Raw tuna or salmon? Brown rice or white? Spicy mayo or ponzu sauce? Options reign at downtown Mountain View's Poké Bar, but don't worry, you'll have time to ponder what to order in line -- because there's usually a line and it's a long one.
Poké (pronounced poke-ay) is a beloved Hawaiian staple of cubed, seasoned raw fish, mixed as a free-form salad with various add-ins. In Hawaii, it can be found everywhere from grocery stores to gas stations.
The raw fish salad certainly isn't a new creation, but lately, versions have popped up on the mainland -- not only at restaurants, but also at fast-casual eateries dedicated to the dish. Locally, there's Poké Bar, which opened inside Ava's Downtown Market & Deli on Castro Street last November. Another fast-casual poké restaurant is set to open down the street in April.
Why is the latest lunch option blowing up? It's fast and healthy, Poké Bar co-owner Chris Lim said.
"Everyone is thinking about health more than taste and money," Lim said. "People want something healthy and poké happens to be healthy, light and fast."
Poké Bar operates four locations in Southern California, with a fifth currently under construction. The Mountain View location, which is more like a deli counter than a storefront, is the first in Northern California, with another on the way to San Francisco's Twitter building.
Lim found the location in Ava's by chance, he said. After his real estate agent couldn't find a suitable location on Castro Street, Lim drove up from Southern California and walked up and down the busy downtown street.
"I passed by this market and saw that nothing much was going on in the space, so I went inside and talked to the owner of the market and asked him if the space was available and told him about my poké business in Los Angeles," Lim said. "He didn't know what poké was and I started talking to him and we kind of connected."
Lim and his two business partners, Jason Park and Yoon Ju, were able to secure the 220-square-foot space and transformed it into a build-your-own poké joint, similar to a Chipotle for deconstructed sushi.
On any given weekday around lunchtime, a crowd of hungry customers pack into the small space, moving in a cafeteria-style line along the poké bar (hence the name). On a wall behind the counter are orange and white signs with ordering instructions.
For $9.50 you can get a small bowl with two scoops of bite-size pieces of fresh fish, which is the most important ingredient in a poké bowl, Lim said. Poké Bar's fish comes directly from Hawaii, Canada, Norway and the Philippines.
"We sell so much, so we don't have to keep fish in the freezer," Lim said. "We rotate really fast so it stays fresh."
Poké Bar offers a variety of poké, including tuna, salmon, seared albacore, spicy tuna, octopus, shrimp, scallop and tofu. There are various mix-ins, like cucumbers, onions, corn and jalapeño, and five housemade sauces (house dressing, ponzu, spicy mayo, sweet chili and wasabi mayo) for customers to mix and match to their pleasing.
A server mixes the delicate fish and fixings together in a metal bowl and places the poké atop a base of brown or white rice, spring salad or tortilla chips and garnishes with sesame seeds or crispy onions.
Don't know what to order? Lim's go-to is tuna and salmon mixed with cucumbers, cilantro, green onions and edamame (soy beans) with a mixture of the house dressing -- a soy-based Japanese mustard with sesame oil and other ingredients he wouldn't divulge -- and ponzu, a tangy soy-based sauce, all topped with masago (fish roe).
"The ponzu gives the bowl a citrus taste and the house dressing has the savory mustard flavor that goes perfectly with the fresh salmon and tuna," he said. "I also just like the texture of the bowl."
For a vegetarian option that keeps the same flavors and accoutrements, Lim recommends replacing the salmon and tuna with tofu and vegetables.
The salmon and spicy tuna poké are refreshing and bright, heaped atop steamed rice with the added crunch from a generous sprinkling of sesame and masago. The spicy tuna and sauces (try the spicy mayo and ponzu) add a touch of heat. Diced mango and sliced cucumbers balance the bowl out in both flavor and texture.
Customers can dine at small tables inside or outside the market, but it is best to take your meal to go, as the few tables available will likely be occupied at peak hours.
The poké trend, like any food trend, may fade, but Lim said he is confident that poké will eventually become a California staple.
"Poké, I think, is here to stay because it's just more fitting to everybody," he said. "You don't need to wait for a sushi chef to roll your fish. With a poké bowl, you get everything you like and the only things that you like."
Poké Bar
340 Castro St., Mountain View
415-967-9728
Hours: Daily, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Comments
Barron Park
on Feb 26, 2016 at 2:48 pm
on Feb 26, 2016 at 2:48 pm
poke-ay???? Really? Really? How many haoles involved with this story? :) I guess they would pronounce haole as howl-ay. Ha!
This place has lost all creditability and interest from me if they are really spelling it poke and pronouncing it as such, but then again I was only born and raised in Hawaii for the first 18 years of my life. Yes, I know many people like to spell it Hawai'i.
Mayfield
on Feb 26, 2016 at 5:23 pm
on Feb 26, 2016 at 5:23 pm
@Chris - that's funny. "poke-ay" is actually pretty hard to say out loud. The folks at Pacific Catch usually say "po-KAAY", which sounds even more haole than poke-ay.
I have actually been to this Poké Bar place on Castro Street. It is really more Los Angeles-style than Hawaiian-style, which is perhaps why they pronounce it that way. You can find a more authentic (though more expensive) poke bowl at Aloha Fresh in Cupertino, and they do pronounce it correctly there. Some of the poke places in San Jose are supposed to be good, but traffic is so bad in San Jose that I rarely go there (and some them say po-KEE).
Barron Park
on Feb 27, 2016 at 8:00 am
on Feb 27, 2016 at 8:00 am
@moke - Mahalo for suggesting Aloha Fresh in Cupertino. I'll check them out.
Mountain View
on Feb 27, 2016 at 10:18 am
on Feb 27, 2016 at 10:18 am
"similar to a Chipotle" -- How about "similar to Asian Box," please! Chipotle Grill has regrettable connotations about food safety, after numerous incidents around the US since 2008, hundreds of people sickened: Web Link
Chris wrote: "This place has lost all creditability and interest from me if they are really spelling it poke and pronouncing it as such, but then again I was only born and raised in Hawaii for the first 18 years of my life."
It's unfortunate of course if the place lost credibility with you, but (1) this website can't render the exact spelling with the bar (macron) e -- the same problem came up in earlier reporting here about this fast-food specialty; (2) a restaurant must serve its local market, and I'd guess very few of the people queueing up for Poke Bar were Hawaii-raised. This food specialty happens to be fashionable, witness many other Poke places springing up statewide.
Midtown
on Jul 28, 2016 at 3:13 pm
on Jul 28, 2016 at 3:13 pm
I agree that Aloha Fresh is where to go for an authentic poke bowl, pretty much how you'd get it in Hawaii. They highlight the fresh fish, as opposed to the toppings. It may seem pricey but you will get far more fish (that can easily be shared) than you do at the new local Chipotle-style poke shops that are popping up around here.
Mayfield
on Jul 28, 2016 at 6:24 pm
on Jul 28, 2016 at 6:24 pm
Takahashi Market in San Mateo also has really good poke, as well as mochi, poi, and other goodies.