Years ago, during my very first visit to Hawaii, I read about poke (pronounced poh-kay) in my guidebooks (yes, guidebooks – before they were replaced by The Internet!). Featuring diced raw fish seasoned with ingredients such as soy sauce, scallions, sesame oil, sesame seeds and other accouterments, it was fresh, delicious and not widely available outside of Hawaii. Whenever I returned to Hawaii, I planned my meals around two things – poke and shave ice. And all was well with the world.
These days, much to my surprise and delight, poke bowl places are evvvvverywhere. Some may say that the hype is past its prime, but I for one hope these places stick around. My neighborhood poke bowl place is in the weekly rotation of “too tired to cook after work, quick and healthy dinner” options.
During my most recent visit to Hawaii (to the island of Kauai to be exact), I picked up this delicious bowl from SushiGirl with cubed raw tuna, cucumber, onion, sea veggies, furikake, sesame oil, and Hawaiian sea salt. It was SO GOOD. SushiGirl also sold rolls and sushi burritos (I won’t say I wasn’t tempted!), but I’ll always pick a poke bowl if it’s an option.
I’ve seen some buzz around that SushiGirl may have closed – or it may just be relocating? TBD. But I hope next time I make my visit to the Garden Island, it’s around so I can get my SushiGirl poke bowl fix.
Have you jumped on the poke bowl bandwagon?
