by Steven Doyle
Do you want brown rice or kale? Sriracha aioli or ponzu sauce? Fancy an ice cream scoop full of chopped raw salmon, or are you feeling more like tofu today? These are the decisions you ponder while waiting in line at a poke (pronounced poke-eh) restaurant. And, yes, there’s a line, almost always, at all of them.
The Hawaiian staple of chopped, seasoned raw fish is just the latest food to be eclipsed by the Chipotle effect, in which you transform your sandwich, burger, burrito, pizza or salad into a my-way-or-the-highway meal and make it as finicky or as creative as you wish.
One of the newest poke restaurants to hit the Dallas scene is Poke Bop located at 4103 Lemmon Avenue. For diners unfamiliar with poké cuisine, think of it as deconstructed sushi. Poke Bop’s chef, Tommy Hwang, is a certified sushi chef with 27 years of experience and he’s created a menu of traditional poke fare that is fresh, clean and super affordable making the perfect meal on the go.
As a first time visitor you will make your way through the line-up of tasty offerings, building your own creation (any combination will never be wrong), letting your your poke specialists know exactly how you wish your bowl to be fashioned.
There is a certain amount of deliciousness that can come from each bowl, but there is also a unique item offered each day in way of their “bagel” which is a round of rice molded into a familiar shape filled with crab and then wrapped in a variety of sushi slices and rests atop a nori crisp. This dish is extreme on flavor and very filling itself for the price of a happy meal.
Poke Bop is perfect for those looking for a fast and flavorful dining option that is healthy, and can even be vegetarian. The house-made sauces lend plenty of variety to even the simplest concoction and most toppings besides the proteins are complimentary on each bowl.
We love this new poke shop for its fresh ingredients that are carefully curated by a sushi master. Look for many new locations of Poke Bop in coming months as this bit of flavor makes its way to your neighborhood.
