Creating your own "bowl" seems to be the latest food trend, allowing customers to individualize their meal at hip restaurants. Burrito, acai, and yogurt bowls all have had their runs as being the "go-to" food fad. But now, poke is taking over. Although the dish originated from Hawaii, food-loving millennials have adopted and perfected this healthy and tasty meal. Native Hawaiians have been traditionally cooking poke for a long time, as seasoned raw fish is a staple of their diet. Now, the poke bowl is being revolutionized with intricate sauces and add-ins.
What's Poke Fish About?
Just recently, Poke Fish opened in the Ann Arbor area, just outside the University of Michigan campus. Prior to its opening, there were no restaurants devoted solely to poke in the vicinity. This quick and delicious grab-and-go restaurant was opened by Adam Chen, who recently left his career as an owner of a traditional Japanese restaurant in New York City, to open Poke Fish. Chen is not the only one to have the idea of leaving traditional Japanese cuisine behind, as the number of venues offering poke on their menu across the United States has doubled in the last two years.
The restaurant has a "build-your-own" styled menu but also features classic bowls. When I ate at the restaurant, I combined aspects of different pre-set bowls to create my own meal to my liking. This is perfect for those who are indecisive, as this flexible menu allows you to try a little bit of everything!
What Even is Poke?
Customizable poke bowls have a starting price of $9.95, which includes two protein scoops and unlimited add-ins: seaweed salad, mango, crunch, cucumber—anything you could possibly imagine pairing with poke. If you want avocado, it's $2 extra, but when is avocado not extra? You start off with a base of either white rice of brown rice, and build your bowl from there by adding these tasty toppings.
My poke bowl, white rice-based with seasoned raw tuna, spicy tuna, mango, avocado, seaweed salad, and crunch was 100% worth the off-campus drive. Adam Chen's Poke Fish in Ann Arbor is definitely going to give uber-good business!