Karls Balls

As I understand it, there’s not actually a permanent location for Karl’s — they pop up at various food markets around the city. I do wish there was a more permanent location, though, because these takoyaki are on-​point. We ran into the stand when Astor Place was closed for a street market yesterday, and there was a bit of crowd that’s fascinated by the concept of eating octopus, seeing how the takoyaki gets made, and the general confusion of several folks (I heard «I didn’t know octopus had balls» more than a few times while waiting for my batch). The line could have been a bit more organized, but it’s really just Karl (an ex-​chef in East Village Japanese restaurants) and his wife crushing tray after tray of takoyaki. It’s done in the properly traditional fashion — pour in the batter and use a couple of small tongs to continuously flip the balls until the batter cooks and solidifies. As for the final product itself — it’s got the shaved bonito flakes, the scallions, and Karl’s ‘special sauce’ (which I would generically call a slightly smoky Asian-​style BBQ sauce) that really does the trick in adding a really distinctive flavor to the takoyaki. The balls themselves are also cooked really well — perhaps a tad thicker than some other spots, but I like that more, as the balls don’t collapse into themselves when you take a small bite to let the heat out.
6 balls for $ 7 seems like a fair price for what are objectively the best takoyaki I’ve found so far in the city. Hopefully I will see them around Manhattan more… my wife and I are always down to get our fill of these Osaka-​area specialties, particularly when they are as well-​done as Karl’s are!

They make it well.
Would have liked it to be a little more crispier and cooked on the inside. Tasted mushy and rushed. And would have liked a lot of bonito flakes. Octopus pieces are great!
WATA!!!

Easily the longest line at Queens International Night Market on our visit, the balls were indeed tasty and satisfying, but get there first thing when you arrive if you can.

I really like karlsballs, it’s authentic and yummy. Just like I ate in Japan, crispy and gooey. It’s the best takoyaki I’ve had in the Big Apple. The staff is friendly and funny. I hope they will have more things on the menu in the future.

Karls Balls at Queens night market offers fresh and delicious takoyaki balls using a special sauce that is Karls secret recipe. People have been lining up at the night market because of the exceptional taste of his balls! Cheap delicious and highly recommended!

So the short of it is, is that if you’ve never had takoyaki balls and you don’t think you’ll ever take the time to find it in the numerous other places in NYC where it is served, this might be a good options… But, the line is incredibly long (we waited an hour), and the balls are good, but nothing to write home about, and because the line is so long, they tend to undercook the balls because they are in a rush. In all fairness, the lady apologized for the long wait, and they are very meticulous about making each serving a good one, but it’s probably not worth the wait in my opinion.

I love BIG balls… Karl’s Balls!!! It’s my third time eating takoyaki and I gotta tell ya, it’s way better than Otafuku. It’s sex bucks, I mean six bux, and make sure you get it topped off with the fish flakes and sweet Ball sauce… IKUUUUUUU!!!