This post is another one of our series under the category “Eat Here, Not There”. But this time, I could also put this under “fast food guilty pleasures I shouldn't like”. What I'm about to recommend comes from the chain known as Sushi Boy, which a typical sushi purist would never come near for fear of public shaming. If you're one of these, relax. I'm not recommending their sushi. I'm recommending their poke bowls. Why? Simply because they are good. And unlike some of their other items, worth the $4.99 charged.
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There have been instances in the past where the quality of the fish used in the poke bowl has been, well, not so good. Gristly. Chewy. One grade above chum. But for some reason, I didn't give up on the dish. And I can say that the last dozen bowls or so that I've eaten over the past couple of months have been close to perfect. The tuna and strips of seaweed are marinated in soy and a touch of sesame oil, sprinkled with some diced scallions and rested on lettuce over a bowl of tangy sushi rice. The meal tastes like a deconstructed sushi meal. Light enough for summer but at the same time, really filling, really satisfying. For me, it is perhaps the poke bowl with the highest price to satisfaction ratio.
If you're still reading, I must also reiterate that I can only vouch for the quality of this dish at the Irvine branch in Walnut Village Center. But if you try it and still don't care for it, then remember that I also said that I'm filing this under “fast food guilty pleasures I shouldn't like.”
Sushi Boy, 14421 Culver Drive, Irvine.
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Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.