Poke Doki, the newest addition to the growing number of Poke shops in the area, will open Downtown early next year. On the corner of 3rd Street and Gay street, in the space formerly home to Nosh, Poke Doki will serve sushi grade fish in the form of Poke bowls.
The Poke craze, originating in Hawaii, has gone through some transformations since its incorporation into mainland cuisine. For one it lost the accent over the “e,” causing many to pronounce it “pohk,” rather than the appropriate “poh-kay.” And once it hit the shore of the continental U.S. poke restaurants have started emphasizing the “bowl” aspect of the meal, a habit that Hawaiian chef and blogger Mark Noguchi views as just a little ignorant.
“We Asians have been eating out of bowls for generations. Polynesians, too,” he said, adding later that “in Hawaii, we don’t say we serve poke in a bowl. Hell, the average local family has more bowls than plates.”
But the concept is especially appealing as it assists with the fast casual nature of most new poke restaurants. The bowls, which traditionally come with proteins like Ahi tuna, salmon, tofu, octopus and others, allow for guests to create their own meals with their own ingredients.
Poke Doki’s sushi grade fish comes from True World Foods, based in Columbus. The restaurant will offer those proteins, and it’ll have the Hawaiian classic Ahi Tuna poke bowl, which is usually served with green onions, chili peppers, soy sauce, sesame oil, and roasted kukui nut.
The new restaurant, located at 100 East Gay Street will seat between 12 and 15 people. Doors should be open by the end of January, 2017.