Poke any way you like it, even with Pop Rocks, served at Modesto McHenry Village spot
Pop Rocks and raw fish? Blueberries and octopus? Or maybe just a traditional poke bowl with some of the freshest seafood available in Modesto?
All that, and more, can be had at the new Poke Mi!, a build-your-own poke bowl and seafood restaurant that opened late last month in McHenry Village. Long in the making, the new eatery opens with the COVID-19 precautions including outside dining and mandatory masks.
This is the second Asian-inspired restaurant that business partners Tim Le and Truong Nguyen have opened in Modesto in the past year. Their other spot, Grill Mi!, located further north on McHenry Avenue in the Walmart Supercenter shopping complex, had its grand opening last August. Nguyen also owns the some half a dozen NT Nail Spa locations in Modesto.
Designed as complementary hot-and-cold kitchens, Grill Me! specializes in grilled and Japanese-style cooked plates including teriyaki plates and other dishes. Poke Mi! is a cold kitchen that serves mostly raw seafood in traditional and less traditional (see: Pop Rocks) styles.
Le said health issues last year pushed back the opening of Poke Mi!. But now, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, he said it felt like the right time to open. To those unfamiliar with poke bowls, they are a Hawaiian favorite influenced by Japanese cuisine and typically consist of diced raw fish over a bed of rice with a variety of toppings.
“I honestly believe right now is a good time for this kind of restaurant,” Le said. “We offer healthy food that is fast to-go. And we’re something different for people who are looking for different things to eat through all of this.”
Poke Mi!’s entirely customizable menu allows diners to create their own perfect bowl in four easy steps. First, choose your base (from white or brown rice to spring-mix greens, kelp noodles and zucchini noodles). Then choose your protein (from tuna and snow crab to shrimp and tofu or more than a dozen other options) and next your sauces (from various spicy mayos and unagi to creamy avocado or teriyaki). Finally pick your toppings, some 20 choices that range from macadamia nuts to coconut flakes, crispy onion to fish eggs.
And, yes, one of those potential choices includes those Pop Rocks. Le said he offers the popping sugar candy to entice kids, and maybe kids at heart, to eat their vegetables in the poke bowls. Having tried the combination I can say it’s surprisingly OK, and offers a entirely unique textural experience. Like, I’m not sure if spicy tuna should pop, but it sure felt interesting eating it.
You can order from kids size (one scoop of protein $8.95, which includes a juice plus those Pop Rocks) to regular (two scoops for $11.95) or large (three scoops for $13.95), with each additional scoop $2. The menu also includes various seafood specials like ceviche, oysters on the half-shell and poke tacos wrapped in crispy wonton shells.
The bowls can be made vegetarian and vegan with tofu and in the future he plans to add non-seafood options like chicken and pork belly. For those watching their carbs or on Keto diets, the low-carb kelp noodles, zoodles (zucchini noodles) and spring mix make staying on track easy.
“What makes it good is keeping everything fresh and treating it right,” Le said.
Poke Mi! also sells a variety of specialty fruit drinks, made with in-house puree, fresh cut fruit and flat or sparkling water or tea that range in price from $4.50 for 16-ounces and $5 for 24-ounces.
Le and Nguyen use Modesto-based seafood distributor Ohana Seafood, which also services some of the city’s best-known upscale restaurants, for much of its fresh fish. The restaurant has opened with about eight employees. When we’re able to eat inside restaurants again, the space will fit around 50. And down the road Le hopes to add a beer, wine and other cocktails.
Poke Mi!, at 1700 McHenry Ave., Suite 14 in Modesto, is open 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch and 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for dinner Monday to Saturday, closed Sunday. For more information call 209-996-9767 or visit www.pokemi.net.
