Calamari official state appetizer of Rhode Island. Photo by stu_spivack / Flickr (use permitted with attribution/share alike).
Official State Appetizer of Rhode Island
Rhode Island designated calamari as the official state appetizer on June 27, 2014 (calamari is the Italian word for squid). Rhode Island is the first state to adopt an official appetizer. All State Foods
Squid is a mollusk (related to clams and oysters). Rhode Island accounts for 54 percent of squid landings in the Northeast, according to the Providence Journal, citing a Cornell University study.