Stephen Montoya
Kent Scroggins, owner and founder of Oh Balls! Food Truck, gets ready to dig into one of his favorite meatball creations.
If you’ve spent any time eating your way through Fort Worth’s food truck scene, you’ve likely encountered a lot of tacos, burgers, and barbecue. But a school bus slinging gourmet meatballs? That’s a different story. Enter the Oh Balls! Food Truck —the rolling kitchen that’s part comfort food nostalgia, part culinary innovation, and all heart.
Owner, operator, and reluctant truck driver Kent Scroggins never set out to run a meatball empire. In fact, he was deep in the world of finance when the idea struck him like a lightning bolt — inside a Firestone waiting room, of all places.
“It’s really funny,” Scroggins says, leaning against his dark red converted Carroll ISD school bus. “My wife was in Oklahoma City for an audition, and I was killing time getting an oil change. I got hungry, looked around — no food trucks, nothing except maybe a taco truck. And I thought, ‘Someone should do something different.’ Next thing I know, I’m jotting down ideas for a meatball food truck.”
That was 2016. The idea sat on the back burner until 2018, when Scroggins finally took the plunge, leaving his steady finance job behind. A timely tip from his sister led him to Lee’s Grilled Cheese, a legendary Fort Worth food truck that happened to be selling its famed bus. One coffee meeting later, Scroggins was in business.
Oh Balls! has been rolling ever since, quite literally. The hulking red bus, which tops out at 55 mph (“unless we’re going downhill,” Scroggins jokes), spent six years as a roaming staple of Fort Worth’s food scene before settling into a permanent home at Martin House Brewing Company at 220 S Sylvania Ave. in 2024.
If you’re expecting a menu of simple spaghetti and red sauce, think again. Scroggins and his crew have taken the humble meatball and turned it into an art form. From the Blue Ball, a riff on chicken cordon bleu, to a pizza-inspired ball loaded with pepperoni and mozzarella, these creations are anything but ordinary.
Stephen Montoya
“Meatballs are the perfect vessel,” Scroggins says. “It’s like tacos or burgers — you can do anything with them.”
And they do. The Not Ramen ball titled “Wax on Wax Off,” for instance, features spicy mayo, crushed sweet chili Doritos, penne pasta, housemade meatballs with Asian glaze, spicy mayo, Siracha, lime, and chives for a bold, umami-packed bite. Every dish starts with a carefully crafted, gluten-free, dairy-free meatball, the same across all menu items, with sauces and garnishes providing each variation’s signature flavor. Plus, Scroggins also offers weekly burrata specials. I tried the refreshing "Romagna" Burrata topped with crispy capicola, sweet drop peppers (my fave), crispy parm, Calabrian chili hot honey, served on a bed of dressed Arugula, with ciabatta points.
The real joy for Scroggins? Watching skeptics become converts.
“People walk up thinking they’re ordering a slice of pizza or a burger, then realize it’s all meatballs,” he says. “Some hesitate, maybe just grab some queso and chips. But then they take a bite, and it’s that moment — the eyes roll back, the ‘oh wow’ expression — yeah, that’s the best part.”
These days, you’ll find Oh Balls! parked at Martin House Brewing Co. Wednesday through Sunday, serving up its signature creations alongside a cold beer. Speaking of cold beer, Scroggins and Martin House have also partnered together on a signature beer (surprise, surprise) called the "Bianca," made partly with the pasta ingredient Oh Balls! uses for its dishes.
Wednesday and Thursday hours run 5 to 9 p.m., with Friday featuring a Free Beer Friday lunch special from 12 to 2:30 p.m., followed by dinner from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturdays, they’re open from 12:30 to 8:30 p.m., and Sundays from 12 to 5 p.m. (or sellout, which happens more often than not).
Price-wise, the menu is friendly on the wallet, with most dishes falling between $10 to $14. For those not quite ready to dive into the meatball universe, there’s also grilled cheese and the Queso Balla, a quesadilla-style creation featuring smashed meatballs.
Oh Balls! isn’t just a food truck — it’s a testament to taking risks, trusting your gut, and proving that even in a city full of smoked brisket and Tex-Mex, there’s always room for a meatball revolution.
