December 27, 2016 — Pokéworks, which started in New York City and is growing rapidly, with locations across the country, is now bringing Hawaiian raw-fish salad to Somerville. At dinnertime, the line can snake out of the small, brightly lit restaurant with its cheery neon sign and fresh white tile walls.
Poke (pronounced poh-keh) is the latest craze in the world of customizable fast-casual. If you’ve eaten at a Bon Me, or a Chipotle, you know the drill: Pick your protein and build up your bowl or burrito with fixings.
And yes, you can get a “burrito” at Pokéworks, one filled with some combination of raw salmon, tuna, scallops, and shrimp. A machine emblazoned with the Pokéworks logo presses sushi rice (or brown rice, or quinoa) onto a seaweed wrapper. Then the giant sushi roll makes its way down the assembly line, where employees add toppings such as edamame, seaweed, and crab salad before rolling it up in parchment.
An informal poll shows people generally find this concept either delightful or disgusting. We’re mostly curious, so we start with a wasabi shrimp and scallop sushi burrito ($10.95) from the “Signature Works” side of the menu — pre-picked combinations that you have rolled up or spooned over rice, quinoa, or salad greens. The big mouthfuls of unseasoned wet scallops and tiny raw shrimp aren’t appetizing. The roll is augmented with scallions and sweet onion, masago (roe), edamame, and wasabi aioli, but it lacks flavor.