Tiki Poke opens in Hicksville

Another day, another poke shop. In late May, Tiki Poke opened on Broadway in Hicksville. Just a few doors down from Planet Fitness — and I Love Kickboxing — it’s a fresh, healthy-ish option on a strip dominated by fast food franchises and halal delis.

The menu is similar to what you’ll find at many of the Hawaiian raw-fish-and-rice joints that have opened across Long Island in recent years. There’s poke (the Aloha bowl tops rice or noodles with glistening hunks of salmon and spicy tuna, plus cucumbers, kimchi and toasty garlic crunchies), or poke-as-salad — swap greens for starch as your base. "Sushi burritos" can be stuffed with grilled chicken, organic tofu, eel, or blue crab, along with all the other accouterments you might otherwise add to a bowl.

According to manager Kasey Li, most customers take a freewheeling approach to ordering. "The create-your-own bowl is the most popular," she said, "and the bubble tea. People love the brown sugar bubble tea."

The cafe’s full menu of Taiwanese-style bubble beverages includes milk teas prepared with a generous scoop of chewy tapioca "bubbles," and juicy teas swimming with mango or citrus. "Slash" teas offer a slushy spin on the trend (think: frozen margarita), and all can be jazzed up with extras like nectar-filled popping boba, diced jellies (like gelatin, but softer) and whipped cheese foam spooned over top.

The restaurant is the second poke parlor for owner Ryan Yang. In 2018, he teamed up with Suffolk County restaurant impresario Kenny Li to open Stony Brook’s Iron Poke (next to Li’s Iron Ramen) on Nesconset Highway.

Tiki Poke is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. 1040 Broadway #12, Hicksville; 516-595-7878, tikipokeus.com.