MR

I need your guys honest opinions. I've never had it but every time i think about eating squid makes me spew
up a little bit. Anyway there's a good chance i'll be having this for the first time this weekend so that's why
i'm asking. Hakuna matta right????

It all really depends on where you get it/how it is prepared and your type of taste. Some places do a great job while other places do a horrible job. If your lucky, you'll have it the first time at a place that does it right and you'll love it and so you will know what it's supposed to taste like. Some like it pan fried with breading while others like me, just like it without breading grilled over a fire and eaten with a dipping sauce.

I thought it said FRED Calamari.

Thought it was some musician I have never heard of!!!

I like it so long as I don't think about what it is...

C'mon guys why all the votes for option 3????

Everett wrote:C'mon guys why all the votes for option 3????

Go to Carino's. EXCELLENT calamari. My favorite.

Ironic that the seafood restaurants around here can't get it right, but an Italian place does.

Liam wrote:Go to Carino's. EXCELLENT calamari. My favorite.

Ironic that the seafood restaurants around here can't get it right, but an Italian place does.

I'm pretty sure it's an Italian dish. I like it fried, like
onion rings ...don't know that I'd like it prepared the way Sushi likes it ...seems like it would taste like a rubber band.

So what was the outcome?

Michigan Girl wrote:I'm pretty sure it's an Italian dish.

Yeah, that sounds about right. We eat ika (squid) in Japan but they don't bread and deep fry or pan fry it. True calamari is prepared with breading and then fried or deep fried. I'm sure the way I like it is the Japanese way which is not technically "calamari". In America I've had calamari that was out of this world in places before and then I've had it where it totally sucked. I guess with a good calamari, the taste focus isn't on the breading as much as on the squid itself. Some places make it to where the focus is on the breading and that's not quite right.

Matter of fact, the closest to calamari the Japanese make is something called "Squid Tentacle Karaage". I've never eaten squid in Japan prepared this way so I can't say if I'd like it or not. I tend to stray away from eating anything and everything that has been deep fried. If I eat squid in Japan, it is only cooked on a grill.

Regardless if it's calamari that is bread and deep fry or pan fried, or ika in Japan.....it's something you want to eat while it's hot off the stove, grill, deep fryer, etc. Cold calamari or squid is bad regardless of how it's prepared...imo. Ika as sushi/sashimi is a completely different dish altogether and only tastes good cold and really fresh out of the water.

I'm a BIG seafood fan and have eaten some pretty weird, questionable types of sea creatures but calamari is one of only two foods I absolutely despise. The other is okra in any way, shape, or form. I even tried to acquire the taste for it due to its popularity and becoming a staple appetizer item pretty much globally. And it's not the taste I don't like, I just can't get past the rubber band texture.
After thinking about it, I guess there are 3 foods on my list. The 3rd would be the Durian fruit. Haven't ever tried it but I'm absolutely confident I wouldn't like it even a little bit - and I have to thank Rip for taking one for the team with that one!

JRNYMAN wrote:I'm a BIG seafood fan and have eaten some pretty weird, questionable types of sea creatures but calamari is one of only two foods I absolutely despise. The other is okra in any way, shape, or form. I even tried to acquire the taste for it due to its popularity and becoming a staple appetizer item pretty much globally. And it's not the taste I don't like, I just can't get past the rubber band texture.
After thinking about it, I guess there are 3 foods on my list. The 3rd would be the Durian fruit. Haven't ever tried it but I'm absolutely confident I wouldn't like it even a little bit - and I have to thank Rip for taking one for the team with that one!

I'm pretty sure "okra" is a vegtable ...not grown in the sea?? I could be wrong, but I love it
and I know the farmers here grow it in the earth.

The Sushi Hunter wrote:

Michigan Girl wrote:I'm pretty sure it's an Italian dish.

Yeah, that sounds about right. We eat ika (squid) in Japan but they don't bread and deep fry or pan fry it. True calamari is prepared with breading and then fried or deep fried. I'm sure the way I like it is the Japanese way which is not technically "calamari". In America I've had calamari that was out of this world in places before and then I've had it where it totally sucked. I guess with a good calamari, the taste focus isn't on the breading as much as on the squid itself. Some places make it to where the focus is on the breading and that's not quite right.

Matter of fact, the closest to calamari the Japanese make is something called "Squid Tentacle Karaage". I've never eaten squid in Japan prepared this way so I can't say if I'd like it or not. I tend to stray away from eating anything and everything that has been deep fried. If I eat squid in Japan, it is only cooked on a grill.

Regardless if it's calamari that is bread and deep fry or pan fried, or ika in Japan.....it's something you want to eat while it's hot off the stove, grill, deep fryer, etc. Cold calamari or squid is bad regardless of how it's prepared...imo. Ika as sushi/sashimi is a completely different dish altogether and only tastes good cold and really fresh out of the water.

I agree, it would be bad cold ...I would try it grilled, I may not like it, but I definitely would try it. I'm notta chicken.
Which, for Jrnyman, is a farm animal.

JRNYMAN wrote:I'm a BIG seafood fan and have eaten some pretty weird, questionable types of sea creatures but calamari is one of only two foods I absolutely despise. The other is okra in any way, shape, or form. I even tried to acquire the taste for it due to its popularity and becoming a staple appetizer item pretty much globally. And it's not the taste I don't like, I just can't get past the rubber band texture.
After thinking about it, I guess there are 3 foods on my list. The 3rd would be the Durian fruit. Haven't ever tried it but I'm absolutely confident I wouldn't like it even a little bit - and I have to thank Rip for taking one for the team with that one!

I love fresh durian fruit. And a good durian candy is awesome!

JRNYMAN wrote:I'm a BIG seafood fan and have eaten some pretty weird, questionable types of sea creatures but calamari is one of only two foods I absolutely despise. The other is okra in any way, shape, or form. I even tried to acquire the taste for it due to its popularity and becoming a staple appetizer item pretty much globally. And it's not the taste I don't like, I just can't get past the rubber band texture.
After thinking about it, I guess there are 3 foods on my list. The 3rd would be the Durian fruit. Haven't ever tried it but I'm absolutely confident I wouldn't like it even a little bit - and I have to thank Rip for taking one for the team with that one!

I fish not just a little, a lot and I wouldn't eat fucking octopus or squid if you paid me. Might as well put a rubber band in your mouth and chomp the fuck away. Most people that I do see eating calamari dip into wasabi or cocktail sauce and cover up the taste. Another fish I won't eat is catfish. Yea, I know you can soak it in milk overnight to get the mud taste out but that's just to much fucking work to eat a fish. I want something you catch, fillet and grill. And Okra, man, that's good food for the soul!

Michigan Girl wrote:

JRNYMAN wrote:I'm a BIG seafood fan and have eaten some pretty weird, questionable types of sea creatures but calamari is one of only two foods I absolutely despise. The other is okra in any way, shape, or form. I even tried to acquire the taste for it due to its popularity and becoming a staple appetizer item pretty much globally. And it's not the taste I don't like, I just can't get past the rubber band texture.
After thinking about it, I guess there are 3 foods on my list. The 3rd would be the Durian fruit. Haven't ever tried it but I'm absolutely confident I wouldn't like it even a little bit - and I have to thank Rip for taking one for the team with that one!

I'm pretty sure "okra" is a vegtable ...not grown in the sea?? I could be wrong, but I love it
and I know the farmers here grow it in the earth.

Ever the smartass MG! That actually put a smile on my face for the first time today, so thanks for that!
One of THOSE days.... Ugh! 100 MPH.... in reverse it seems like.
And for the record, I wasn't being specific to seafood when I listed okra. I said, "calamari is one of only two foods I absolutely despise."

No Surprize wrote: And Okra, man, that's good food for the soul!

See... there again, it's one of those foods that has become more popular over the years especially as an app inm a bar. Fried okra with ranch dressing is on pretty much every bar/restaurant menu. It's the sliminess that I can't get past. Bleh!
You included octopus in your post.... Now, for some reason, I have no problem with octopus as long as it's prepared like in a bisque or seafood chowder or sauteed in a Marsala cream sauce over pasta... that I'm fine with. Weird....