The 4^th Annual “I Love Poke Festival” was held last month at The Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort in Huntington Beach. The sold-out event brought poke connoisseurs and newcomers together to celebrate the Hawaiian delicacy, lifestyle and culture as 11 highly competitive chefs went head-to-head for the title of Best Poke. Included in the “I Love Poke” competition in Huntington Beach were the champs from both 2014 and 2013.

In the end, Chefs Chris Aure and “Big Mike” of Zarlitos Family Restaurant in National City staged a big upset over the OC chefs and came out on top with their spicy poke rendition prepared with Yellowfin tuna, sesame oil, soy sauce, minced garlic, chili flakes, roasted black sesame seeds, green onion and chili oil. Earlier in the year they were the winners in the “I Love Poke Festival” in San Diego. They are now the SoCal champs.

Zatlitos serves Filipino home cooking with dishes like Pork Adobo. On the weekends it’s Mexican-inspired dishes (Z-MEX DELIGHTS) based on Filipino favorites.

The victorious (and modest) Chef Mike is our guest.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS