FreshFin
Some food fads just objectively suck. Take Flamin’ Hot Cheetos-encrusted turkeys, rainbow-unicorn baked goods, absurdly expensive glamburgers, or Tide Pods, for example (no seriously, take them). Other trends, like farm-to-table restaurants, “clean” eating or interest in international cuisines, are more enduring. Poke, the Hawaiian raw-fish salad that’s all the rage these days, takes a little bit from both worlds — it’s attractive and Instagrammable, but it’s also healthy, delicious and refreshingly free of gimmicks.
Madison has seen five dedicated poke restaurants open up in recent years, and several established restaurants are now offering poke bowls, too. As a person who spends a truly embarrassing amount of money on raw fish, I have enthusiastically sampled many, if not most, of the local offerings. And I can say with confidence that FreshFin Poke is among the best in town.
Launched in 2017 by business partners Nate Arkush and Andrew Foster on the east side of Milwaukee, FreshFin now has locations in Milwaukee’s Third Ward, inside the Milwaukee Bucks Fiserv Forum and in Brookfield. The Madison location, in The James apartment building on Gorham Street, opened in September. The space is bright and minimalist, with nautical rope accents and cute decorative fish hanging from the ceiling.
Customers order at the counter and have the option to eat in or take their meal to go. Unlike most poke places, where bowls are assembled in front of you, FreshFin has a separate kitchen. It makes the experience seem a bit more formal. And instead of waiting in line while it’s made, you pay and take a seat. Lines haven’t been a problem, though. This is one of my most frequented lunch spots, and so far it doesn’t seem to be terribly busy.
FreshFin offers several signature bowls, like the colorful Mango Tango (Atlantic salmon, mango, avocado and tobiko) and the classic Spicy Tuna (yellowfin ahi tuna, jalapeno, cucumber). The toppings are indeed fresh and the portions generous — a “regular” could easily pass for a large, and the “large” is enormous. Customers choose a base: white rice, brown rice, mixed baby greens or kohlrabi “noodles” (they are low-carb and good!) for $1 extra.
There are also non-fish signature options. The Kailani comes with sous-vide chicken and poached shrimp. The Zen Bowl features a vegan-friendly blend of shiitake mushrooms, sweet potato, avocado and carrots. There’s also a coconut curry shrimp bowl and a slow-cooked pork bowl. While tasty enough, I found the chicken in the Kailani bowl slightly dry and the dish was unbalanced — it’s like a teriyaki-poke hybrid that didn’t quite work. The Zen Bowl lacked a certain umami and needed more mushrooms if they’re supposed to carry the dish.
The signature bowls are perfectly fine, but the build-your-own-bowl option has brought me the most joy. You can pick up to two proteins, but the salmon and tuna are by far the best — both are sashimi grade and certified sustainable. FreshFin doesn’t offer as many fish options as other places, but these are the two you want.
Some poke places skimp on free toppings, but not this one. Load up with seaweed salad, blanched kale, cucumbers, radish, edamame, carrot, mango and pineapple. Top the bowl off with crispy garlic, toasted coconut and tobiko. Choose from house-made sauces like garlic ponzu, Thai chili ginger, cilantro lime and Sriracha aioli, or mix two together — I recommend cilantro lime with Sriracha aioli.
FreshFin also offers more sides than other poke places, and I hope others follow suit. The best one by far is the edamame hummus, which is whipped up with goat cheese and served with a halo of smoked salmon (the flaky kind) and gluten-free rice crackers. Seaweed salad is solid, but not markedly different from what you’d find elsewhere. Truffle crab salad is a good idea, but it didn’t taste even remotely like truffle. It wasn’t bad, though.
There’s also a line of cold-pressed juices, with flavors developed by FreshFin in partnership with Healthy Roots, a “farm-to-bottle” company based in Glendale. The citrus-kale flavor is particularly refreshing. More new menu items are coming soon: FreshFin recently teased a photo of Thai curry shrimp soup on Instagram. A genius move, especially if people aren’t feeling raw fish during winter. If it’s anything like the rest of the menu, it will be worth trying.
FreshFin Poke
502 University Ave.; 608-665-3683;
freshfinpoke.com; 11 am-9 pm daily; $3-$14
