Los Angeles Poke Worth Seeking

GUIDE CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Hawaii is the pinnacle of poke, where islanders have been known to lavish sliced Kahalu big eye tuna with green onion, Maui sweet onion, roasted kukui nut relish, and Kauai Hanopepe salt, which is only available by special barter. They also garnish the fish with a variety of seaweeds, which each instill unique properties. For instance, hulu ‘aina contributes texture, and limu kohu adds a strong iodine taste. Clearly, we’re not going to have the same ingredients handy on the mainland, and chefs are bound to take certain liberties. In L.A., some restaurants serve poke with California flourishes like smoked tofu and edamame or kale. Let’s focus on 10 top Los Angeles pokes, which I listed in alphabetical order.

Poke2Go Aloha Poke [CLOSED]


Poke Los Angeles

This food truck specializing in one of my favorite Hawaiian specialties debuted in June, 2014, driven by former Poke Poke employee Jared Crevar. They also sell a variety of pokes, which Crevar said stray from his former employers’ recipes. For instance, Aloha Poke features raw ahi tossed with soy sauce, sesame oil, white sesame seeds, seasoned rice vinegar, sea salt, crushed red pepper and chile flakes, resulting in a spicy finish.

POT Poke Me ($16) [CLOSED]

Poke Los Angeles

Between Roy Choi’s trip to Oahu with Jonathan Gold, his 2012 appearance at the Hawaii Food & Wine festival, and possibly more trips to Hawaii, island flavors have seemingly swayed one of L.A.’s most popular chefs. At his comfort food restaurant, POT, inside Koreatown’s red-hot Line Hotel, the Hawaiian influence is clear with Poke Me, which features yellow fin tuna with Maui onions, smoked sesame, shoyu vinaigrette, and a quartet of distinct touches: edamame, sea beans, nori and mizuna, which dial up the textural contrast and savory quotient.

Warren’s Blackboard Albacore Poke ($11) [CLOSED]

Poke Los Angeles

Warren Schwartz’s food & drink workshop, located inside North Hollywood’s Beverly Garland hotel, features ’70s songs like Badfinger’s “Day After Day” and Bob Seger’s “Beautiful Loser” on the speakers, and a somewhat retro California take on poke that includes silky albacore, crushed avocado, chopped hazelnuts, thin-shaved red onions, a shower of black sesame seeds, and crispy wontons.

Water Grill Wild Marshall Island Tuna Poke ($17)

Poke Los Angeles

The venerable seafood duo from the King Seafood Company dates to 1989 and now has outposts in DTLA and Santa Monica, with San Diego on the way. In Santa Monica, roll-up doors face Ocean Avenue, decor includes a copper bar and ship diagrams, and chef Damon Gordon serves pristine seafood like Wild Marshall Island Tuna Poke. His team tosses silky, ruby hued cuts of fish with avocado and sweet soy on sliced cucumber, with a side of crunchy sesame toast.

Tags:

Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

Blog Comments

[…] of soy sauce, salt and sesame and scallions, which is probably best with rice, to tame the salt.GUIDE CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE Share ThisArticle: Related Categories: Food, Guides Comments Elliot says: July 14, 2014 at […]

Not to be too nit picky but in #3, it’s Kauai. Love the list being from Hawaii, now I know some places to look.

Elliot, feel free to nit pick. Kawai is now Kauai. Thanks!

They have a pretty decent poke bar at Bristol Farms supermarkets.

Jeremy, a friend actually mentioned Bristol Farms poke to me the other day. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks.

I pick up the Bristol Farms poke for dinner every 10 days or so. It’s pretty good.

Not in “L.A.” but PokiNometry in Anaheim is a great choice for those closer to OC!

Asiu, Thanks for the suggestion. Any other spots in Orange County you like for poke?

Great list Josh! I wish they were all close to my house. Or even better would be if supermarkets would sell them like they do in Hawaii! Mahalo for all the research

Thanks, Justin! For when we can’t make it to Hawaii, it’s good to know we have viable L.A. options.

Leave a Comment