Flavors of Westwood: House of Meatballs to offer affordable, authentic Italian food

Slightly lost in the exotic land of Beverly Hills, I turned to the first person I spotted and asked directions to Da PasqualeTrattoria Italiana. This woman did not hesitate to steer metheright way before declaring that I would find the best Italian food I would ever have in that direction.

Originally from Naples, Italy, Pasquale Morra, the owner of Da Pasquale, and his wife came to theU.S.for their honeymoon in 1983and ended up staying permanentlybecause of the economic opportunities that the U.S. had to offer. Now, about30years after openingits first restauranton MelroseAvenuein 1984, the Morra family anditsItalian restaurant business have thrived.

“We were born and raised in Italy, so we grew up with Italian food,”Morra said.“We have the flavor of Italian food in our mouth.”

Having opened a variety of Italian restaurants around the Los Angeles area, the Morra familywill soon bring itsauthentic Italian food to Westwood throughitsbrand-new venture, House of Meatballs, which is projected to openon Gayley Avenuethe first week of October.

“Now it’s time for me to retire, and that is the reason why I am (opening House of Meatballs),” Morra said. “This is for the next generation.”

Soon to be run by Morra’s two sons, his daughter-in-law, a brother and niece,House of Meatballs will differ from the Morra family’sother current establishments in its simplicity of selectionandmore affordable prices.

“I know that most of my business will come from UCLA and I know the students cannot afford to go out and spend $40or $50 on dinner,”Morra said.

With a self-service checklist, the House of Meatballs menu allows each customer to customize his or her meal by choosing from an arrangement of meatballs, sauces, cheeses, sides and drinks, including speciality wine and draft beer. With a selection of types of meatballs – from “Just Like Mama,” made up of beef, garlic and basil, to “Bubba’s Secret,” which includes crab, sole and lemon pepper – the House of Meatballs menu, from the meatballs to its sauce, is the result of a working collaboration between Morra family members.

“Together, we try every single meatball,” Morra said. “The sauce is our sauce because it’s 100 percent Italian. We don’t Americanize our sauce.”

In addition to options like vegetarian meatballs, the House of Meatballs will also offer gluten-freemeatballs and pasta. Even though Morra has been in the business for more than30years, hesaid he is still open to menu suggestions and feedback, particularly when it comes to critiquing the family’s newest recipes for meatballs, which are inspired by different Asian cuisines and contain ingredients like spicy pork, wasabi and miso.

“We would be willing to change our menu,“ Morra said.“As long as we please the people coming into the restaurant, that’s the reason why we are there. To please people, not to please ourselves.”