Modern Italian cuisine in the form of street food is a doubly good thing, and Piada puts the focus on authentic ingredients prepared simply. Hence the popularity of its Calamari Piada, which features the giant Humboldt squid, wild-caught and marinated for 24 hours before being lightly coated with a seasoned flour mixture.
“It is the most tender calamari I have ever worked with,” says Matt Harding, Director of Culinary at The Piada Group. Piada’s namesake dough is cooked on a heated stone with extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper. It’s filled with sweet and spicy peppers, romaine, spicy diavolo sauce, plus the crispy calamari and Parmesan dressing.
“The Calamari Piada is an absolute meal-and-a-half. You get the spicy from the diavolo, the sweet from the peppers, the salty from the calamari and the dough, the crunch from the lettuce. It’s pretty sensational and one of our best-selling menu items.”
Piada uses calamari two other ways: as a side with fresh pomodoro sauce, and in a salad with romaine, feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet and spicy peppers and housemade vinaigrette.
