The Runaway Meatball, Shorewood’s newest Sicilian pizza and sandwich take-out/delivery place, opened in early July. The restaurant took over the former Mama Mia’s on Oakland Avenue, so it’s perfectly positioned for quick delivery to the North Shore and UW-Milwaukee neighborhoods. Open daily 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., the Meatball can capture both lunch and dinner crowds.
The small waiting area is clean and unadorned. Simple folding chairs are provided for those who wish to sit, though there are future plans to add benches, inside and out. The staff was friendly and the food was prepared quickly, so the wait was pretty painless.
Runaway Meatball’s menu ranges from specialty sandwiches and hot dogs to pizzas and creative sides. One dinner, spaghetti and meatballs ($9), is also available.
Meatball subs top the list of sandwiches. The Sicilian Runaway Meatball is a filling meal with good-sized meatballs smothered in onions, roasted peppers and marinara, topped with mozzarella cheese and served on a 6-inch Italian roll. It’s also a great value ($6.75). Italian beef and Italian sausage sandwiches are also good options. For $2 extra, you can make any sandwich a combo, adding fries, haystack onion rings or potato chips and a 12-ounce soda or bottled water.
The specialty hot dogs are all beef and served on fresh poppy seed buns. They range in price from $3.50 for a standard dog with ketchup, mustard, relish, pickles and onions to the $4 chili cheese dog topped with homemade chili, mustard, onions and cheddar cheese.
The Runaway Meatball’s crisp, thin-crust pizza is an excellent base for the multitude of toppings available. The specialty pizzas ($15 for the 12-inch; $20 for the 16-inch) allow for a fair amount of customization and customers can add various toppings to the prescribed specialties. The meatball pizza comes topped with a liberal amount of mini-meatballs, a fine substitute for Italian sausage, and includes a choice of four additional toppings. If you don’t see a combination that suits your taste among the seven specialty pizzas, there is a create-your-own option sold in 8-inch, 12-inch and 16-inch sizes ($7, $10 and $15). Toppings beyond cheese add to the base cost of the pizza.
Pleasant surprises can be found on the Runaway Meatball’s sides menu. The homemade potato chips ($1.95) are outstanding. Freshly made, perfectly salted and served with a dusting of Parmesan cheese, these chips are almost worth a visit in and of themselves. Other standout sides include the haystack onion rings, and home-style mac ’n’ cheese.
Likely to become a popular go-to place for pick-up or delivery, it will be a pleasure to see the expansion of Runaway Meatball’s dinner options, as well as the launch of their website and social media presence in the coming months.
Runaway Meatball
3592 N. Oakland Avenue
414-316-2100
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