My BFF asked me to be her “accountability partner” for food tracking, and because my new year’s resolution diet went in a very different direction than I intended, I agreed. That means I now do stupid things like weigh blueberries, open and close the fridge without taking anything twenty times per day, and–perhaps stupidest of all–drink flavored seltzer. I don’t even like seltzer, I’m just trying to trick my brain into thinking it’s beer. Damn guys, this life is depressing as hell.
So anyway, no thanks to Jen, I had to find a reasonably healthy dinner option amidst the decidedly unhealthy offerings on UberEats. That’s when I happened on Poki DC. This is my first experience with poke, actually. I guess I’m maybe slightly leery of eating raw fish served at a fast food restaurant and transported to me in some rando’s car? Some fears exist for a reason. But I’ve been skydiving, trusting some giant Russian guy named Yuri I’d never met to float me down to Earth (after pushing me out of a plane), so I could trust Poki (and our driver Hector) too, I guess.
My husband did not want to go the raw fish route (guess he’s just not as adventurous as me!) so I built him the beef sukiyaki bowl with soba noodles and an array of veggies, edamame, pickled ginger, and their spicy sauce. His comment? “The beef is good, but it’s super long!” You can insert your own “that’s what she said” here. There was food enough for leftovers in his bowl and the sauce packed a decent heat. We shared the complaint that it was not mixed up. It makes for beautiful photos, but is hard to eat effectively.
I got salmon and spicy tuna poke served over mixed greens, with edamame, pineapple, avocado, pickled ginger, and pickled radish. It was light, fresh, and just a tasty blend of things if I do say so myself. Pineapple adds a nice tang with the fish. This meal was great for my macros, and the best thing about Poki is that you choose literally everything and it’s 100% customizable. Zoodles? Got ’em. Onions? Got ’em. Squids? Got ’em. Honestly, I should just be eating this every day and manipulating the toppings based on my nutrition. It would be hard to find something you couldn’t eat here. Jury’s still out on the raw fish take-out.
Price: $15 per person.
Bottom line: Not extraordinary, but a great choice for take-out, light fare, health-consciousness, control freaks, and risk takers.
There are several locations, but here’s the one we ordered from (aka the best one):
Ward Five Foodie 