SAN ANTONIO — I discovered the 'Poke Bowl' craze four or five years ago with friends in Austin, but had never mixed it into my San Antonio routine simply because I'd never found one in my neighborhood, until recently, actually! Hula Poke!
Six or so months ago I was craving a poke bowl and decided to google and see where the closest one might be. As it turned out, Hula Poke was no more than a seven minute drive time from my house. So, I tried it out, loved it and have been going back ever since.
Hula Poke is just off I-10 and De Zavala located in the strip mall on the northwest corner behind Twin Peaks and I-Hop.
We spoke with shift lead manager Reven Hernandez. "You can get your (poke bowl) as healthy or as unhealthy as you want," he said. "Some people drown it in sauce," he continued. "Some people don't. Usually it is pretty healthy."
The bowls at Hula Poke are Japanese Hawaiian themed with everything from cooked fish to raw fish to every veggie you might imagine.
"We'll let you get as creative as you want honestly," Reven said. "If you wanna add every sauce to it you can, so literally whatever you want we can do," he added.
The setup is similar to Chipotle where you go right down the food line. You pick your base which includes white or brown rice.
You then pick your protein with several options like tuna, salmon, chicken, eel, crab, shrimp, or some combination of all that!
You then start with some veggie choices, which are ample including cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, cucumber, red onion, spinach, corn, pineapple, kale, edamame, carrots and others.
After that you pick your sauce which ranges from house to siracha to eel sauce to others. You've got options!
And then it's topping time! I like adding cilantro, green onions and garlic crisps. You can also do peanuts, wonton crisps, jalapeno crisps and others!
Reven told KENS 5 that some people literally get everything with their bowl because there is no limit.
"I would say that edamame, cucumber and carrots are really popular," he said. "For toppings the crab and seaweed salad are our two most popular. People also usually add avocado, too."
And by the way, here's the way my favorite dish is put together: Brown rice, tuna, salmon, chicken, cucumbers, extra cabbage, extra onions, house dressing (not much), extra green onions, cilantro, avocado and garlic crisps. I love it!
Reven told us the benefit of going to Hula Poke versus other fast food type places is avoiding the additives that go along with that type of food.
"With us it is literally just the protein, the veggies, the sauce, and depending on which you want there we still have healthy versions," he said. "I just think it is healthier. We give big amounts so you definitely get your monies worth. We'll make sure you get what you want."