Mark’s Score 8.9
Sometimes I feel like the Phil Rosenthal (from the Netflix Somebody Feed Phil series) of the Delmarva. Like Phil I travel from town to town bravely eating interesting new foods, talking to friendly locals, and doing new fun things. Like Phil, I have no limits on what I will eat and I tend to appreciate any and all cuisines, and finally like Phil, I am not a big fan of poke. This is in spite of the fact that poke is Hawaiian and I lived in Hawaii for a number of years. There are people who wax lyrical over poke, I am not one of those people. But I would be remiss in covering the cuisine of Salisbury’s culinary corridor if I did not review IZZA Poke and Coffee.
IZZA opened in May of 2023 in Salisbury University’s Gull Square. It is a combination coffee shop and poke restaurant. But it is also more than that, they sell some specialty items as well as Chelsie’s Creative Creations. If you are brave, or foolish, they also periodically hold Karaoke nights.
The first thing I noticed about IZZA is its cool very modern interior design. Though the color scheme is primarily black, white, and sleek they manage to achieve a homey comforting atmosphere, it feels like a reading room. I would certainly rate it as the one of the best designed restaurants in Salisbury. Eating out is more than just eating, it is about the total experience and just walking into IZZA’s welcoming interior puts me in a good mood.
Though poke is not my preference, I have eaten a number of poke dishes in Hawaii. All good poke starts with the rice. The Hawaiians prefer their rice in the Japanese style, sticky. They serve both white and fried rice at IZZA. I always get white because that is the traditional poke base. Traditional poke has four components, 1) the rice, 2) meats/fish, 3) vegetables, 4) crunchy top, and 5) the sauce/seasoning. Though the dish is Hawaiian in origin the culinary principle is Japanese. Japanese cuisine is about contrasting textures, flavors, and temperatures, the combination of which creates a harmonious whole. No part of the dish should dominate, it is all about harmony.
So here is the trick at IZZA’s, if you are not familiar with poke, you can order one of their prepared poke bowls. They know what they are doing, so why not let them do it? If you want to build your own bowl, which is what I do, then you have two rice, eight meat, 13 vegetable, four sauces, and four topping choices. Mix to your heart’s content, but just remember it is about contrasts and harmony.
Poke is not my favorite cuisine, but if you like poke, or would like to try it, IZZA is an excellent choice, because it is authentic. In my estimation it would be one of the best poke restaurants in Honolulu, let alone Salisbury
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