i love fried calamari. when i eat out and it's on the menu, i'm ordering it. i don't know what it is about it that i like so much, because squid really has very little taste. i think i like the chewy texture of it. okay, and that's it's fried. i decided to make a batch a few weeks ago for me and my mom. i bought a few squid tubes along with a few bodies at whole foods. sliced the tubes into 1/2" rounds and soaked the squid in club soda for 30 minutes. i honestly don't know if the club soda made a difference or not, but i liked the idea of it. while it's soaking, heat up some olive oil. i didn't have a thermometer so i kind of just guessed when the oil was hot enough. if you don't have a thermometer, test one piece at a time. i then drained the squid on a towel and tossed it in some flour. fry the squid until it's golden brown, about 4 minutes. i tossed in a few banana peppers, which gave it a nice tang. served it with marinara and a few lemon wedges. so, so good! it wasn't heavy, oily, or over breaded. it was very light and flaky.