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| - There is so much hype on the mainland surrounding Hawaiian poke these days, but not every place can make it right. In Hawaii, large pieces of chunky tender fresh fish is by far the central ingredient in a poke bowl, followed by secondary ingredients such as sesame oil, shoyu, sea salt, limu, and sharp white onions. Keeping it simple, fresh, and cheap is the name of this game. On the mainland however, the poke I have seen so far are closer to a deconstructed rainbow roll, with skimpy tiny pieces of mediocre fish overwhelmed by lots of cheap fillers that you won't see in Hawaii. At Poke Bar, it was a case of self-fulfilling prophecy of low expectations.
Fortunately, Santi and I came to visit their Peoria location when they still had the 50% discount on all items. The basic concept here is to choose a base among a variation of rice, kale, or nacho, followed by the protein, support ingredients, dressing, more garnish, and a "side." Nacho wasn't the most laughable part of the ordeal, but they also considered mango as a legitimate protein for those who wish to have poke without the fish. At regular prices, their small bowl costs $8.95, medium $10.95, and large $12.95.
I ordered the large Poke Bowl that came with white rice and 4 small scoops of fish (tuna, Hawaiian tuna, albacore, and salmon) to combine with red onions, green onions, jalapeno, masago, imitation crab, ponzu sauce, and sesame seeds. It was served in a small shallow tray with rice that was unseasoned. The fish was not very fresh due to the slimy texture and aftertaste, and the support ingredients were unable to bring out the sharp flavors to cut through the taste of the fish. The ponzu sauce was rather diluted, and the small amount of masago and imitation crab failed to make an impression.
Santi had the medium Poke Bowl with brown rice, spring mix, 3 small scoops of fish (tuna and salmon), red and green onions, jalapeno, cucumber, masago, shichimi powder, imitation crab, and shoyu. It was again served in a shallow tray, but her servings of fish were noticeably more plentiful than mine. When I sampled it, the tuna and salmon were passable, but not very good. The taste of the shoyu was very weak, and there was nothing on the tray that brought all the textures and flavors together into focus. It wasn't clear whether I was eating a salad, a poke bowl, or a rice bowl. I would give this place a 1-star rating if I had to pay full price for these poke.
This location is still fairly new, as the small interior appeared modern and well lit. Interested diners should expect a fast-food protocol, where you line up to work with a server to assemble your poke bowl prior to seating. The atmosphere was welcoming, casual, and family friendly. My preference is still to go to Honolulu or Las Vegas to get my poke fix. Disappointed, I will not be coming back.
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