Karlsballs

Words cannot explain how good this takoyaki was. I will be touring Namba and beyond today to continue researching takoyaki stores, however I have to come back tonight to to eat this again. .naichin Sensei has leveled up to a new stage of craftsmanship. you cannot miss this. .tako.kumagai

a big congratulations to .ball for coming to NYC and winning 🏅Japan Fes Konamon Competition. They have a great product and are on the up and up in the takoyaki world. this is my 13th year cooking takoyaki professionally, and although my team and I brought our A-game again, we fell short of 1st place.

However this is ok. We saw the smiles on customers faces both old and new, repeat and first timers, who loved my flagship recipe.

The FLAGSHIP OG, wasn’t designed for the “yatai” environment. it cooks slower, and needs a skilled gentle hand to craft beautiful takoyaki. It was made as a THANK YOU to all the KARLSBALLS customers over the years, as I wanted to craft something so special and push takoyaki culture beyond the B glass gourmet category of Japan and the educate the customers of what Real Takoyaki is, not the typical deep fried frozen variations most Americans as used to eating. The preparation for the Flagship OG was backbreaking hard, but was worth every minute. This was our WAY OF EXPRESSING GRATITUDE to the world.

i wanted to craft something truly special this weekend—and with that being said, the mission was accomplished.

So thank you JAPAN Fes / ジャパンフェス for another opportunity to compete promote and educate Konamon culture —and thank you DASHI OKUME Brooklyn for crafting a beautiful blend of dashi ingredients. most importantly, thank all of you for voting for us, our customers are our trophy.

i’m still looking to craft the takoyaki of my dreams. once i find it i will share i with all of you.

KARLSBALLS: 2nd Place, 2024 Konamon Competition Japan Fes.

FLAGSHIP OG
Custom blended Dashi from Dashi Okume
Hon Mirin from Hakusen Shouzu
Shiro Shoyu
Organic Pastured Eggs
Ma Konbu
Soft Wheat Wondra Flour
Shimadako Striped Octopus from Okinawa
brined in 35% Salt water for 8-12 hours, massaged by hand for 35-45 minutes, boiled in Hoji cha and Sake, sliced to 7g pieces (a 3 day process)
Tenkasu, Tokyo Negi, Beni Shoga
Ryotei Shirodashi
Homemade takoyaki sauce made from fruit
Kewpie Mayo
Dried Roasted Seaweed
Kezuri Ito Katsuobushi
Baked on special Akashiyaki Copper plate

Day 2 at Our grills are still running at 50% capacity however we were able to adjust our timing as cooking technique to “make it happen” we’re still cooking slower than intended but the batches are coming out better. Thank you everyone for your patience and support!

We want thank as well as apologize to our customers today at

Something was wrong with our electric grills today and we were cooking at half capacity. As you can see in the picture only 2 of the plates out of 4 were hot. We had to move the plates around on each machine just to get adequate heat to cook.

We were struggling
We were frustrated
We were angry
I wanted to quit
Our cooking was not good.

Yet all of you were patient. So we thank you.

Tomorrow we have an electrician coming at 8am hoping to fix the electric to our machines so we can cook properly.

Tomorrow is a new day.

YOUR FAVORITE BALLS‼️ I like watching ping pong and weightlifting on the Olympics. How about you?

Was invited to visit .us in Brooklyn! There I met Shohei san who introduced me to premium dashi ingredients. Everything was so so fresh—I couldn’t believe it. Then he offered to make a custom dashi blend for KARLSBALLS for premium events. It makes me wonder how can I upgrade the recipe even more to make something so delicious for you. But then it would be a premium price. Maybe for a special pop up! We’re looking to collaborate sometime in the fall so i hope we can do something special for all of you! •
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#たこ焼き #焼きそば #蛸焼 #麺益力 #タコの刺身
#京都鰹節 #道頓堀 #たこやき 🐙 #串カツ #大阪 #大阪グルメ #半夏生 #食い倒れ #職人精神 #茹で蛸

Posted • Tune in to the latest episode of JAPAN EATS! on Heritage Radio Network!!!

Karl Palma, chef and owner of KARLSBALLS, joins me to discuss takoyaki, one of the most beloved traditional comfort foods in Japan!!!

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

This was taken back in March 2024. When I think of it, we could be possibly the only 2 Takoyaki “Giants” of USA. Takoyaki Tanota and KARLSBALLS. I remember the President of OTAFUKU Sauce said something like that to me…”only Tanota in LA, KARLSBALLS IN NYC…”

Takeo San is from Osaka and comes from a different store lineage than I do. We both have different business models, but share the same passion and love for takoyaki. He cooks exceptionally well. We respect each other. I hope Tanota will still be around for many years to come, as the same with KARLSBALLS. Since I am not from Japan, I constantly think about responsibility to the culture. I want to craft a takoyaki so good, guys like Takeo can take a bite and immediately feel the nostalgia of growing up eating takoyaki in Osaka, Japan. I want to curate those memories in the food. It’s responsibility I think. It’s up to guys like us to keep pushing Takoyaki culture in USA. Takeoさんがんばりましょう！ I myself won’t give up.

I really hope in the future Takoyaki will get its due here in the states. It will be a long but worthy fight. We’re do we go next? We start from today…thank you to the team KARLSBALLS for putting it together.

Good times at we’ve been sponsoring them since…2017?!? with free takoyaki for the movie goers. I love movies—and NYAFF always has great programming. Thank you NYAFF!!

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#たこ焼き #焼きそば #蛸焼 #麺益力 #タコの刺身
#京都鰹節 #道頓堀 #たこやき 🐙 #串カツ #大阪 #大阪グルメ #半夏生 #食い倒れ #職人精神 #茹で蛸

I’m sorry I look too serious while cooking! I’m always happy to talk to customers—just don’t call it “squid balls” or say our cooking is undercooked! 🤣

9 years on the outdoor circuit! KARLSBALLS TAKOYAKI is very hard work, but you guys give us the strength to keep going! So thank you. 🙏🏻🐙😃

🤳:

2015年以来、お客様に感謝します。

2011年以来、私の顧客に感謝します。

たこ焼きを作り始めてから13年になります。

まだ学ぶべきことがたくさんあります。私はマスターではありませんが、いつかなりたいです。これは生涯にわたる仕事です。

私はまだ夢のたこ焼きを見ることができます。

いつか皆さんと共有します。

2025年の次は何ですか?最高になりたいと思っている料理人をもっと鍛えたい。私はここアメリカでたこ焼きの調理基準を作りたいです。次の世代に私よりも上手に料理してもらいたい。

私が始めたとき、アメリカには教師がほとんどおらず、誰が何を、どこで、いつ、なぜ質問に答える専門家もほとんどいませんでした。

私はそれらの質問にすべて答えられるようになりたいです。

皆さんに私よりもたこ焼きを愛してほしいです。

このBクラスのグルメカテゴリーをAクラスにしましょう!

We reached our halfway point of the 2024 season.

The new grill has been fun to cook. I can control the heat from roaring hot to a very low burning flame to create very soft and creamy takoyaki. I can move the plates around manipulating which plates I want to work on, as well as control the heat even more. It’s a great machine.

Thank you Sensei and Wataru for providing me with a great grill to cook with. With better tools I can craft better takoyaki for all of you to enjoy.

We just finished a 4 day festival in NJ. It was so hot and the days were very long—I needed a rest. My crew is tired. Today is my day off, tomorrow back to work. JapanFes coming again this weekend.

Great news‼️ We made it on to the 2024 Konamon Brochure in Osaka Japan. This year in October I will be flying to Osaka Japan to SPEAK‼️ at the annual Konamon Conference talking about the history of KARLSBALLS Takoyaki in NYC. We are the only American team to do so! All the takoyaki giants will be there. It is a great honor to be recognized by the best of the best in Osaka.

These are the stores I look up to, strive to become one day—and I hope our new friends will help us learn more about the history, craft and culture, so we can bring it to you. There is so much I want to learn. And so much I want to teach. We keep moving.

Also thank you everyone for the birthday wishes. I had an amazing meal yesterday at ごちそうさまでした‼️

Hi thank you for the support for so many years! You help keep takoyaki high quality! Good to see you yesterday at sake and food expo yesterday! We only use Kewpie Mayonnaise 👶🏻💪

With the Number One Chef in the world. I had the honor of meeting and serving takoyaki to 3-Star Michelin Chef Eric Ripert. We were invited to cook at 30th Anniversary in Sag Harbor Long Island. Despite being over 2 hours away via drive, we thought it was a good idea to go, cook and introduce authentic Osaka takoyaki to a whole new community. And with that being said, we succeeded. Le Bernadin is one of those restaurants you need to eat before you die. It is perfect in all angles. The level of perfection Ripert has introduced and maintained has and will never be duplicated. This only motivates myself and my team to do better, honing and perfecting our craft—as well as promoting takoyaki culture here in the west. So thank you chef! We hope you enjoyed our takoyaki.

This is the 2nd week I cut 110lbs (50KG) of octopus. I must be getting faster…and my knife sharpening skills must be getting better.

Tomorrow’s location 5th Ave and 9th street Park Slope, Brooklyn Japan Fes. See you tomorrow!

We do our best. It’s an honor to cook takoyaki for again this year repping Osaka Takoyaki culture. See you this Saturday. Go to their IG account for more info. 📷🤳 credit goes to アダムくん

We pretty much liquidated all of our octopus stock from the last two weeks. It’s going to be a busy one prepping for 2 JapanFes this Saturday and Sunday. This past weekend we cooked some really good batches of takoyaki. I’m always tweaking with the recipe to find “that taste” I’ve been looking for. Keep searching…keep fighting!!! Ooh my back, neck and calves ache 😣

BALLMOBILE
3/16
332 RIVERSIDE DRIVE IN-FRONT OF SHINRAN SHONIN STATUE
10AM-4PM
SERVING 5-PIECE TAKOYAKI
AND JAPANESE SODAS

I’ll say it again. This tiny truck is so cool, I need to do more with it. The only TAKOYAKI KEI-KITCHEN truck in USA. KARLSBALLS BALLMOBILE. Directly imported from Osaka to Yo Blocka.

Recent takoyaki catering adventures. Thank you for the opportunity and for helping me with last minute plans.

Real Osaka takoyaki is soft, fluffy and creamy. Never cooked swimming in oil, never deep fried. The easiest way we describe it is that Takoyaki is a Savory Cream Puff stuffed with octopus.

New season coming soon in 2024. Also stay tuned for some impromptu events with the ballmobile located near Columbia Uni. We have new cooks this year and want to train them in the ballmobile before we start big with Japan Fes.

Teaching the new crew how to cook. Some of them have cooking experience, some of them don’t. They all start from the smallest grill. Everyone is learning so fast. I’m really happy. Next step is for them to work on the “pro-grills”. まいにちありがたい🙏🏻🐙 We will have 3 new cooks this year in addition to last years team. Stronger💪

KARLSBALLS wouldn’t be anywhere without a good team. Thank you to and for your hard work. Hit that like button and send them some ❤️ BTS: 2023 NYCOMICCON