Meatball Street Brawl 2: one of Buffalo’s best events

Did you attend Meatball Street Brawl 2 this year? Having FOMO about it?

Meatball Street Brawl is an annual event hosted by Osteria 166.

The gist: 18 of Buffalo’s best Italian restaurants go head-to-head in a competition to see who makes the best meatball in Buffalo. 

All participating restaurants are required to make their menu meatball. Some of the restaurants even go so far as to make two meatballs: a menu and a freestyle!

Attendees get to weigh in and vote on who makes the best menu and freestyle meatballs, and a third prize is given based on the feedback from a group of local celebrity judges.

One of the best parts: all of the proceeds from the event go to three local charities!

This year marked the second annual event, which was even better than the first because things were even more legit.

Breaking down the event:

One thing that makes Meatball Street Brawl so fun is that our agency, Telesco Creative Group, does all of the marketing for the event. (Like all of the marketing. The entire look and event logistics…) 

We work for months on all of the little details from the judging to the trophies to the banners.

Plus, there’s an endless amount of “balls” jokes made throughout the planning process which is super fun.

For $20 (the cost at the door) you can try all of the meatballs (23+ varieties) and enjoy beer and wine samples!

See the vlog below to see inside the event and meet Jeff Cook, the owner of the winning restaurant, This Little Pig!  

The best of the balls:

Thanks to having Celiac disease, I couldn’t eat any of the meatballs at the event.

So, I brought my childhood best friend Jen and Joel with me to give me (and you, of course) the gist on who made the best balls.

Here are our highlights from the competition:

  • Mulberry made the best freestyle meatball with the blueberry compote. (Jen’s vote)
  • Tempo made the best freestyle meatball with the turkey dinner meatball. (Joel’s vote)
  • Marco’s made the best freestyle meatball because of the kick. (Joel’s runner-up vote)
  • Osteria 166 made the best menu meatball. (Joel & Jen agreed) 

The winner’s ended up being: Sinatra‘s for the traditional menu meatball, and This Little Pig for BOTH the freestyle AND fan favorite!

Some tips we have for those looking to attend for the first time next year:

  • Pace yourself: plan to spend at least two hours at the event so that you can space out your ball intake.
  • Don’t double dip: found a meatball that you absolutely loved? Don’t go back for seconds until you’ve tried every other ball you’d like to sample.
  • Bring snacks: if you have Celiac like me, bring a granola bar for yourself so you don’t get hangry watching everyone around you eat amazing meatballs.

There’s no doubt that Meatball Street Brawl is one of the best events in Buffalo.

It’s always held on a Sunday towards the start of the football season.

Make it a point to mark your calendar the second you hear about next year’s event so you don’t miss out on meatballs, the game, beer and wine samples and a ton of fun! 

Did you attend the event? 

Share your feedback in the comments below!

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