Best fried calamari in NYC
 

Strange question, I know... but fried calamari is my favourite.
Tell me, which NYC restaurants do a great fried calamari?

No calamari lovers out there?... :(

invinciblesummer, perhaps all the New York calamari lovers sleep between 1:24 and 5:25 AM? LOL

It's funny, but we split an order of fried calamari fairly often for dinner as an appetizer, and we've done so at maybe 10 or 12 places in Manhattan, but oddly none of them were at all special or in my book even that good. That's kind of odd compared to here in Florida where it seems many places give it a special touch. In fact I can name half a dozen local places with better calamari than I've found in NYC at all. Obviously I haven't tried it everywhere in NYC, so maybe someone has a really good suggestion. I just haven't found it yet there.

Along the lines of what NeoPatrick stated, I've eaten a lot of fried calamari in NYC (My SO loves fried calamari), but I can only remember one time where it was truly rememorable. During a street fair in Little Italy- last September I believe, we popped into a small little restaurant- in the middle of the afternoon, it was slammed with people. We ordered a couple glasses of wine and had two awesome appetizers- fried calamari and mussels. I WISH I could remember the name of the restaurant! A lot of things in Little Italy are overrated, but the Calamari definitely was not.

On a different note and in reference to another thread, the calamari at Capital Grille is fabulous. It's served spicy- with different peppers mixed in. Although it isn't an NYC thing, if you're ever in a town with a Capital Grille- you should go and order the Calamari!

Happy Eating!

Little Charlie's in Little Italy was a place known for their fr. cal. but it closed.

El Charro (Spanish) and Del Posto (Italian) are both mentioned on chowhound.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/406380

My favorite is actually 'salt baked calamari ' which is actually deep fried (see link below). it's a tad more salty than usual but the calamari is more moist than usual. You can find that in any good cantonese restaurant specializes in seafood. Chow hound may have a list.

A good and cheap joint would be N Y Noodletown in chinatown. No decor and no frill.

See http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant...ny_noodletown/

Along the lines of Mohan's post, we had wonderful salt baked squid at XO Cafe and Grill at 96 Walker St in Chinatown. It was an entree rather than an appetizer.

shormk2, how funny. I currently have another thread going about the new Capital Grille coming here to Naples. Now you tell me I can look forward to their calamari! Thanks.

Well if you can make it to Brooklyn, I had some great fried calamari at Europa restaurant in Bensonhurst.



Andy
TravelByAndy.com

Le Zie 2000 on 7th Ave and 20th Street, a small neighborhood Venetian restaurant has very good fried calamari. The Harrison in Tribeca used to have a fantastic fried clam appetizer - they fried the thin lemon slices with it - excellent. It's only on the menu as special,now, alas .. .

There is also a Vietnamese restaurant across the Street from me, called Safran on 7th Avenue and 16th St, that does a lovely version with thai chilies.

mp, I can't believe you mentioned Le Zie!! I just love the fried calamari and zucchini appetizer there.

I am so sad because I used to go to Le Zie with my now-deceased mother, Linda, for lunch.

I can see her sitting in the dining room drinking her bloody mary.......

Thin :(

Oh Thin, how sweet and sad. We haven't been to Le Zie in ages - we used to go with our son when it first opened in 1999- I guess he was 5 - they were so sweet to him - he loved their fried calamari and their gnocci. And the owner was happy to see and American kid eat like that . . .

Thanks.
NeoPatrick, I'm sure most NY calamari lovers are asleep between 1:24 and 5:25AM, :) but there were 3 days between my posts.

Ooops. Hey, I was awake enough before coffee to figure out the times, you didn't expect me to do dates too, did you?

LOL :)

This is an interesting question. As a kid, I had great calamari in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn and in many B'klyn Italian restaurants. It was a popular dish that was available and delicious and easy to find properly prepared. I think, in general, that many restaurants today do not know how to fry properly. The food ends up heavy and soggy. When done right, it should be crisp and not greasy.

I would love to try a city restaurant with good calamari - and red sauce on the side, slightly spicy!