Poke Poke on 19th ave.  is the best around, and If you live in Venice then you already know.  If you visit Venice, or live nearby, you probably know as well.  And, even if you don’t get to the V much, then you for sure have noticed that Poke (Hawaiian style raw ahi) is now sold almost every where.

Well, Poke Poke, the walk up window on 19th ave. and Oceanfront Walk in Venice, was the first Poke spot in the continental U.S.A.  And, it is the best.

Let’s meet Trish Fortuna, the owner of Poke.   Trish, and her husband Jason, opened Poke Poke on Nov. 5 2010 after Trish lost her job as a luxury event planner for the Beverly Hills elite.

“At first folks were suspect of eating raw fish off of the boardwalk.  And no one knew what Poke was,” Trish recalls.  But, it soon gained traction among the locals and has since grown into international phenomenon, known from Brazil to China.

“It was a word of mouth thing at first, and was pretty slow getting going,” said Fortuna.  But, there was a day a few months in that “I was working alone, and all of sudden there were like 20 people, I was running out ingredients and had to call Jason to come in.” “It was then that I knew we would be okay.”

That day, and for days to follow, “we would celebrate good days by going to the Canal Club and drinking Mai-thai’s,” Trish reminisces.

These days the line at Poke Poke gets up to 30 deep on weekends, and nobody seems to mind the wait.  The food is that good.

Poke Poke will open its second location, in Austin, Texas, in May 2016.  The business is so successful that Jason is leaving a successful career as a VP of marketing for a web hosting company to run the Poke Poke empire full time.

Trish and Jason have a wonderful little daughter named Trevlyn that is super cool and they love to hang out with.   As well, When she is not working Trish does yoga, plays paddle tennis, and cites Sturgill Simpson as her favorite musician and Knotting Hill as her favorite movie.

Adding that aside from Poke, fried chicken and Vodka martinis are her jam.

Jason is a huge Slayer fan, likes to watch the Matrix, eat rib eyes, and drinks Scotch.

They are awesome people and have improved the land scape of Venice through their efforts.

If you have not tried Poke Poke, come on down the 19th ave and Oceanfront Walk in Venice and see what the rage is about.

See you, at the beach!

Poke-Poke is now at Jody Maroni’s!  2011 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291   Phone (310) 822-5639.,

Open Daily 11am – 6pm (Current Winter Hours)

Locals’ tip: To avoid the long lines, order online, or call in a to-go order at 424-228-5132.

For more info, visit www.Poke-Poke.com

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Locals’ tip: To avoid the long lines, get the Poke-Poke app, or call in a to-go order! 424-228-5132.  For more info, visit www.poke-poke.com.