Yesterday, I left my office at 4:45 to attend the highly anticipated Preview Party for the 2015 Atlanta Meatball Festival. I arrived at 7:20.

See, what had happened was…

• A traffic light out causing mass confusion. (The pedal on the right people…push the pedal. On. The. Right.)

• A traffic accident. (Let’s see how many times a “Smart Car” can fit into the tailpipe of a Ford Ranger.)
• A wrong turn in Albuquerque. (Only driven this route oh maybe 10,000 times.)
• Blinding, flashing blue lights at my exit. (THE LIIIIGHTS!!!! Thank you for impairing my view so I drove right past the exit.)
• An arrow pointing four lanes of traffic into one lane. (WEAVE PEOPLE! We CANNOT ALL fit at once!)

• Another traffic accident. (COME ON PEOPLE!)
• The bulldozer and porta-john incident. (No comment)

• People who just can’t cope. (With traffic, with reality, without meatballs.)
• Flooding rains. (My husband locked the truck doors and said, “I don’t see any cars floating yet…We’re going in.”)

The struggle was REAL.

However. I am a true professional and lover of all things meatball. So I did not waiver in my attempts to acquire the sacred, spherical protein. I did not falter in my efforts to show the meatball love. And then, finally … TADA!!!!!

There she was. In all of her tomato-ey, saucy splendor. And she was a beauty to behold. Y’all…I present, THE MEATBALL! And I was happy.

Until…

my poor meatball…

…rolled right on the floor.

Now.

If I am willing to go through literally Hades and High Water for just ONE of these meatballs, I strongly suggest you go to the 2015 Atlanta Meatball Festival. And oh, how about save one for me 😉

Be on the lookout for these saucy, sassy meatballs from some amazing chefs!

Like last year, the festival is formatted as a “battle of the balls” challenge to see which chef can claim the title of Atlanta’s Mightiest Meatballer. Each of the presented dishes will be voted on by festival attendees and select judges. Once their votes are cast, the top three winners will advance and go head-to-head in the “Meat Brawl Throwdown,” taking place during this year’s Taste of Atlanta festival, set for September 25-27 in Midtown at Tech Square.

“We love any chance to showcase our incredible restaurants and local chefs’ talents, and the Atlanta Meatball Festival does just that!” said Dale DeSena, founder of the Atlanta Meatball Festival, TasteATL and Taste of Atlanta. “Our city’s chefs share a real sense of culinary camaraderie, and hosting a little friendly competition makes the event even more fun for everyone. Whether they’re showing off macho meatballs stuffed with beef and seafood or modified vegetarian versions, there will be a winning recipe for everyone to enjoy!”

  

Here’s some great information!

Remember, life is too short to eat ugly food y’all. Or a bad meatball.

***A very special thank you to the 2015 Meatball Festival, Cibo E Beve, Chefs and Sponsors for a fabulous preview party! Also, a very special thank you to Linda Carmical of http://www.dofoodbetter.com for the amazing capture of my poor floorball! All thoughts, opinions and drooling in this post however, are all mine!***