Where to Get a Bowl of Delicious in Rhode Island
Filled with sushi-grade fish and savory mix-ins, or ripe fruit and healthy toppings, bowls are trending in Rhode Island.
Photography courtesy of Hometown Poke/Candice Conner.
Perfect for a lunch break, a friendly meetup or a post-workout meal, food bowls are nutrient-packed and fun to eat — they’re essentially a melange of delicious foods in one dish. Eateries like Hometown Poke & Bubble Tea in Providence and East Greenwich, La Fruta Loca in Central Falls and the Berry Joint in Warwick offer nutritious meals and more to give you an extra boost of nutrition.
Hometown Poke & Bubble Tea
Providence, East Greenwich
Photography courtesy of Hometown Poke/Candice Conner.
Hometown Poke & Bubble Tea owner Tiffany Ting first noticed poke — a Hawaiian dish of raw fish tossed with vegetables and sauce and commonly served over sushi rice — in her native California. She’d order it at various eateries before experimenting with her own creations at home. In 2017, she moved to the East Coast to share poke with the other side of the country.
Cities like Providence and Boston were great locations to test her wares, slung from the back of a brand-new food truck. Ting traveled between Brown University and Harvard University, where students and residents flocked to the increasingly popular dish.
“Customers were equally receptive in both markets,” says Ting, “but I just really loved the Providence market. The people were nicer and it felt like Providence had more of a community feel than Boston.”
She opened Hometown Poke’s first brick and mortar location on Providence’s Camp Street in 2017 with a former partner.
Photography courtesy of Hometown Poke/Candice Conner.
Every poke bowl is endlessly customizable and made to order with fresh ingredients. Customer favorites include the Korean Kick, made with ahi tuna, kimchi and spicy chili sauce, and the Hometown Classic, with ahi tuna and Atlantic salmon, Hawaiian sauce and toppings like seaweed salad, crab, furikake, cucumber, onions and wonton crunch. It “showcases in one bite what flavors and varieties you can expect from our food,” says Ting.
Photography courtesy of Hometown Poke/Candice Conner.
The antioxidant-packed acai bowls are garnished with banana, blueberry, mango, chia seeds and local honey, and the toasts feature Seven Stars bread slathered with avocado and microgreens, ricotta and bacon, or smoked salmon and creme fraiche. The rave-worthy meals pair nicely with the restaurant’s bubble tea selections. Diners can choose between flavors such as classic, taro, Thai and matcha for the milk teas, and refreshing mango, passionfruit, strawberry, lychee and green apple options.
“It’s a fun, different type of drink to have, and just like our bowls, it’s customizable,” says Ting. “With our bubble teas, you can add different types of tapioca to it, add different fruit flavors, and you can mix and create your own fusion of flavors.” Ting’s bubble tea pick is any fruit tea with lychee jelly, a chewy add-on.
Since starting her journey in 2017, Ting is proud to have been one of the first businesses to bring the Hawaiian dish to Rhode Island. Her goal is to continue sharing Hometown Poke’s food with residents and visitors alike.
Photography courtesy of Hometown Poke/Candice Conner.
“The Asian grandmother in me really loves to feed people and watch them enjoy our food,” she says. “The end goal is to share our poke and bubble tea with as many people as possible.”
Ting recently opened a second location on East Greenwich’s Main Street.
“I wanted to find another community that would be receptive to poke, appreciate our type of food, is near the water and has diversity. I found that niche community within East Greenwich, so I’m happy to have that second location,” she says.
In the warmer months, poke lovers can also order from the mobile kitchen (Hometown Poke recently expanded to a slightly larger food truck) and can find out its location online and on social media. The truck also makes appearances at local events and can be booked for private parties. 185 Camp St., Providence; 37 Main St., East Greenwich, 868-1247, hometownpoke.com
Poke Particulars
Poke bowls have a variety of fillings and toppings that may be new to you. We have all the delicious deets.
Ahi
Yellowtail or bigeye tuna.
Daikon
A mild radish native to East Asia.
Edamame
Immature (but delicious!) green soybeans.
Furikake
A Japanese seasoning of sesame seeds, seaweed, fish flakes and salt.
Gochujang
A thick Korean red chili paste.
Hijiki
Brown Asian seaweed.
Kimchi
A Korean dish of fermented and salted vegetables.
Masago
The edible eggs of the capelin fish.
Miso
Fermented soybean paste with a punch of umami flavor.
Nori
Dried edible seaweed.
Panko
Crispy Japanese breadcrumbs.
Ponzu
A tart, citrus-based sauce.
Shoyu
A Japanese-style soy sauce.
Tempura flakes
Crispy bits of fried batter.
Togarashi
A spicy Japanese seasoning blend.
Wakame
A sea vegetable commonly used in soups and salads.
Wasabi
Japanese horseradish, commonly used in sushi.
Other Bowls and Bites
Get your food bowl fill at these eateries across the state.
NORTH
In the Pink
213 Thayer St., Providence, 414-7710, inthepinkri.com
Wayland Fresh
229 Waterman St., Providence, 648-6677, waylandfresh.com
Pokeworks
212 Thayer St., Providence, 414-7392, pokeworks.com
Kwench Juice Cafe
155 Westminster St., Providence, 454-2774, kwenchjuicecafe.com
Poke Bros
622 George Washington Hwy., Suite 42, Lincoln, 642-8708; 40 Sockanosset Cross Rd., Suite F, Cranston, 321-3373, eatpokebros.com
Wicked Fresh Cafe
1345 Hartford Ave., Johnston, 273-7374, wickedfreshcafe.com
La Fruta Loca
883 Dexter St., Central Falls, 601-3229, lafrutaloca401.com
Baja’s Restaurants
Multiple locations in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, bajasrestaurants.com
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Multiple locations, tropicalsmoothiecafe.com
EAST
Incred-A-Bowl
1075 South Broadway, East Providence, 563-3687, incredabowlfood.com
The Burrito Bowl
809 Broadway, East Providence; 1007 Charles St., North Providence; 100 Higginson Ave., Lincoln (inside R1 Indoor Karting), 438-2695, theburritobowl.com
SOUTH
The Berry Joint
2424 West Shore Rd., Warwick, 384-7667, theberryjoint.com
Gansett Poke
9 Pier Marketplace, Narragansett, 515-7357, gansettpoke.com
Tasteful
5800 Post Rd., East Greenwich, (inside of Perfectly Fit), 429-2999, tastefulri.com
Playa Bowls
1000 Division St., Suite 16, East Greenwich, 471-7056, playabowls.com
