It's Raw Poke Shop (Ocean Beach) Revisited

Way back in February, "FOY" Jack in my post on 8th and B Poke, mentioned wanting to return to It's Raw in OB. Well, it had been a good 4 1/2 years since I had checked out It's Raw. And with the recent hot weather and the fact that I hadn't been to OB since that visit, I thought it was time to head on back. I probably should check out the area more often, but traffic and parking had always hindered my visits. And on this drive....well, I was headed down Saratoga when a dude on his bike jetted out from between two large parked vehicles blindly zooming across the street. I immediately hit the brakes, but the dude stopped and gave me the bad "half of the peace sign", spat on my car, and yelled at me. I rolled down the window to apologize, but he instantly told me to "get the f@(k" out of "his" neighborhood. He then pulled a can from his pocket and aimed it at me....I'm thinking it was mace or bear spray or ???? In the end he just as blindly zoomed off. I did see him again on Santa Monica Avenue yelling at another car. Sigh.....welcome to OB?

On the good side of things; I easily found parking on Santa Monica, something that can be difficult during the warmer months. I walked over to It's Raw, but it was early, so I took a short stroll.

I must have gotten distracted...there are so many new places on Newport, that when I got back to It's Raw the shop had been open for a few minutes. And there was already a short line.

The line does move quickly and it was nice to know that the Poke Plate here is $17, it was $15 back in 2019, so the increase in price isn't too bad. Heck, the equivalent at HFS is over $20 already.

If you're not familiar with It's Raw, the place is basically a take-out only shop with a cold case and and small counter.

I ended up getting the Shoyu and the Wasabi Poke, also went with one scoop rice and the "macaroni" salad option.

    This is what I unpacked at home. There was also two small containers, one with extra "shoyu", with very little shoyu flavor for that version of poke, I ended up not using it as it would have watered down the flavor even more. And the second, when I first looked at it, I asked myself "what the heck is Mul Kimchi doing here? This ain't a KFC place". Then I opened it and the fragrance hit me. I cracked up; it was haupia! A nice little touch.

The rice was nicely cooked.

I thought the Shoyu Poke was the better of the two I selected.

    The fish was decently, not overly coated, the quality, while not as good as HFS was fine. Not too salty, a decent version of Shoyu Poke.

You did notice that I put "macaroni salad" in quotes above, right? Well, if you haven't read my earlier post or haven't been to It's Raw, you might be surprised to see that it's actually a "spaghetti salad". Nicely chilled, perfectly seasoned, not over-dressed, very plain, but in a good way.

As for the "Wasabi Poke".

I found the fish to have quite a bit more "sugi" (our term for connective tissue) than the Shoyu Poke. It was also a bit too "sweet" for my taste and somewhat lacking in wasabi pungency.

Overall, I found the shoyu poke here to be good; I'll need to try something other than the wasabi poke the next time. 

I'd say that It's Raw is my second favorite poke shop in San Diego, next to HFS. If it was in our 'hood, I'd visit quite regularly. As it is, even though It's Raw is just a bit over 5 miles from our house, it usually takes over 20 minutes to get there and then I have to find parking. Perhaps just going early in the week would be a solution? Not on Monday though, they are closed.

And to my "FOY" Jack. I'm wondering if you actually made it to It's Raw and if you did, what did you think?

It's Raw Poke Shop
4991 Newport Ave. (the storefront is actually on Bacon St.)
San Diego, CA 92107
Current Hours:
Tues - Sat 11am - 5pm
Sunday     11am - 4pm
Closed on Monday

 

Comments

[kat]

nice except for the dude on the bicycle

[Kirk]

Yes, that was so strange Kat!

[Derric]

It's Raw was my choice poke shop around central SD until HFS opened at Liberty Station. I still go occasionally for when I want to have lunch out at a beach. I do really like the "mac" salad too!

[Peter]

Forgot all about this place -- never been. But it's gonna be hard to tear me away from HFS. Thanks for the update!

[Kirk]

Yeah, It's Raw was my favorite until HFS opened Derric!

Well, if you're ever in the area, it might be worth a try Peter!

[Jack]

Ha....just saw this! We actually just went yesterday before picking up my van from the shop and was very happy with what we ordered, taking it to Sunset Cliffs to eat. It's definitely my second favorite poke spot behind HFS.

[Kirk]

Yeah, it's my second favorite as well Jack!