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Ken Lacy

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Calamari, squid :: Listen
I admit it; I went to a Chinese buffet the other night with a few coworkers. I usually avoid cheap renditions of the cuisine I so cherish and I steer clear of most buffets because they lack good service and fresh food. Maybe that's a little snobby. This was a special occasion. We were on the way to the theatre and wanted to have an early dinner before seeing the show. After spending too much cash on tickets, we wanted a cheap way out on dinner. I suggested some of the restaurants near the Opera House inspired theatre downtown because they usually offer specials from 5 to 7, knowing they will turn and burn tables and get hungry people in and full, rushed theatre goers out in a hurry.

Nope, they wanted to eat in the burbs, so there we were in a Chinese buffet that had an entire steam table of "American food," mostly friend goodies, mac and cheese, and spaghetti.

"This is a pregnant lady's paradise," cooed my pregnant coworker who delighted in the variety of food already available. She hates waiting for meals at restaurants when she's already hungry. And there's a lot of food.

"Look" calamari. Oh, wait, no, its squid," she said with a disappointed tone.

"That's the same thing," I said, not believing she didn't know that calamari is the Italian word for squid, most commonly used because the idea of eating a squid can make people squeamish. Calamari in this coworker's world must be netted out of the sea already battered, ready to be deep fried, doused with marinara, and sprinkled with a splash of lemon juice.

I also admit in the confession on food, that I do enjoy crispy fried calamari with tomato sauce or a garlicky aioli, especially when cooks take time to make the batter a little different. I used to work for a beachside restaurant that offered it with panko and they drizzled spicy vinegar on it and tossed it with pickled banana peppers. I didn't care for that because it seemed like they were trying a little too hard.

I had some recently in North Carolina that was billed as fresh, but last time I checked squid doesn't roam on the coast of the Carolinas.

I don't love fishy flavors; often I don't enjoy sushi because the nori, or seaweed paper, tastes too much like the ocean. I absolutely do not like salmon or other oily fish, despite that women's diets should be rich in omega fatty acids found in these fish. I skip it. And I don't care for most fish because of that flavor, but I do like squid with its sweet, subtle flavor. I also enjoy crab, lobster and shrimp, which I believe have more delicate sea flavors than most fish. I love calamari fried, but I also think its spectacular tossed in salads or in pasta. I have a recipe I clipped that I've been meaning to make that is a coconut stew that has calamari along with scallops, another delicate seafood I enjoy. I think this experience of educating my coworker on what exactly those crispy brown rings are made me realize how little I know about squid, and how little I've experimented with it. I too usually stereotype it as a great appetizer with an Italian meal, but I overlook it as an ingredient in much else. I'm on a mission now to explore the world of calamari, or calmar, as the French say, kalmar, as German say, or pijlinktvis as the Dutch put it. Okay, now I see why we call it calamari. I'll keep you updated on my quest to cook squid in new and fun ways, and I'll be honest with failures and successes!



Profession: Calamari, squid
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Marital Status: Single
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Charity: NJ
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Year Graduated: 0000
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