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Meatball madness in Manhattan. That’s what @valcitylife encountered as she walked by an expensive-looking restaurant in New York. And after she posted about it, some unassuming chicken meatballs sparked a huge debate.
Well, no actual meatballs were seen in the viral TikTok video, which garnered nearly 1.5 million views. But, there was something unusual in the curbside trash: dozens and dozens of empty boxes of Belle & Evans brand chicken meatballs. At least five large, stuffed trash bags are visible in the video.
Chicken Meatballs Ruffle Feathers
“So I’m walking home, right, and I see all of these bags of chicken meatballs. I’m like ‘Why on earth would a restaurant—where would these be coming from?’” she asks.
Val then pans away from the garbage and focuses on the name of the business. It appears to be a catering company. She says, “You pay for catering, and you get [dramatic pause] chicken meatballs from a box.”
Is It Giving Trust Issues?
That question seemed to sum up the mood in the comments section. In essence: Should professional kitchens make their own meatballs and other food?
One viewer wrote (with a practically visible eye roll), “Wait until she learns about Sysco foods.”
Others also weighed in with sarcasm. “I can’t believe they didn’t grow the meatballs there [broken heart emoji],” another said.
And several addressed practicality. A third commented, “It’s a catering company, not a cooked-from-scratch company.”
Fresh Not Frozen Is The Rallying Cry
But there are plenty of folks who think Val has a point. “Idk why everyone is being mean about this lmao. Do I expect a restaurant to hand-roll meatballs? Tbh yeah I do lmao,” said a viewer named Sofia.
Another viewer said she wouldn’t even “Eat a pre-made meatball at home, let alone pay for it from a caterer. This would pmo.”
One self-described professional shared their perspective, writing, “Yes, restaurants that make their own food do exist! Especially something like meatballs lol, one of the easiest foods to mass produce.”
Nuance Enters The Chat
Some viewers saw more than a caterer pulling a fast one or fobbing off a lesser product. Two positions seemed to emerge. Then it became a huge chicken meatball-focused debate in the comments section.
The first suggests some kind of last-minute change. “Catering can be a bit wild, especially when clients request something you don’t typically serve. Sometimes things like this are necessary to get the job done,” wrote one viewer.
The second points out the fact that the chicken meatballs in question are “fire,” according to one comment. At least six others backed up the opinion that Belle & Evans is an excellent product. A quick search revealed that a box of nine retails for about $10 at Balducci’s.
Several posters opined that the caterers probably added their own singular sauce or presentation to elevate the modest meatballs.
Too Much Is Never Enough
New York is one of the dining capitals of the world. From street food to haute cuisine, the Big Apple has just about anything any diner might want. So perhaps it’s not unreasonable to be surprised when a curbside surprise sparks a full-on debate (the comments section is at about 4,000 comments at the time of this writing) about the ethics and philosophies of dining out.
An Eater article from about 10 years ago (before post-Covid inflation) noted that most restaurants operate on “razor thin” margins, and most restaurants rely on “some pre-made food.”
Of course the question becomes, where is the line?
@valscitylife Giving me trust issues fr #restaurantindustry #newyorklife #onlyinnewyork #restaurants #pleaseexplain#nyc
BroBible reached out to Val via Instagram direct message and to the catering company via phone.