Raw Fish Coming

Master list of Hawaiian poke restaurants flooding Dallas

Dallas, prepare yourself for an onslaught of poke.

Photo courtesy of Ahi Poke

If you like seafood and fiendishly follow dining trends, you already know about poke, the raw fish sensation from Hawaii. If you do not, then get ready for the invasion of the poke bar, which will hit Dallas hard in 2017, with a ferociousness the likes of which has not been seen since the FroYo Avalanche of 2010.

Poke (pronounced poh-kay) is a raw fish salad from Hawaii, like a rustic version of sashimi that's served in a bowl. Poke means chunk (and btw, no accent on the e). Poke has been a big trend in California and is spreading to other cities such as New York, Miami, and now Dallas.

Most of the places that are opening take the Hawaiian dish and give it a Chipotle spin, wherein diners make their own, starting with a bowl where they add their own ingredients from a self-serve cafeteria-style line. Making it even less Hawaiian, many incorporate toppings such as quinoa, zucchini noodles, and tomatoes.

Some places serve appetizers like edamame; some also have a companion beverage program.

A couple of poke bars have already opened, but at least a half dozen are in the works for early 2017. Here's the list:

Ahi Poke Bowl
Arlington poke place was an early entry, opening in April 2016 at 3701 Cooper St. Owner Khang Vo hails from Hawaii and comes by his poke knowledge first-hand. The restaurant does the usual bowl deal, with a variety of bases that include white rice, brown rice, salad, or even a rice-salad combo.

Below 40
Poke hit Plano with this player, which opened in March at the intersection of Park and Preston roads, in the former How Do You Roll sushi spot. Its menu has many options, including a large selection of beverages, such as bubble tea, smoothies, iced coffee, ice cream, and green tea shaved ice.

Bowls and Tacos
While not a poke-only place, there'll nonetheless be poke on the menu at this new restaurant from the team behind Deep Ellum brewpub Braindead Brewing. It's going into the gorgeous vintage Gulf station at the corner of Canton and Commerce streets, and will open mid-spring.

Freshfin Poke Co.
This poke place will open in February in the former Zini’s Pizzeria space at 3611 Greenville Ave. Freshfin is the first Dallas concept from Joon Choe, a Culinary Institute of America grad and private chef who once worked at Jean Georges restaurant in New York.

Go Fish Poke
Poke place is opening in Preston Center in the former Project Pie space. The Neapolitan pizza trend of 2016 makes way for the poke trend of 2017. Owner Tony Lin says that it follows the model of Chipotle, where diners make their own bowls, starting with a base of salad or rice. Lin, who owns a Japanese restaurant in Rockwall, forecasts a January opening date.

Hoki Poki
Poke place opened in Richardson in early September, near the University of Texas at Dallas, off Campbell Road. You can build your own poke bowl, but they also serve poke burritos — which look like giant sushi rolls — along with braised ribs and boba smoothies.

Poke Bop
Poke place is opening at 4103 Lemmon Ave., in a location that was previously home to a Yogurt Zone frozen yogurt place. Is there anything more symbolic? It'll open in mid-spring. In its favor, it's situated right next to a Starbucks.

Poké Point
Food stall at Carrollton's 99 Ranch Market is already open and was among the first poke places in DFW. Diners build bowls with greens or rice and choose form an assembly line of vegetables, sauces, and other garnishes.

Pok the Raw Bar
This poke place will open in the former Union Bear space in West Village. In addition to poke bowls and a large raw bar, Pok will also serve cutting-edge matcha drinks. It comes from SMU students Brandon Cohanim and Francois Reihani and chef Jimmy Park, formerly of Dallas’ Nobu.

Sasa Sushi
New Japanese restaurant opening in Lakewood does not have the word "poke" in its name, but be not alarmed. There will be poke. Sasa Sushi is from restaurateur Dylan Choi, and is going into the old Jerry's Wood-Fired Dogs space, which closed in October. Sasa will serve sushi, sashimi, and poke. It's slated to open in January.

trends openings

Burger News

Twisted Root Burger Co. closes original Dallas location in Deep Ellum

Twisted Root Burger

Twisted Root Burger Co.

An iconic burger joint in Dallas' Deep Ellum has closed: Twisted Root Burger Co., which helped usher in the "better" burger trend, has closed its original location at 2615 Commerce St. after 20 years.

The restaurant issued a statement, saying that, "After many memorable years, Twisted Root Deep Ellum has permanently closed."

"As our original location, this restaurant will always hold a special place in our story," their statement said. "We're incredibly grateful to every guest, neighbor, and team member who supported us along the way. Thank you for the memories and for being part of where Twisted Root Began."

Twisted Root founding chefs Jason Bôso & Quincy Hart ditched Wall Street to launch Twisted Root Burger Co. in Deep Ellum in 2006, serving up half-pound burgers with over-the-top toppings and a saucy attitude long before gourmet burgers were a thing.

The "better burger" trend began in the early 2000s, taking what was previously a fast-food item and gave it a chef spin, with gourmet ingredients and more upscale surroundings. Twisted Root was one of the pioneers in DFW alongside names such as John Tesar's The Commissary and the Liberty Burger chain.

Boso took an especially cheeky approach, adding ingredients like peanut butter and giving menu items humorous names like the Kevin Bacon burger stacked with three slices of bacon.

Their "Low Rider" features a burger with taco seasoning, avocado, pico de gallo, and tortilla strips, while their "Steak Me Home Tonight" is a beef patty with shaved roast beef, American cheese, provolone, grilled onion, and beer sauce. They have a worthy vegan burger; four robust salads including a Cobb salad and "My Big Fat Greek Salad"; and milkshakes you can customize with ingredients such as Oreos and M&M's. They also serve beer, wine, and cocktails at some locations.

Prices range from $11 to $16.

Things changed forever for Twisted Root in 2009 when the Deep Ellum restaurant was spotlighted by Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives — securing its continued success indefinitely (since Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives airs frequent repeats which bring another round of customers).

They went on to open many locations of Twisted Root across Texas and neighboring states. However, they struggled during the pandemic, with some locations declaring bankruptcy and some locations closing.

The chain was rescued by Local Favorite Restaurants, who acquired the concept in 2020. Local Favorites maintained Twisted Root's culinary stance as well as their resolve to "not taking ourselves too seriously." There are currently locations in Carrollton, Coppell, East Plano, Arlington, Mansfield, Bedford, Waco, Lubbock, Athens, and Abilene. (Local Favorites also recently acquired the Cotton Patch Cafe chain.)

Twisted Root is not the only restaurant to close in Deep Ellum: Zåtar Lebanese Tapas & Bar, a Mediterranean restaurant which has been open since 2016, just announced that it will close in late August. Like Twisted Root, Zatar is also located on Commerce Street, which is currently the victim of a multi-year conversion from one-way to two-way street, which has dragged on and on through multiple, unexplainable delays, with completion just getting pushed back again to 2027.

burgers deep-ellum closings