simmered for hours and trays full of meatballs cooked in the sauce. The crispy Panini style buns came from the owner’s uncle’s bakery. They didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Italian but we understood each other! This was (gulp…) more than 30 years ago but a few times a year I still yearn for a meatball sub. I’ve done a comparison of a few spots. (Sorry, tried to take pictures but all came out blurry—I need to practice)

First off, the least favourite is Subway, no surprise. There’s no way a franchise can get that home-cooked requirement and the processed mozzarella slices just don’t make the grade. The buns aren’t bad but the sub ends up soggy before you finish it. I do like that you can add veggies and extras—though this does take away from my authentic comfort factor. The meatballs themselves are too small and don’t have that nice soft texture I’m looking for. The sauce tastes like it came from a can. Still not bad for a chain and it will do if my craving is strong enough! There are a couple of pluses here for me, first is the 6” availability—at most other places I can’t finish them and they are just not great reheated. The other is the price.

I'm converted. For all of you who wondered what it would take to get me to like The Prescott, here is your answer.

One big honking meatball sandwich, with cheese, served with a side of fries.

I'll be back. I promise.

I'm having a hard time describing this gooey mess of umami. The sauce is relatively plain, but with a Chef Boyardee'ish addictive quality (Chimichimi joked about a Beef-a-roni reduction) and a bit of zip that has me craving it just two days after eating it for the first time. The meatballs and tasteless white bread exist for exactly two reasons:

* To allow you to eat the sauce with a knife and fork instead of a spoon
* To give you something to chew and digest

The fries are not bad at all. They help absorb the sauce, although I found a dollop of ketchup was needed to finish them all. The coleslaw was edible (i.e. better than most). I ordered the platter "with cheese" and enjoyed the resulting increase in goo factor.

In a nutshell: I'd be embarrassed to serve this to guests but I'm craving my next one already!

Twice in a month. My wife had a craving for meatball sandwich and pizza. She said the Prescott. It was great last week so why not. Special order sauce on top with cheese on white bread like mom used to make. Had to cut into it before we took the pic. Delish. Too funny. While we were leaving an older couple with their son were entering the back door.We waited and had a chat with them. The lady was waiting for this outing for a month. The first time she had pizza here was when she was 85. She told me when she was young good girls did not go to the Prescott. Too funny. I gave the son our parking pass to save him three bucks.

“The Man” comes to The Prescott primarily for the Meatball Sandwich… he prefers it toasted, and although he orders the Platter he never eats all the Fries (large serving) nor does he order extra sauce for dipping (as so many others do). He prefers to aim for the small side on this as he doesn’t like the sandwich “swimming” in sauce. He finds the meatballs good and tasty. He usually doesn’t eat the coleslaw, as he isn’t a fan. A trip to The Prescott is an occasional treat… as eating a frequent menu of meatball sandwich platters and beer could easily make one look like a meatball.
;-)

It’s not the same as a meatball sub but the meatball sandwich here is quite the competition. In fact, the owner of the little Italian spot I worked at would take staff out after close to a 24 hour joint that sold sandwiches, not subs. The ones at The Prescott remind me of these and I can be seen a couple of times a year ordering these…Very “home style” and absolutely delicious! (Like the pizza here too!)

The only other place that challenges the meatball sandwich here is Pulente's near Carleton University. The Prescott serves theirs on white bread, and you kind of HAVE to get the platter with fries so you can dip the fries in the meat sauce. Yum. It's a once a year type of meal for me, too much cholesterol. LOL.

One of the remaining original Taverns in Ottawa, the Prescott is in "downtown Little Italy" on Preston. They are famous for their meatball sandwiches and pizza. I've only had the former and enjoy them immensely - my only change would be to serve them on an artisanal whole wheat bread. In fact it's been a good 3 years since I've gone there and I do believe it's time to go back.

Parma Ravioli makes a really good meatball sub. Tasty, homemade sauce and nice big, soft meatballs which taste like they use a combination of ground meats (beef & pork?)—a must for my comfort food factor. The meatballs are left whole just like Momma used to make. The mozzarella doesn’t taste processed and the buns are the right style and are toasted in the oven. A bit pricey and huge, messy to eat but that’s ok! I had it with salad and a drink and it was about $9 or $10—there was enough food for 2 if I had had a companion with me.

I absolutely love the Parma Ravioli meatball sandwich. I have never had anything that comes close to this in my entire 36 years.

I have had the prescott sandwich and it might as well have been made by Chef Boy Ar Dee.

Their meatball s'wich is KING !!

The first time I had one I counted 12 small meatballs in it. "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" along with the tasty Caesar Salad. I then crawled to the couch !!

Holy smokes just today I was telling a good friend of mine that I have to get out to the Prescott for a meatball sandwich soon. He was telling me that his hockey team is having a big banquet there tomorrow.

Anyway, the meatball pizza from Parma Ravioli is incredible so I can only imagine their meatball sandwich must be as well! I never actually knew they even had such a sandwich - can't wait to try it now!

Just wanted to clarify--the meatball sub is only available on Thursdays here. Each weekday there is a different sandwich special. I wouldn't want someone to get there and not have it available.

The Carp Bakery entry came as a surprise. I had stopped in on a Thursday at lunch to buy bread and the fellow ahead of me was ordering…surprise! 2 meatball subs to go. I was shocked when they were placed in front of him—huge and just $6 for the 2 of them. How could I resist?! The meatballs and sauce were bubbling away in a huge crockpot. Probably not authentically homemade but the flavour of the meatballs cooked with the sauce was darn good. The sub bun was good but a touch crustier would have been better. The meatballs were a little smaller than Pesto’s and Parma’s but bigger than Subway. Nice size to bite and required soft texture. The cheese was very generous but was cheddar not mozzarella—real cheese though, not processed. You could have lettuce &/or tomatoes but that’s not the way I wanted mine (not my comfort way and again too messy). This was a very large sandwich—I made it past the halfway mark but I wasted a lot. All in all, very good for the price and I’ll certainly make sure I go again on Thursday special day.

Pesto’s on Hazeldean Road in Kanata also makes a very decent one. I ordered a small one ($4.99) which came on a round, crusty bun. The sauce and meatballs were both delicious and there was a ton of cheese—both under and on top of the meatballs and sauce. I liked this touch because the bun didn’t get soggy. I don’t thin it would work with a sub bun. The meatballs were sliced which wasn’t the way I had them in the past but it was definitely less messy. It was heated in an oven and the smaller size worked for me—couldn’t quite finish but almost! Salads here are pricey—I think if I had ordered a salad and drink it would have been well over $10. For flavour pretty much a tie with Parma Ravioli. I do like the not soggy aspect here…