Main Street Meatballs
Famous meatballs from Twelve 31
By Melissa Dolpies, Twelve 31
Two customers walk into a cafe…
Doesn’t that sound like the start of a joke? Pairs of customers walk into our café all the time. They are all memorable, they are all special, they are all appreciated. So why did these two stand out?
We’ll get to that. But first… meatballs.
I have been making Italian Meatballs since I was a kid. The recipe was my grandmother’s and my mother often replicated it on Sundays for us as we were growing up in East Boston. Simple ingredients only using ground beef, the right spices, etc. During my days working in fine dining and banquet catering in Boston I perfected the recipe with a few of my own little touches. In 2018, when we launched Twelve 31, we started selling them by the 100s and eventually the 1000s all over the state as part of catering orders.
Back to our two customers.
The pair came in and wasted no time ordering. They clearly knew what they wanted. “I’ll have the Italian Meatball Sandwich.” “I’ll have the New England Clam Chowder.” “Coming right up.” As they were about halfway through their meal, enjoying each other’s company and taking in the perfect view of the State House across the street, it was time to ask, “How is everything?”
View from the Twelve 31 Café on Main Street in downtown Concord
“Great! It’s funny”, they responded, “We had no idea this place was here… it must be new?” “Yes, new as of September 2022 here, but our catering location in Tilton has been cranking out meatballs, ‘chowdah’ and more since 2018.” They continued, “Believe it or not, we set out looking for good chowder and a meatball sandwich for lunch today. And we found it!”
Ironically we had just started carrying our Italian Meatball Sandwich only the day before as a new addition to the café menu. So now the Italian meatballs that have been enjoyed all over our state, as part of catering orders, are now available right on Main Street. What great timing these two customers had! The food scene in downtown Concord is only getting better. Visit us soon.
Melissa Dolpies is the owner of Twelve 31, a catering company with a cafe located at 100 North Main Street, Concord NH. She can be reached at: twelve31.cafe and twelve31.events.
Visit Concord NH is an initiative of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce. This website and accompanying social media profiles showcase the best of NH’s Capital Region to travelers, new residents and long-time fans of Concord. Learn more about the Chamber at concordnhchamber.com.
