Dining Pick of the Week: Poke Express

Poke Express

655 W. Craig Road, No. 118, 702-639-0500

One might not expect to find fresh seafood poke 2,684 miles from Hawaii, especially in the Las Vegas desert, but at Poke Express, the Big Island is packed inside a market. Although there are no tables and customers must take their food to go, the market offers a plethora of poke, which is traditionally a raw salad served as an appetizer in Hawaiian cuisine. Poke selections here include ahi (tuna), tako (octopus), mussels and marlin. On the left side of the counter is the cooked poke, and on the right is the raw. Employees encourage new customers to try free samples before purchasing anything to reduce buyers’ remorse. The ahi (tuna) poke is made to order from noon to 6 p.m. and includes eight styles: shoyu (soy sauce) style, ahi poke with limu (algae), spicy ahi poke, chili water style, wasabe style, Hawaiian style, kim chee style and furikake style. The spicy ahi poke is made with chunks of fresh, meaty salmon drenched in mayo dressing. Ingredients are fresh, and everything is packed with flavor. Prices vary by the pound and start at $3.49. To drink, the store sells eight flavors of Hawaiian Sun juices and other sodas. It also sells Hawaiian products, such as chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, ice cream, pancake mixes, spices and chips. It is a family-run business in which customers are treated like ohana or family. Poke Express is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.