Author: Matt Ingersoll

Poké Spot now open in Manchester

A new fast casual concept now open in Manchester specializes in customizable Hawaiian poké bowls, featuring sliced raw fish with a variety of bases, sauces and toppings to choose from.

Poké Spot, which opened May 17 in The Shoppes at 655 South Willow, is the latest venture of Steven Jiang, who also owns Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar in Concord. According to Jiang, poké (pronounced POH-kay) is a traditional Hawaiian dish with roots in Japanese and other Asian cuisines that has become popular in the United States in recent years.

“I know a lot of people that love poké but can’t get it anywhere around here,” Jiang said, “so I want to make it easier for people to get it and also bring fresh ingredients here to Manchester.”

Jiang described Poké Spot as a “Japanese-Hawaiian Chipotle,” in which customers can either choose from one of several signature poké bowls or build their own. All bowls come in one of two portion sizes — regular, featuring up to two scoops of proteins, and large, with up to three.

Building your own poké bowl starts with choosing your base (sushi rice, brown rice, quinoa, spring mix or wonton chips), followed by the protein. While most of the proteins feature sliced raw fish (tuna, salmon, yellowtail or octopus), tofu is also available as a vegetarian option.

The next steps feature your choice of green onion, jalapeno, red onion or cilantro to be mixed in with the base and protein, followed by one of eight sauces that are all made in house.

“We have the house poké sauce, which is probably the most traditional sauce that everybody uses back in Hawaii,” Jiang said. “It’s a soy sauce base, mixed with sugar and mirin. … I would say it’s a little bit of a spicy version of a teriyaki sauce.”

Other sauce options include miso lime, spicy mayo and sesame ginger vinaigrette. You can further customize your poké bowl with nearly a dozen additional toppings, including seaweed or crab salad, or masago (fish eggs), as well as vegetables like radishes, carrots and microgreens.

The final step involves choosing your “crunch,” or the featured ingredient at the very top of your bowl. Those options include sesame seeds, wasabi peas, crispy onions, shredded nori (dried edible seaweed) or furikake (Japanese rice seasoning).

If this all sounds like a lot to choose from, Poké Spot does also have a selection of eight signature bowls on its menu, with pre-selected arrangements of bases, proteins, veggies, sauces and toppings that Jiang said are all based on corresponding flavor pairings. There is a small offering of specialty drinks too, including imported Japanese teas and canned Hawaiian Sun tropical drinks with flavors like passion fruit, lychee and guava.

Advance online ordering is available through the website, and the eatery will soon offer its own delivery service to the Manchester and Bedford areas. Two additional Poké Spot locations, in Nashua and Rochester, are currently in the planning stages.

Poké Spot
Where: 655 S. Willow St., Suite 100, Manchester
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
More info: Visit pokespotnh.com or follow them on Instagram @pokespotnh

Feautred photo: Poke spot. Courtesy photo.

News from the local food scene

• Pre-order your Greek favorites: Get your orders in now for the annual Lamb Barbecue & Food Festival, which returns to St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (1160 Bridge St., Manchester) on Saturday, June 19. Now through June 13, pre-orders are being accepted online at stnicholas-man-nh.org, for items like lamb barbecue or marinated chicken dinners, pastichio (Greek lasagna), dolmathes (stuffed grape leaves) and spanakopita (spinach pie), plus a number of fresh pastries, from baklava to kourambiethes (powdered cookies) and koulourakia (butter cookies topped with sesame seeds). Pickups will be on the day of the festival, between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., at a designated time. Walk-ins will be available starting at 2 p.m. until food is gone (takeout only, no seating available).

• More summer markets return: The New Boston Farmers Market will kick off its season on Saturday, June 12, at its usual spot on the corner of Route 13 and Meetinghouse Hill Road. According to co-manager Allison Vermette, the market will welcome craft vendors back for the first time since 2019 and will also feature some new prepared food vendors and likely food trucks throughout the season. Local musicians are due to perform on the nearby gazebo each week. The market will continue every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Oct. 9. Visit newbostonfarmersmarket.webs.com. On Tuesday, June 15, the Bedford Farmers Market is expected to begin its summer season — that market is back at the parking lot at 209 Route 101 in Bedford for the second consecutive year, manager Lauren Ritz told the Hippo. While there won’t be meat or coffee vendors this year (due to Wicked Good Butchah and Flight Coffee Co. being in the same shopping plaza), Ritz said there will be around 20 local vendors selling everything from fresh produce to maple syrup, baked goods, seafood and more. The Bedford Farmers Market will continue every Tuesday from 3 to 6 p.m. through Oct. 12. Visit bedfordfarmersmarketnh.org. For a full list of market openings, check out our coverage of the summer farmers market season in the Granite State, found on page 20 of the May 20 edition of the Hippo.

• Harvest at home: Join the Derry Public Library for Adventures in the Vegetable Garden, a two-part virtual program featuring Judith Taylor of Seeds2Plate. She’ll answer multiple questions related to your home vegetable garden, like how to combat pests and when to be ready to fire up the grill. Water management, fertilizing, harvesting and other topics will be discussed. Part 1 of this program is set for Wednesday, June 16, with Part 2 on Wednesday, June 23 — both will take place via Zoom from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. Visit derrypl.org to register.

• The Sun Pub at Pats Peak opens: The Sun Pub, an outdoor dining experience at Pats Peak (686 Flanders Road, Henniker), will open for the season on Thursday, June 10, according to a press release. A new pub-style menu to be served on Pats Peak’s valley lodge deck includes various appetizers, sandwiches, burgers, salads, pizzas and more, plus weekly food and drink specials, and desserts like soft-serve ice cream, homemade strawberry shortcake and s’mores. New this year, there will be a full bar available, in addition to beer and wine options. Outdoor games like cornhole and disc golf baskets are also set up. Dinner is served under the lights every Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m., weather permitting, and also around Pats Peak’s private event schedule. Visit patspeak.com/sunpub.

NH Herbal Network’s Herb & Garden Day returns

Bringing its signature event to a new venue this year, the New Hampshire Herbal Network will host its 11th annual Herb & Garden Day outdoors on the grounds of the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum in Warner on Saturday, June 5.

This year’s Herb & Garden Day will feature a free luncheon, an herbal market and plant sale, local food vendors and children’s activities, plus a variety of workshops centered around herbs, mushrooms, medicinal plants, home gardening and other topics.

“You definitely don’t have to be an herbalist or even have a green thumb to attend,” event organizer Jessica Livingston of JLiv Inspirations said. “It’s open to the public, and there are workshops for all skill levels and interests.”

The evening before Herb & Garden Day begins, the New Hampshire Herbal Network will host a virtual presentation from 6 to 7:30 p.m., featuring clinical herbalist Maria Noel Groves of Wintergreen Botanicals in Allenstown. Groves will speak about the widespread increased interest in herbalism during the pandemic over the past year. Registrations can be made online now.

During the main event on Saturday, Livingston said, there will be four tracks of two workshops each for attendees to choose from, all led by local herbalists. Topics run the gamut, from herbal support and prevention during the pandemic to the impacts of healthy soil on your food.

Between workshops, local vendors from herbalists and farmers to crafters, artists and food purveyors will be on site. Attendees who want to skip the workshops and go right to the vendor fair can do so at a discounted price of $5, according to Livingston.

Food offerings throughout the day will include pastries, coffees and other items from Cafe One East in Warner, as well as several ethnic options provided by the Kearsarge Justice Alliance.

“We’re actually going to have a lot of local vendors who have been at the [Concord] Multicultural Festival as well,” Livingston said. “We’re going to have momos and samosas, empanadas, Somali meat pies, El Salvadorian tacos … and a variety of herbal teas.”

Other features of Herb & Garden Day are a plant sale, with the option to pre-order plants online, and various children’s activities like face-painting, sand art and thumbprint art.

11th annual Herb & Garden Day
When: Saturday, June 5, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (A virtual keynote presentation featuring clinical herbalist Maria Noel Groves of Wintergreen Botanicals in Allenstown will take place on Friday, June 4, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.)
Where: Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, 18 Highlawn Road, Warner
Cost: $20 for access to the virtual keynote event on Friday and $25 general admission on Saturday, or $40 for access to both. Access to the vendor fair only (no workshops) is $5. Admission is free for children ages 12 and under.
Visit: nhherbalnetwork.wordpress.com/herbday
Event is rain or shine. All workshops and vendors will be outdoors. Social distancing and masks are required.

Feautred photo: Vendor Jess LaBrie, owner of Blackbird’s Daughter Botanicals in Barrington. Courtesy photo