Poke Bowl: Philadelphia gets a poke shop
That's "po-kay," and it's the diced, marinated fish-over-rice-or-salad bowl that might be Hawaii's most exciting mainland export to Philly since Shane Victorino.
Philadelphia has gotten its first poke shop.
That's pronounced "po-kay," and it's the diced, marinated fish-over-rice-or-salad bowl that might be Hawaii's most exciting mainland export to Philly since Shane Victorino.
Tunisian-born Mahmoud Chaabane, 27, an English-educated engineer with an entrepreneurial bent, is behind Poke Bowl (958 N. Second St.), across from Tendenza and a few doors up from Dmitri's in Northern Liberties.
Poke, meanwhile, has popped up on numerous menus around town, including Vernick, coZara, and Bubblefish. Low fat and packing a decent protein load, "it's a healthy choice," Chaabane said.
Customers custom-order cafeteria-style. Select white rice, brown rice, mixed greens, or kale salad. Choose tuna, salmon, albacore, shrimp, octopus, or crab, and add a sauce that serves as marinade as well as toppings and seasonings. It's $9.25 for a small and $11.50 for a large.