OK, so no more poke at Zarlitos, huh? I was in National City; so I decided to revisit Poke Etc to see what was up. There's been some adjustment to the menu; but I decided to grab some lunch. I also got Calvin the Haupia mix his Missus likes so much.
I got the Lau Lau Combo.
Which was ok for "mainland Lau Lau"….that would be; too lean, no salted butterfish. But man, I do miss the smokey flavor of luau leaf and I guess I got my fix in this case. It's actually better than some of the other versions I've had on the mainland over the years.
The rice was same as before; on the dry side.
I ordered the Basic Spicy Ahi; but what I got was weird, not spicy, way too much sesame oil, the fish was fairly low quality, kind of mushy.
The following weekend I needed to go into work….so, of course I headed into the opposite direction….you can call it procrastination, denial, passive-aggressive, or what have you. I needed to grab something to eat, so I decided to give Poke Etc another shot. This time I got the Poke Salad, with Ahi Limu.
The quality of the fish was much better than on previous visits. Maybe because it was something like 945 in the morning? The poke wasn't combined with the shoyu real well and the limu was mushy and all stuck together. The "salad" was a typical mixed greens, which is what I kind of expected. At least the fish was better this time around.
Not sure if I'll be back again soon though. I still need to get to It's Raw in OB. My sources tell me it's more "real", not the typical "chi-poke" kind of place….
Poke Etc
916 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950
Hope you have a great weekend!
Thanks for checking it out again, Kirk — I’ve had pretty good luck at Poke Etc. (I usually go for the salmon upgrade), but guess they’re hot and cold. I’ve got to wander over to It’s Raw too — the reviews seem to indicate that they’re the best we’ve got.
🙁
Hi Peter – Yeah, it was kind of inconsistent to say the least.
Yes, not that good Kat!
Didn’t know It’s Raw opened in OB. I’ll give it a try next time.
Yeah, they opened a while back. If you check them out; let me know what you think Junichi!