Meet Poké, the Hawaiian Raw Fish Dish Having Its Moment in the Sun

bon appétit

Poké is near ubiquitous in Hawaii, served everywhere from run-of- the-mill grocery stores to gas stations, surf shacks, and beyond. The Hawaiian classic is casual, the kind of food you pack into a flimsy plastic cup for the road and eat somewhere on the beach listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. Now you can eat new-school versions on the mainland, served atop trendy rice bowls and plated at upscale restaurants, from the sunny shores of Los Angeles to Charleston and Brooklyn. So, what is poké, and what is it doing on the mainland, in places like Boulder, Colorado, that are hundreds of miles from the nearest shore?

What is Poke?

Traditionally, poké (pronounced POKE-AY, not POKE-EE) is chunks of tuna marinated in soy and sesame, said Gerald San Jose, co- owner at Noreetuh, a hot new Hawaiian-inspired restaurant in New York. But poké is such a ubiquitous term that it can mean anything chunked, because poké comes from the verb for “to section, slice, or cut” in Hawaiian language, he said. San Jose also mentioned that poké is everywhere in Hawaii; you can go to the nearest grocery store and find 20 different versions, from octopus with a creamy dressing to avocado poké with sesame oil.
When it comes to fish poké, the most common kind is tuna. But don’t confuse it with sashimi, tartare, or ceviche. Unlike sashimi, where the fish is sliced thin and long, or tartare, where the fish, often tuna, is diced and held together by a sauce-glue, tuna poké is cut into thick cubes and mixed as a free-form salad. Poké is probably closest to ceviche but, Jesse Sandole, co-owner at 167 Raw in Charleston and Nantucket, which serves its version with tortilla chips, explained the difference: “We like to make the red wine, white wine comparison. Ceviche with all of the bright, acidic flavors speaks more to a white wine, whereas poké has more bold, savory, and rounded flavors that speak more to red wine.”

Where Is Poke?

Apart from the acclaimed poké spots on the Hawaiian islands, including the legendary Da Poké Shack in Kailua-Koni, poké shacks and restaurants adding poké-style preparations are popping up all across the country. In New York alone, the Hawaiian restaurant boom has brought with it three places to grab poké in the big city: at Onomea in Brooklyn, at Japanese-Hawaiian restaurant Suzume, and at Noreetuh, the modern Hawaiian restaurant sprucing up traditional poké with pickled jalapeños, fresno peppers, macadamia nuts, and multiple seaweeds. A dedicated poké truck, Poké to the Max by Sam Choy in Bellevue, Washington, boasts the tag-line “Mo poké, mo betta!” and goes all-in on salad bowls, rice bowls, and poké sandwich wraps served with house-made slaw and dressing.

But spend a day down by the shore in San Diego, and you’re bound to see poké, snacked on casually with tortilla chips, served with a spoon, or piled on top of rice at South Park Brewing Co., where the dish is customizable à la Chipotle, and even at The Patio in Left Field at Petco Park. Or scope out a poké competition at the I Love Poké fest on Shelter Island in San Diego. Head north to Los Angeles and you’ll have your pick of new-school poké places, from Big Daddy’s Poké Shack in Venice to the Mainland Poké Shop and Poké Bar, among at least half a dozen others. When we spoke with co-founder Brett Nestadt from Sweetfin Poké about how it’s going for the Santa Monica poké shop so far, he said young professionals in Santa Monica are eating it up: “We thought there’d be an adoption period, but right out the gates people were coming in. The idea of eating a
bowl as a meal is definitely a food trend right now and people have come to see it as a convenient, accessible way to get a meal in.”

Not on the West Coast? Hop a flight to Chicago and chow down on Big & Little’s poké tacos, offered in white tuna, salmon, and crab, and smothered in its signature samurai sauce and served on corn tortillas. In the nation’s capital, the Hula Girl Bar & Grill pop-up at Pulpo served a poké of the day alongside sweet Hawaiian cocktails and sodas, just to get the vibe right.

In Boulder, Colorado, Motomaki serves fast-casual tuna, salmon, and hamachi poké with Japanese-inspired seasonings for $10 a pop.