Hailed as the next great food trend, Poke has arrived from the beaches of Hawaii and the urban sprawl of New York City and Los Angeles, to the Gwinnett scene. It came with a wave of Instagram-friendly, brightly-colored chain restaurants centered around this one dish. Think of poke as an upgrade to the traditional Chipotle bowl – it’s a rice bowl served with raw cubes of seafood – usually salmon and/or tuna – and marinated with vegetables and a variety of toppings ranging from sweet corn to traditional Korean side dishes, all while drizzled with spicy specialty sauces or just a blend of soy sauce and sesame oil.
Poke Bar, located in Suwanee, Georgia, is just one of these trendy restaurants. Poke Bar aims to please with “fresh, healthy food [provided] in a fast and efficient way without sacrificing quality,” and they certainly deliver. Fish is delivered six times a week – except for Sundays – and their tuna specifically is caught wild in the Pacific, serving as both a delicious topping and an eco-friendly option. Families trying poke for the first time are caught off guard by how immediately full they feel by the seemingly small but filling dish, and teenagers are seen taking multiple pictures of the aesthetically pleasing dish. It also doesn’t hurt that the restaurant is located in front of Main Event Entertainment, seemingly aiming to attract a younger generation seeking a refreshing and tasty new selection to put in their diet.
Restaurants such as Poke Bar show how quickly Gwinnett is modernizing, but above all, the restaurant serves as a testament to the cultural diffusion that is welcomed in the Gwinnett area. No longer is an Asian-influenced dish considered out of reach for the American taste, but restaurants such as Poke Bar are successful and create interest using nontraditional methods such as social media.
Poke Bar is the future, so why not take a bite?
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