My dinner companion and I ate from the Kali's Mezze Tasting Menu which is a great idea to enjoy with a friend. We started with flatbread and hummus seasoned with garlic and cumin as well as the Tzatziki, a farmstead yogurt mixed with roasted garlic, cucumber, dill and imported extra virgin olive oil. This made for an enjoyably light way to start off our dining experience.
Time for the next round and here's where it gets a little tricky. We were served stuffed peppers, grape leaves, and spinach pie. The stuffed portion of the pepers contained aromatic rice with mushroom and the grape leaves also contained aromatic rice along with parsley and onions. Can we talk? Here's my confession: it simply would not be right for me to tell you I didn't enjoy these two dishes because from the gate I'm just not a big fan of either one, especially grape leaves. Now that full disclosure has been given I will say that both were prepared well. I did enjoy the spinach pie served as part of the plated trio. With flakey phyllo dough as its wrap, the feta and spinach combination made for a delicious bite-sized treat.
If you are not into seeing all the tentacles on your calamari, you probably don't want to go with Mezze's fried calamari, but if you think you're gully enough - try it. Dusted with black pepper and pecorino cheese and served with garlic aioli the the calamari was definitely a winner. And although, Mezze is in Baltimore, the crabcakes are also distinctively Mediterranean, drizzled with aioli. Other standouts on theTasting Menu are the Chicken Kabobs and baby lamb chops.
Finally, if you were planning skipping dessert, sit back, let your food settle and then indulge. The baklava is superbly rich; the Galaktoboureko (baked custard in phylo) was surprising sweet and light and the Pistachio Vanilla Custard Kataifi was also a treat. The Pistachio Vanilla Custard is usually served with ice cream and if you are wondering what's at the bottom of that custard, it's shredded phyllo dough.
