Poke (pronounced “poh-kay”) is a specific cut of fish, originating from Native Hawaiian islands, where mainly raw tuna is cut into chunks and seasoned with salt and a soy-based sauce. The modern poke bowl consists of the poke laid out on a bed of rice blanketed with an array of whole vegetables or other meats. A poke bowl can either be served as a snack or a whole nutritious meal, as seen at the new Big Island Poke in St. Anthony Village.
Nestled in the storefronts adjacent to Cub Foods since March, this spot offers top-notch poke for both lunch and dinner. The company owns another location in St. Paul too, if you ever find yourself on the other side of the Mississippi. Comparatively, this farther location currently has a bigger menu and more seating space, even featuring Korean corn dogs!
“I used to drive through this area often when it was a quieter and more mellow part of town,” co-founder of Big Island Poke Jenii Phu said. “One winter night, after visiting a family friend in Fridley, my husband and I stopped by Chipotle for dinner. I instantly fell in love with how charming and vibrant the neighborhood had become, and we noticed there was a space available for lease nearby. Since our St. Paul location had already been doing well and our Traditional Poke Plates seemed to be well-loved by customers, we thought St. Anthony would be the perfect place to introduce more people to poke.”
The St. Anthony location still offers a variety of items, though, from large poke bowls to smaller takeout boxes. Their menu also features a variety of hotplates with chicken, pork, salmon and shrimp. They offer an array of refreshing beverages too, most notably their iced boba milk teas, which come in the following flavors: brown sugar, matcha, Thai, taro, ube and coffee. If none of their premade options appeal to your taste, Big Island Poke has your back with a “Build Your Own Bowl” option.
The atmosphere inside the restaurant is light and uplifting, largely featuring white as the main color. While pure white may bore the eye, the restaurant is seemingly designed to contrast with the beautiful and colorful array of whole foods displayed in the restaurant. The portion sizes are generous and packed tight, especially when one considers the typical price for fresh fish, where bowls can yield multiple servings if desired (or you can dig right in and chow it all down, which I highly recommend). For St. Anthony, the main dining style is takeout with a unique container offering a smooth and one-of-a-kind eating experience.
Their signature dish is the Big Island Bowl, which is their largest and most diverse bowl. With this, you will get raw salmon plus raw and seared tuna, along with a garnish of crab for the meat; this is a true meat lover’s favorite. The chewy, deep and savory tuna compares nicely with the creamy umami salmon, especially highlighting the difference between the two fish. With a rich array of meats, this bowl cleverly cuts the richness with citrus sauces and refreshing vegetables. There’s nutty edamame, hydrating cucumber, creamy avocado, punchy green onions and tart pineapple. For an interesting contrast in texture, wonton chips are topped off on this beautiful bowl.
“I remember being really excited when I first heard about its opening,” Aiden Muhm (9) said. “I feel like the opening of Big Island Poke really does bring a new niche food to the area. When I went, I got the Ponzu Salmon Bowl. The arrangement of all the different ingredients inside the bowl was very neat. I would definitely go again in the future; it’s a very nice space with great, fresh food!”
If you are looking for a challenge, I recommend the heaping and explosive Volcano Bowl. The spice in this bowl is absolutely real. While it ends up packing a punch, it also comes off overall as mellow and builds as it warms your whole mouth and body. Again, this bowl pairs the salmon and tuna, but this time tossed in a signature creamy spicy mayo and poke sauce. Beware, however, as the jalapenos and chili flakes build the base for this bowl explosion. The overall texture of the bowl is definitely bold, but also polished, and allows for all the ingredients to harmonize through the spice.
“…This [volcano] bowl, paired with our classic shoyu flavor, brings out more island-inspired flavors than any of our other options,” Jenii Phu said. “In addition to our signature bowls, we also offer Traditional Poke, which is closer to how poke is commonly served on the islands — simply fresh proteins served over rice.”
If you end up investing in the Volcano Bowl (or any bowl for that matter), then I recommend pairing it with a Big Island milk tea. My personal favorites are the ube and Thai milk tea, as the richness of both of these tea flavors blends incredibly well with the milk. On top of the base flavor, these milk teas also contain boba, which, dare I say, is some of the best I’ve ever had. They are quite large, but the texture is top-tier. They aren’t too soft or too hard, perfectly meeting the medium required for a pleasant chewing experience in the midst of washing down the poke with a cold refreshment.
“We are currently working on offering poke by the pound, as many of our customers have requested it,” Jenii Phu said. “We hope to become one of the go-to local spots for people craving fresh poke, especially for Native Hawaiians looking for flavors that remind them of home.”
Big Island’s Poke opening in St. Anthony fills a much-needed gap in the area’s culinary options that hasn’t yet been met. You get a showcasing of the excitement fresh whole foods can bring. For anyone north of Minneapolis, this Poke spot is the best you could ever get. Go down to St. Anthony’s Big Island Poke and try it out!
