Meatball madness rolling into San Jose, Campbell
CALLING ALL BALLERS: A food trend that grabbed New Yorkers by the palate several years ago has finally made its way West. The locally owned House of Meatball, which launched last year in Morgan Hill, is getting ready to expand to San Jose and Campbell. Despite the singularity of the House of Meatball name, there are many, many choices here — and you can mix and match your meats and sauces. The Fixed Ballers international array includes chicken meatballs with marsala sauce, spicy Thai pork meatballs and steakhouse-style beef meatballs. Or you can customize your protein (lamb, pasture-raised beef, free-range chicken, pork or organic veggie) and your sauce (eight, from classic red marinara to arugula pesto to lemon dill.) Feel you need to supplement this meat-o-rama with leafy veggies? The menu offers garden greens, a Caesar and an apple-walnut salad.
The Morgan Hill meatballery is open daily from 11 a.m. at 632 Tennant Station Way. Look for updates on the other locations (3129 Meridian Ave., 342 E. Campbell Ave.) at www.houseofmeatball.com. ON THE MOVE: When it comes to Cambodian food, Oakland’s loss is Alameda’s gain. Phnom Penh House has been forced by development plans to vacate their original restaurant in that city’s Chinatown — the location the family started in 1986 after receiving political asylum. But a new location is already in the works. Phnom Penh will reopen in June on Alameda’s West End, 1514 Webster St. In the meantime, you’ll still find the Do family’s duck curry, spicy papaya salad and lemongrass chicken wings at their second location, on MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland’s Laurel district. www. phnompenhhouse.com.
On the East End of the island, the Bay Area’s Little Star Pizza chain will bring its deep-dish pizza to the former Capone’s Speakeasy space, our colleague Sarah Tan reports. Look for The Star on Park to start tossing the dough in August or September. Follow the progress at www. thestaronpark.com. CONTINENTAL CLOSING: They’ve given out the final rose. At Chantilly, that is. The French-Continental restaurant served steaks and veal napped in rich sauces, seared sea scallops and baked Alaska for 43 years in stately dining rooms, first in Palo Alto and then in Redwood City. And, in a true Old World touch, female patrons were handed a long-stemmed rose upon departure by longtime owner Gus Talasaz or his son, Ali. If you were a customer, tell us: Where will you go now to get the same sort of dining experience? Email lzavoral@bayareanewsgroup.com.
NEW IN LAFAYETTE: The Seattleborn, eco-friendly Homegrown Sustainable Sandwiches is now building sandwiches — including a spicy new Chicken Nopalito Torta — and tossing grain bowls and salads in Lafayette. It’s the third Bay Area location (after San Francisco, Danville) and soon, Homegrown will open its own organic farm in Discovery Bay. Details: Open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily at 3597 Mt. Diablo Blvd.; www.eathomegrown.com.