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| - Of all the food phenomenons that have come and gone over the years, the poke craze might well be the most surprising to me. Don't get me wrong, I love sushi and I love seafood in general. But at the rate poke restaurant concepts are popping up, there will likely be equal parts sushi and poke stops throughout in the valley within the next few years. Perhaps I've just underestimated the Chipotlefication of our restaurant culture or maybe people have just been clamoring for raw fish in a cheaper and more approachable way? Whatever the reasons, the poke takeover is well underway and (for the moment) shows no signs of slowing down.
Los Angeles based chain Ahipoki is just one of the many players in this battle for poke supremacy, with dozens of locations in CA, AZ, and WA and many more on the way. Their newest AZ location on 7th Ave and McDowell has seemingly already caught the attention of the neighborhood. Nestled in between Vovomeena and (ironically enough) Chipotle on the southeast corner of the street, Ahipoki is indeed Chipotle in raw fish salad form. Choose your base, choose your raw fish, choose your sauce, and choose your toppings. Customizable, made to order right in front of you, quick, and inexpensive. On Saturday at Noon business was brisk, and I took the plunge.
Five steps to the process. First, choose the size of your bowl. Regular size (2 scoops of fish) and large (3 scoops of fish). Large for me. Next, choose your base. I went with brown rice. Next step, choose your fish. I went with ahi tuna, shrimp, and salmon. Next, choose your sauce. I went with the House sauce (basically a mix of soy and a little bit of citrus). Lastly, choose your toppings. I went with crab meat, avocado, and furikake (dried ground up seaweed). For my drink I went with their "Tropical Drink". And lastly for dessert I went with a Mango Macaroon Ice Cream sandwich. Total for all the food and drink came to $20.
Admittedly I probably was feeling a bit of seafood overload after awhile, but the quality of the fish was pretty decent. The fish isn't sushi grade quality so you can certainly find better at most sushi restaurants if you're willing to pay a little more. But not bad. The house sauce added that little extra savory kick to the fish and of course avocado pretty much makes everything better in my humble opinion. The Tropical Drink was much more mellow than I expected with mango being the most dominant flavor. I also liked the mango ice cream sandwich. Basically just a macaroon with mango ice cream in the middle. Pretty simple concept, but it works.
Overall, Ahipoki is a worthy entry to the runaway poke train. I wish the fish was of slightly higher quality. But given how much that would drive up the price (not to mention stretch the thinning fish population), I can understand why they don't go that route. If you're a sushi fan looking for a different take on raw fish or if you'd rather try raw fish in a concept more approachable and familiar than sushi, this Chipotle-style poke concept may be for you. Someday I hope to try real deal poke in Hawaii (where poke originated). For now, those in the valley in need of a poke fix have an ever expanding number of options, including Ahipoki.
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