POOLVILLE – The Poolville Country Store Restaurant Bed & Breakfast has been under the ownership of Roger Foster and Charles Wilburn since 2006, and they have built and maintained a reputation focused on providing food that is sustainable, fresh, locally-minded and, of course, as delicious as possible. One dish that has been on the menu since the beginning and is immensely popular with the dinner crowd is Polynesian Calamari.

“That's turned into a staple,” said Wilburn who explained that any time he has thought about replacing it, there has been an outcry amongst customers.

The calamari is served as an appetizer that can feed one to two people and is priced at $10.

Wilburn explained that the dish is made with wild caught calamari and is fairly simple to make. He created the recipe, which he does with all of his dishes.

“I work menus out in my mind,” he said. “I think about a seasoning and spice that I pick and choose. It's in-house development.”

Sometimes the calamari is tossed with a lemon aioli and dusted with parmesan and sundried tomato. The calamari currently featured on the menu has a Polynesian twist.

First Wilburn makes the sauce.

“It's a reduction of pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, red pepper and is thickened with corn starch and diluted (if necessary) with water,” he said.

While the sauce is made in advance, each appetizer is cooked when it is ordered. He described how he slices and marinates the calamari in milk. The lactic acid in the milk works as a tenderizer. Upon ordering the dish, the calamari is taken out of the marinade and dredged in either brown rice flour or cornstarch in consideration of guests who have gluten-free dietary needs.

Wilburn then deep fries the calamari at 350 degrees fahrenheit for four minutes or until crispy.

“It's tossed in the sauce and then served on a bed of chopped baby greens and garnished with organic coconut, cashews and green onion,” he said.