Poking Fun at the Poke bar - The Bend Magazine

Poking Fun at the Poke bar

Hawaii Poke brings fresh island flavors to Corpus Christi

By: Julieta Hernandez Photos by: Rachel Benavides

Sushi fans have met their match. The poke bowl, sweeping acrossbrthe Coastal Bend area, is surpassing our love of seaweed wrapped fish on rice.brLast spring, Fnu Herman and his team brought flavors and blends all the waybrfrom Seattle, Washington in order to open Hawaii Poke on Saratoga.

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“We’re trying in Corpus, because in Corpus they don’t have poke,”brHerman explains. 

 

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 Hawaii Poke offers build-your-own meals. You choose a base, a mix-in,brprotein, sauce or dressing, and toppings. I have to mention — toppings arebrunlimited! Any combination of ingredients will provide a new set of flavors tobrexplore. No two bowls are exactly alike, and that’s what’s so fun about thisbrplace. While other restaurants have poke options on their menu, Hawaii Pokebroffers 100% creative freedom. Bring on the edible color wheel!

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Following the wave of poke bars, plenty of restaurants in thebrCorpus Christi area have started offering poke as well. But according tobrHerman, Hawaii Poke’s taste is unique because of their superb sauces. It’sbrtrue! When it came time to select a sauce, I was tempted to get more than one. 

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Hawaiians enjoy their poke with fresh, raw fish; that’s why HawaiibrPoke offers a wide selection of cut fish including ahi, scallops, salmon, and tunabr(my favorite). If you’re not too keen on trying raw fish, some of Hawaii Poke’sbrcooked options included shrimp, grilled chicken, and beef tataki. However, ifbryou’re really feeling adventurous, try the octopus (also my favorite).

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“Basically, it’s all the same as the Hawaiian’s,” Herman saysbrabout the protein. “We just added the chicken and beef and the cooked shrimp.”

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With indoor and outdoor seating, this compact poke bar provides abrcasual dining experience where you can sit by the beach (well, the huge beachbrphoto they have on their wall) with friends. You can also pair your pokebrcreation with a ramune soda or boba tea. Complimentary infused water is alsobravailable.

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