There are several benchmark menu items that assist one in evaluating a restaurants' merits and fried calamari is one of them. You can tell a lot about a kitchen by how it deals with its cephalopods. For one thing, its very easy to cook calamari past the optimal stage, which results in a product that is rubbery. It's also easy to have too much batter or to have a dish that's too greasy. If you manage to avoid all of those pitfalls you can then scuttle your efforts by serving a dipping sauce that overwhelms rather than complements.
Deep Creek passes the calamari test with flying colors.
While we're on the subject of benchmark items, cream of crab soup is another. If it is one-tenth as good as the oyster stew I had, then it is worth a try. I do not make this statement lightly, for that includes my own oyster stew which is no slouch. Sometimes we might get crazy and snip a bit of fresh chive on the surface prior to serving. Oyster stew at Deep Creek is a symphony of colors, tastes and textures.