WV Culinary Team: From heel to hero: How leftover bread became legendary

It’s the piece of bread most people pass over — the tough, crusty end of the loaf left behind after dinner.

In the Ohio Valley, though, that humble end piece has been transformed into a prized meal: the meatball heel.

Piled high with meatballs, sauce and melted cheese, the meatball heel is a cross between a loaf of Italian bread and a submarine sandwich.

This Italian-American creation popped up in the immigrant communities along the Ohio River in towns like Wheeling, Weirton and Steubenville.

It continues to be popular in old-school restaurants and taverns like Mario’s Restaurant and Lounge in Weirton that lists “Meatball Heel: End loaf of bread stuffed with meatballs” — served just as it’s been for decades.

At Naples Spaghetti House in Steubenville, Ohio, they even serve a few variat