You can keep the tunnel.
As for the bridge,
Fuhgeddaboudit.
COURIER L PS IFE, MAY 31–JUNE 6, 2019 13
its door, it had to be good.
It was.
“I became addicted to it,”
he says. And it sure seemed
like a lot of New Yorkers
felt the same way.
Rud partnered with Michael
Pennartz to bring
Pokeworks to Brooklyn, offering
more than 150 ways
to customize a poke meal,
so it’s a dish of which one
never tires. It works like
this: Choose a base such
as kale noodle, brown rice,
quinoa, fresh romaine, or
spring mix. Then pick a
protein — ahi tuna, salmon,
scallops, shrimp, chicken,
or tofu. Add items like cucumber,
cilantro, mango,
edamame, jalapeno, orange
slices, to name a few.
Have the preparer dress it
with a variety of flavors,
and sprinkle it with avocado,
macadamia nuts, onion
crisps, lotus chips, and
more. It’s delicious and nutritious;
something special
for everyone, including
those who maintain vegetarian,
Get the facts at:
www.nycheart.org
If you’ve ever gone to a
Hawaiian luau, poke is undoubtedly
on the menu.
The Hawaiian word
means “to slice,” and the
traditional dish usually
features diced raw fish, often
mixed with seasonings
and salad ingredients.
Now you can say “aloha”
to a taste of paradise right
here in Brooklyn — at
Pokeworks, a restaurant
that opened in November.
Co-owner Oleg Rud was
working in Manhattan
when he noticed, on his
lunch hour, a long line 40–
50 people deep. He didn’t
think anything of it, until
he realized this same lineup
was happening every
day. Curious about where
it led, he discovered people
were ordering lunch at
a place called Pokeworks.
He had never heard of it,
but figured if the restaurant
could get this many
busy New Yorkers to wait
20 minutes to walk through
888.MMC.DOCS (888.662.3627)
vegan, and glutenfree
diets.
“It is substantially different
than your typical fastcasual
restaurant,” says
Rud. “Our genuinely fresh
ingredients, responsiblysourced
seafood, and chefcurated
sauces, paired with
the unique demographics of
the Park Slope community,
make Pokeworks the destination
for fresh, fast, and
reliable food.”
Customers say they love
the open set-up of the restaurant
that allows them to
pick and choose the ingredients
they see displayed.
When the restaurant
was open for only about four
months, patrons participating
in News 12 Brooklyn’s
Food Fight contest cast
8,852 votes in one week,
declaring “Hawaiian Classic”
— ahi tuna, green and
sweet onion, ogo seaweed,
cucumber, chili flakes,
sesame seeds, roasted sesame
oil, Hawaiian salt, and
Pokeworks’ classic sauce —
a winning dish.
“We were shocked,
amazed, and very thankful,”
says Rud.
Rud is excited that Pokeworks
was chosen to participate
in “Street Seats” —
public outdoor seating that
utilizes street space. A bit
different than outdoor caféstyle
dining, it is a partnership
with the Department of
Transportation that allows
patrons to enjoy the warmer
weather while they eat, and
it is accessible to those with
disabilities.
To further entice, Pokeworks
is offering a two-forone
special until the end of
June.
More than 120 Pokeworks
restaurants are expected
to open — but Manhattan
was the first, and
Park Slope has the one and
only in the borough.
Pokeworks 258 Seventh
Ave. between Fifth and
Sixth streets in Park Slope,
www.Pokeworks.com. Open
Mondays through Sundays,
11 am–9 pm.
BUS INES S , B ROOKLYN S T Y LE
Say ‘aloha’ to fresh Hawaiian fare at Pokeworks
/www.nycheart.org
/www.Pokeworks.com
/www.nycheart.org
/www.Pokeworks.com