Poke Perfection: A Quest for the Best Poke Bowls on the Islands
Walk into a mainland poke shop and you’ll see the same formula: ahi cubes, soy sauce, sesame oil, maybe some masago. The version that started as fishermen’s scraps tossed with sea salt on Hawaiian shores now drives a global bowl market worth over $1.5 billion. But the bowl you get in Honolulu and the one you get in Chicago are two different things. Hawaii alone sells an estimated 24 million pounds of raw fish for poke each year, and the best of it never leaves the islands. This guide covers where to find the real thing — from a