Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Winners of the 3rd Annual I Love Poke Festival

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/04/25573/

Last Wednesday, I had one of the best birthdays ever. Why? I spent the evening judging the 3rd Annual I Love Poke Festival. On that cool, serene night over 500 attendees gathered at Shelter Island’s Bali Hai Restaurant to eat poke and drink in Hawaiian culture. Like any food festival worth its current salt, it included a chef’s competition, hence my judgeship.

If you’re not familiar with poke (pronounced POH-keh), it’s a beloved Hawaiian speciality traditionally made with raw tuna that is cubed and lightly seasoned with ingredients such as soy sauce, ginger and onions.

At the competition, 11 chefs prepared two types of poke, traditional, which required tuna and “any kine,” which included a protein of the chef’s choice, such as salmon, pork belly and SPAM. Yes, SPAM. Don’t scoff. That SPAM poke from Hapa J’s nabbed 2nd place.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/04/25572/

The competition was enlightening. Even in the traditional poke category, chefs showed their individuality through presentation, flavor components, and tuna quality. Though I loved eating poke before judging the event, I’m more deeply in love with it now.

After 22 tastings, poke and I went from living together to getting married. We’re fully committed through good and bad. And that’s the way I like it.

As for the judging, it was all blind. We didn’t know which poke dishes were from which restaurants. So we were just as eager to discover the winners as the winners themselves. The winners were:

Traditional: 1st: Primo Brewing and Malting Company (Chef James Harris) 2nd: Hapa J’s Kitchen Bar Lounge (Chef Justin Shea) 3rd: Peohe’s (Chef David Bland)

Any Kine:
 1st: Gai Jin Noodle + Sake House (Chef Antonio Friscia) 2nd: Hapa J’s Kitchen Bar Lounge (Chef Justin Shea) 3rd: Peohe’s (Chef David Bland)

Considering that I tasted 22 types of poke, the majority of which included raw tuna, it didn’t prevent me from going to Hapa J’s three nights later for more raw tuna. But that’s a future post.

For now, I’d just like to wish a warm-hearted mahalo to Nino Camillo, the founder of the I Love Poke Festival and voice behind ilovemusubi.com, a site dedicated to all things Hawaiian, for inviting me to be a judge. I’m already counting the days until next year’s festival. You should be, too.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/04/25571/

Photos by Susan Russo.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

A poem for March by Joseph O’Brien

“March’s Lovely Asymptotes”
Next Article

Not enough Readers in Mission Beach

Mayor Todd Gloria's skin color

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/04/25573/

Last Wednesday, I had one of the best birthdays ever. Why? I spent the evening judging the 3rd Annual I Love Poke Festival. On that cool, serene night over 500 attendees gathered at Shelter Island’s Bali Hai Restaurant to eat poke and drink in Hawaiian culture. Like any food festival worth its current salt, it included a chef’s competition, hence my judgeship.

If you’re not familiar with poke (pronounced POH-keh), it’s a beloved Hawaiian speciality traditionally made with raw tuna that is cubed and lightly seasoned with ingredients such as soy sauce, ginger and onions.

At the competition, 11 chefs prepared two types of poke, traditional, which required tuna and “any kine,” which included a protein of the chef’s choice, such as salmon, pork belly and SPAM. Yes, SPAM. Don’t scoff. That SPAM poke from Hapa J’s nabbed 2nd place.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/04/25572/

The competition was enlightening. Even in the traditional poke category, chefs showed their individuality through presentation, flavor components, and tuna quality. Though I loved eating poke before judging the event, I’m more deeply in love with it now.

After 22 tastings, poke and I went from living together to getting married. We’re fully committed through good and bad. And that’s the way I like it.

As for the judging, it was all blind. We didn’t know which poke dishes were from which restaurants. So we were just as eager to discover the winners as the winners themselves. The winners were:

Traditional: 1st: Primo Brewing and Malting Company (Chef James Harris) 2nd: Hapa J’s Kitchen Bar Lounge (Chef Justin Shea) 3rd: Peohe’s (Chef David Bland)

Any Kine:
 1st: Gai Jin Noodle + Sake House (Chef Antonio Friscia) 2nd: Hapa J’s Kitchen Bar Lounge (Chef Justin Shea) 3rd: Peohe’s (Chef David Bland)

Considering that I tasted 22 types of poke, the majority of which included raw tuna, it didn’t prevent me from going to Hapa J’s three nights later for more raw tuna. But that’s a future post.

For now, I’d just like to wish a warm-hearted mahalo to Nino Camillo, the founder of the I Love Poke Festival and voice behind ilovemusubi.com, a site dedicated to all things Hawaiian, for inviting me to be a judge. I’m already counting the days until next year’s festival. You should be, too.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/04/25571/

Photos by Susan Russo.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.