There’s a special kind of magic that happens when squid meets hot oil and comes out the other side as something that makes you question every life choice that didn’t involve fried calamari.
The Hard Shell in Richmond, Virginia has been perfecting this particular form of culinary alchemy, turning humble cephalopods into golden rings of joy that’ll have you ordering a second round before you’ve finished the first.
This isn’t some trendy gastropub trying to reinvent the wheel with deconstructed seafood concepts and foam that tastes like sadness.
The Hard Shell occupies prime real estate in Shockoe Slip, Richmond’s historic waterfront district where brick warehouses have stories to tell and the cobblestone streets remember when this area was the beating heart of river commerce…