Delicacies off Campus: Kali elevates informal fare

“Delicacies off Campus” evaluations meals close to Stanford’s campus. We think about what issues to school college students: how shut is the restaurant? How costly is the meals? And, most significantly, how tasty is it? We hope that will help you discover your subsequent favourite spot!

We’ve been a fan of Souvla’s fast-casual Greek fare for years, making it a constant cease in our occasional San Francisco escapades. So, when our pal Bella Meyn ’23 stated she had discovered a comparable, extra reasonably priced different proper right here in Palo Alto, we knew we needed to strive it out. Kali Greek Kitchen didn’t disappoint.

Kali has a easy however expansive menu, with the entrees divided into three predominant sections: pita, salad and rice plate. Inside every part, patrons have the choice to select from a wide range of meat and meat substitute choices. Most entrees fall someplace between $11 and $15, with sides and desserts sometimes costing $5. Regardless of the comparatively low costs, the portion sizes had been nonetheless satisfying.

Small particulars, just like the restaurant’s putting blue plates, elevate the texture of the informal cafe. Clear white tiling contrasts with darkish wooden flooring to make up Kali’s enjoyable vibe. The venue is small and may really feel a bit crowded if it’s busy, however usually its ambiance looks like an oasis in comparison with campus eating halls. Kali even has an outside desk space for hotter days.

Kali’s ambiance is additional enhanced by its wonderful service. Orders are taken at a counter after which dropped at your desk. The service is remarkably quick, and the waitstaff stay form and attentive. As we ate, they regularly stopped by our desk to see how we had been doing.

The lamb pita featured melt-in-your-mouth meat. Kali serves a wide range of pita sandwiches, together with vegetarian and vegan choices. (Photograph: KIRSTEN METTLER/The Stanford Every day)

As promised by the menu, the vegetarian pita was a deliciously savory mixture of “zucchini fritters, radish, Kali greens, mizithra cheese, lemon & garlic aioli” stuffed right into a heat pita wrap. The crunch of the greens and radish completely complemented the dish’s delicate texture, whereas the aioli’s nice bitterness deepened the flavour. The zucchini fritters had been moist and filling, and the dish didn’t really feel inadequate for its lack of meat. It’s secure to say that Kali is a superb possibility for vegetarians (and their menu has vegan choices, too).

However don’t fear, meat eaters — Kali has you lined. The lamb pita was a tasty deal with that includes “Superior farms leg of lamb, Persian cucumber, tomato, Kalí greens, feta cheese [and] tzatziki sauce.” The cucumber and tomato introduced freshness, whereas the cheese and tzatziki grounded the dish with acquainted, hearty Greek flavors. The clear star of the sandwich, although, was the lamb. It definitely prevented the everyday lamb pitfalls of being dense or dry. Splendidly delicate and salty, it melted in your mouth.

The meat rice plate is one other robust menu providing. That includes “floor beef skewers, chickpeas, orzo, Kalí Greek salad, yogurt-dill sauce [and] pita,” the plate was a hearty, scrumptious meal. The orzo was cooked completely with a satisfying buttery taste that balanced properly with the tangy style of the meat.

Cucumber salad, white orzo and 3 beef skewers sit on top of a bed of pita bread on a speckled blue plate. — *The meat rice plate featured tangy meat skewers and buttery orzo. The cucumber salad introduced freshness to the plate. (Photograph: ISABELLA SARACCO/The Stanford Every day)*

Kali’s appetizers and desserts didn’t disappoint both. To start out, we shared an order of hummus with pita. The hummus was silky with delectable olive-oil smoothness. It was good with the delicate pita slices, and a great topping so as to add to our entrees. For a candy deal with, we ordered the baklava. It was a satisfying mixture of textures, and gained us over with its robust honey taste.

A speckled blue bowl holds hummus with olive oil, paprika and an olive. — *The hummus stood out for its satisfyingly easy texture. The appetizer was scrumptious on pita, and a pleasant addition to our entrees. (Photograph: ISABELLA SARRACO/The Stanford Every day)*

The institution additionally has a great drink choice to clean down the scrumptious meals. They serve a wide range of Greek beers, wines and sodas. We tried bitter cherry Loux Greek soda, the Kali mint cucumber lemonade and the Kali strawberry basil lemonade — all of which had been fruity and refreshing.

Three glass containers hold colorful drinks. The left drink is a dark brown iced tea. The center drink holds pink strawberry basil lemonade. The right drink holds light green cucumber mint lemonade. — Kali has a variety of drinks, lots of that are from Greece. Each the strawberry basil lemonade and the cucumber mint lemonade had been sweetly refreshing. (Photograph: KIRSTEN METTLER/The Stanford Every day)

When you haven’t had the prospect to take a look at Kali but, we extremely advocate taking the time to seize a meal there. A 12-minute drive or 15-minute bike journey from Governor’s Nook — and a nine-minute drive or seven-minute bike journey from EVGR-A — Kali is particularly simple to get to from campus.

A speckled blue plate with baklava crumbs sits on a wooden table. — *We completed the entire tasty baklava. The dessert had a tantalizing honey taste that complemented its wealthy textures. (Photograph: ISABELLA SARACCO/The Stanford Every day)*

Editor’s Observe: This text is a evaluate and consists of subjective ideas, opinions and critiques. When you have restaurant recommendations for this column to evaluate, electronic mail arts ‘at’ stanforddaily.com.