We had a tasty opportunity to try out some of the dishes offered at Kalye at an event. They opened in 2022, when the city and the world is coming back from the struggles of pandemic. It is described on their website that their name, Kalye, “comes from the Tagalog word for “street.” We chose this name to reflect our mission of bringing energy and life back into the streets of New York City by offering you a new way to experience Filipino food!” Pretty fantastic! They have a small outdoor seating area with bright yellow chairs and sunbrellas.
The inside is quite small, with a couple of bright TV screens which I felt like they were out of place. I believe they show sporting events during whatever the sports season. But, more excitingly, they showcase artworks of local grassroots artists and those from the Philippines. They are for sale also, if you are interested in having them at your home!
Kalye serves Filipino street fair-inspired food. I have been to a couple of Filipino restaurants, Maharlika and F.O.B. with Tasting Collective, and we enjoyed them both, so we were excited to try dishes from Kalye. The first tasting was Lumpia Shanghai. They usually come in 8 pieces with regular order, but we got 2 of them as samples. It is made with crispy spring roll filled with pork & vegetables. It came with dipping sauce made with vinegar, onion, pepper, salt, and who knows maybe some secret ingredient?
A staff recommended us to wrap the Lumpia in lettuce. It made them more refreshing, I quite enjoyed that. Lumpia had great seasoning and I liked the crunchy texture. Lightly fried and tasty.
We also got to try one of their cocktails, Coco Chardonnay. It is Chardonnay with coconut juice (?). It was light and tasty! I liked the coconut flavor, bubbly and refreshing drink.
Next one was Chicken Inasal Skewers, made with chicken marinated in lemongrass, lemon, and annatto oil. It was very tender, had a nice lemongrass flavor. Can’t go wrong with marinated meat skewers…
Third dish was Pork Ube Bun Slider, made with garlicky pork sausage in an Ube bun topped with onion bacon jam, pickled papaya, and coconut vinegar aioli. It was so cute and so pretty to look at, with beautiful purple buns!
The buns were nice and fluffy, holding the juicy sausage and other tasty ingredients in between. This little slider was packed with flavor, it was so delicious! Bacon jam added extra juicy flavor, and we just could not get enough! It was served with a coleslaw, but with a regular order, you get to choose a different side items. I was not a fan of their coleslaw, but who cares when the slider is this good?
Fourth and the last savory tasting dish was Beef Tapa, made with seared tri-tip marinated with soy sauce and garlic with chili. It had a nice flavor with sweetness to it, juicy and tasty. They have good meat here at Kalye! The rice had strong salty flavor without being too much, and it went great with the beef! Acidic pickled veggies also balanced out the dish.
Then, it was time for desserts! They offer homemade desserts, and we got to try their Filipino Flan and Ube Ice Cream. Filipino flan is made with egg yolk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk topped with caramelized sugar. It was quite thick and dense. Strong flavor of condensed milk, really sweet and a bit heavy. Ube ice cream was amazing, so velvety, elegantly sweet, nutty, and delicious!
They have one gender-neutral bathroom near between the kitchen and dining area. It was very vibrant and fun to look at. I found some interesting characters, like a spider man! It was spacious and clean, well stocked.
The owner Rob was really nice and courteous, he told us about the history and background of Kalye. We enjoyed the food and the vibe, we would definitely go back again to try more dishes. At least go back to have their delicious pork slider again for sure!
251 Broome St, New York, NY 10002