Usually when I write my reviews, I sneak a peak at Yelp to see what people are saying about the place but I usually don't let it sway me too much. So I was super surprised to see all the really negative reviews about this place. Granted a lot of the reviews were for the location at Madison Square Eats and the one I went to was at the Gansevoort Market but still the quality shouldn't be too different.
While I will admit that this is definitely not traditional style Hawaiian poke, I really didn't have any issues with it and in fact liked it more than some other poke places I've been to (I'm looking at you Williamsburg Whole Foods poke stall). The poke craze is definitely in full effect in the city and while the people on Yelp seemed to think this place is the worst in the city, based on my one experience, I disagree with that sentiment. I got the regular size ($13.50) which comes with 2 "bases" and 1 fish. The base options are white rice, grain blend, kale and cauliflower, and pickled veggies. Not sure why they would give you the option of 2 bases but I went with the grain blend plus the kale and cauliflower. Again, it's not very traditional but it wasn't a bad combination either. The grain blend was mix of brown, red and black rice with barely and rye - so a much healthier version than the white rice mixture. The kale and cauliflower added another nice element of healthiness to it, not that fish is bad for you at all but it's combing all the recent uber trendy foods of brown rice, kale and poke in one bowl. As for my fish base, I got the spicy salmon which came with chunks of raw salmon covered with a spicy mayo and served with seaweed, radish and onion. So it doesn't have the traditional marinate of soy sauce and sesame oil but it was kind of like a deconstructed spicy salmon roll.
The regular size was enough for a decently filling meal and I appreciated the different healthy toppings and additions to the bowl. Maybe it's because I stuck to a more "classic" type of poke that it tasted fine - I could see how ordering the seared tuna, chicken or pork options might not be as good. Maybe the 2 locations really are that different but the one on the Gansevoort Market is worth a visit if you are in the area since the market itself is a cute but totally under-utilized food hall. Total bill: $13.50
Photo Credit: Yelp
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