I'd been hearing about It's Raw for a while; first when they opened in various Farmer's Markets, then when there was a truck for a while. After the brick and mortar shop opened, I had thoughts 
about checking them out, which I mentioned in various posts. I'd heard that it was real-deal poke; not one of these mainland "chi-poke" places.
about checking them out, which I mentioned in various posts. I'd heard that it was real-deal poke; not one of these mainland "chi-poke" places.But finally, I was missing poke, even though it had been not that long since I'd been home and had poke just about every day, even a couple of time on Lana'i. Now that Zarlitos was no longer an option for poke, I decided to finally head on down to OB and It's Raw.
Of course, this would be a weekend, so traffic in and out of OB was bad and finding parking….well, that was a total horror show.
Finding It's Raw was interesting as well…..the address says Newport Avenue; but the "true" entrance to the shop (you can walk through the corner store to find another entrance in the back) is actually on Bacon Street.
I liked the look of the fish in the trays. Not too many options, which was fine with me. I just got a Poke Plate ($15) which comes with two choices of poke. I also went with one scoop rice, one scoop mac salad.
The rice was nicely made. The mac salad was actually spaghetti salad, very plain, not too much mayo, nicely chilled and seasoned.The shoyu poke came with sauce on the side. It was super salty and lacked depth, but even thoguh the fish was a bit "dry", I couldn't gripe about the fish quality. The wasabi poke was better; well sauced, but overly salty, and fairly light in terms of wasabi. While there was some "sugi" (connective tissue) on several pieces, this was the better of the two poke.
This was solid; good fish, though not great poke in terms of flavor. I had seen kalua pig on the menu and the Missus also wanted to try the poke so I returned the following weekend….oh my, even worse traffic, and I eventually had to pay for parking in the CVS lot since none could be had. I guess I could have headed on down early; like a couple of hours before the noon opening time of It's Raw…..Anyway; I got the "Pig and Poke" ($20), and selected the Kimchi Poke and the Furikake Poke. I got a half pound each of the kimchi and wasabi poke for the Missus….$45 for take-out…..whoa.
This time I got two scoops of rice; which was actually a good move. In terms of moisture and texture the kalua pork is better than the recent version I had at Da' Kines. It was however, much too salty and could have used more smokiness. It was not bad though.The best item was the furikake poke; which they didn't have last time. A nice balance of salt-shoyu-a slight sweetness, along with the nutty-savoriness that furikake provides.
The kimchi poke was salty and lacking in a savory-umami-spicy kimchi flavor. The fish was even better quality this time.
The Missus was not impressed by the kimchi or the wasabi poke; though She did think the furikake poke was much better. And while She also thought the fish quality was good; I don't think She'll be craving this.
As for me; well, maybe if I'm off during the week or can find myself in OB during some reasonable hour where I can actually find some parking I'll return. Or maybe they'll open a bit earlier. Still, It's Raw might be the best option for poke in San Diego right now.
It's Raw Poke Shop
4991 Newport Ave. (the storefront is actually on Bacon St.)
San Diego, CA 92107
Hours:
Tues – Sun 12pm – 6pm
4991 Newport Ave. (the storefront is actually on Bacon St.)
San Diego, CA 92107
Hours:
Tues – Sun 12pm – 6pm