Marina’s Poké House in California by Ruth Paget
Marina Poké House is a neighborhood restaurant that locals enjoy for the zesty ingredients and reasonable prices. Tourists might enjoy Marina Poké House for the Hawaiian fare at mainland prices, too.
I have eaten the poke beginner’s California Bowl ($10.50) on several occasions. The California Bowl has three scoops of imitation crab (made from fish and delish) sushi and a scoop of chopped avocado on top of a generous base of rice. I usually have spicy aioli as my sauce.
The bowls besides this are made to order and come in three sizes – small, medium, and large. When you order a custom bowl, specify the bowl size first and the number of fish you would like that determine the price you pay.
To create a poké bowl, you have to choose four types of ingredients in a specific order. Marina Poké House makes this easy by listing steps in order on its menu as follows:
1-Pick your base – rice, brown rice, or mixed local greens
2-Pick your various fish, seafood, and/or tofu
3-Pick your sauce from ponzu to wasabi mayonnaise
4-Pick your topping – from avocado to kimchi to seaweed salad
Marina’s Poké House serves Strawberry-Guava and Guava Nectar in cans among its beverage offerings for a nice counterpoint to the spicy sauces.
For a discussion of poké’s history within the wider spectrum of Hawaiian cuisine, see Rachel Laudan’s The Food of Paradise: Exploring Hawaii’s Culinary Heritage (pages 37 – 38).
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
