In what may ultimately prove to be one of the tastiest shark-jumping moments in the high-end street food trend, fancy Italian restaurant Mia Dona (on 58th St btw. 2+3rd) has entered the fray. As reported last week, “Donatella’s Meatball Wagon” opened for business on Friday, and will be serving lunch Monday through Friday from a shiny red cart in front of the restaurant from Noon to 2pm.

Fad or not, meatballs are God’s food and I had to have it, even if it meant delving into the snootiest corner of midtown to get them. Details and photos after the jump.

The meatballs are served with either a spicy or a mild tomato sauce on their own for $5 or as a sandwich for $6. The sandwich encases four medium sized meatballs between a pair of thick pieces of grilled focaccia with a melted slice of caciocavallo cheese and a sprinkling of romano. There’s also some arugula or sprouts or some such on there, so you know it’s healthy.

I went with the spicy sandwich and loved it. The sauce, made with heirloom habaneros, gives a kick that builds, but never gets too intense. The hardcore pepper fiends will not be impressed, but that’s not really the point.

The meatballs themselves are subtle and taste of the herbs that go into them. They also have a tenderness that approaches the verge of being mushy, but not quite.

Although they have cheese and sauce and meatballs, it would be a mistake to compare them to a meatball parm from the local slice joint. What I’m saying is, it’s not nearly as big as other sandwiches you can get for the same price, but it’s really, really good. And as a bonus, you won’t need the nap and antacid that most slice joint sandwiches tend to require. Also, did I mention the focaccia? Yum.

I ate the sandwich sitting on the bench across from the cart and watched as the staff worked out a couple of the kinks in the service. There were some problems with speed and communication in the ordering, but that’s all first day jitters and should work itself out pretty well. Once they have the routine down, I’ll definitely make another trip up there to get some more.

THE + (What people who like this place would say)

• Finally a decent lunch in the Upper East corner of Midtown.
• Meatballs are God’s food and I’ll go anywhere to eat them and I don’t care how fashionable it is.
• I want a meatball sandwich that’s not going to leave me curled up under my desk for the rest of the day.

The – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• I didn’t need or want a reason to go to the Upper East corner of Midtown.
• Oy, with the fads. Can we get over it already? Let’s act like high food and low food don’t know each other.
• For $6, I want a meatball hero the size of my arm and the nap to go with it.

Donatella’s Meatball Wagon, 206 E. 58th (btw. 2+3rd), 212-750-8170

To call where I work, off of 1st Ave near the UN building, “Out of Bounds” Midtown is an understatement. A TEN minute walk from Grand Central, just trying to navigate through the hoards of frantic workers and tourists in the station easily takes a few minutes every morning. Oh, the price we pay to work in the glorious east side of Manhattan’s Midtown.  And of course, as with all Midtown workerbees, there’s the great Midtown Lunch dilemma! My goal here is to try to make all you Midtown West and Downtown people wish you worked on the outskirts of the east side. WOOT! Let’s see if I could possibly top the bulgogi cart, or the banh mi jewelry shop (JEALOUS!) with Shih Lee, my personal favorite, at least one a week, East side lunch. 

A small joint on 45th between 1st and 2nd Ave, the self-described “Traditional Chinese Cuisine with Modern Flair” is run by two charming young brothers. It’s casual, cheap, and has a great locals only vibe (all the customers know each other!). The walls are lined with postcards from around the world, sent by loyal SL customers- it’s that kind of place. 

Although Shih Lee gets ridiculously packed, it has a straightforward, extremely organized ordering process to keep frustration minimal. They run a tight ship, these guys. You basically get in line where all of the days dishes are displayed, and for $7, you get to choose a combination plate of 1 noodle or rice dish, and two sides (add $1.50 for each extra side). Can’t beat that in Midtown!

They have a wide selection of dishes each day- from your staples like General Tso’s Chicken (some of the best in town) to the more unique dishes, like stewed oxtail, and pork adobo, both local favorites. The sauteed green beans are addictive, and they’ll add some extra bok choy or bean sprouts for you if you just ask. One of my favorites are the rice noodles, which is basically a lighter, delicious alternative to lo-mein. On some days, there’s this awesome fried white fish, but it runs out pretty quick so you gotta peel yourself out of your cube early enough to get it.

As good as the combo lunch is, the noodle soups at Shih Lee are the little secret- and in my opinion, totally beat out the soups from some of the neighboring noodle joints. You just place your order with the guy behind the counter, and it takes about 5-10 minutes, but it’s worth the extra wait. I always go for the noodles with pork and pickled cabbage.  In fact, Downtown Lunch and I can have a noodle soup battle: Shih Lee vs. Excellent Pork Chop House. Are we on, Daniel?

The +

• An excellent, diverse selection of typical and non-typical Chinese “takeout” food with specials everyday
• Good portions at a cheap pricepoint
• They have a good selection of magazines, so you can get caught up on all your celebrity gossip while lunching!

The -

• Gets very crowded and congested at the ordering station
• Often hard to find a place to sit and there’s no way you can linger after your meal when people are standing around waiting for you to get up.

Shih Lee, 311 E 45th St (btw. 1+2nd), 212-867-0318

Post and Photos by Kayoko Akabori from http://umamimart.blogspot.com/