Behold the beginning of our annual 100 Favorite Dishes countdown! Every day until the publication of our fantabulous Best Of Issue, we'll list our favorite meals this year in descending order. Enjoy, pass it on, and tune in daily!
Poke is the food I crave as soon as the plane's landing gear hits the tarmac in Hawaii–cubes of fish or other seafood, usually raw and mostly ahi tuna, seasoned lightly with salt, soy, wasabi or any number of flavorings. And if I'm visiting an island that has a Costco, the warehouse store is usually the first stop before the hotel. Hawaii's Costcos make excellent poke. They're consistently fresh–vibrant, raw fish made into sweet, sweet sea candy. We'd eat ours in the food court plain, washed down with their 55-cent soda.
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It's a flavor that I am always eager to repeat here on the mainland. It's simply one of those foods capable of transporting me back to vacation memories I hold so fondly. So when I discovered a few months ago that my local Costco was offering the same poke the Hawaiian ones were, I wrote a post announcing it, and discovered that many of you apparently felt the same way. The overwhelming response has now made the poke a permanent part of Costco Tustin II's weekend offerings.
If you missed that post and were wondering how Costco Tustin II's poke compares to what's sold at their Hawaii warehouses: it's tastes and costs exactly the same. (Hurray for Costco consistency!). There are only four flavors on offer: shoyu, limu, wasabi, and a spicy mayo, all of which goes well with a bowl of steamed rice at home, or just eaten plain, washed down with their 55-cent soda.
The List:
91. Pambazo at Tacos Radioactivos
92. Beef Pho at Pho Crystal Noodle House
93. Breakfast Burrito from Cafe Calacas
94. Koobideh Plate from Grill Cafe
95. Tacos de Cecina from Alebrije's
97. Breakfast Sausage from Da-Le Ranch
99. Tres Amigos Burrito from Piaggio on Wheels
100. Bacon-Wrapped Dates from Lola Gaspar
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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.