Poke has traveled a long way from Hawaii and has landed in Forest Hills, Queens where Kissfish serves it fresh daily. Nick Blajeski, a 21-year-old first-time restaurant owner, sat down to talk about his new business and what it’ll mean for the neighborhood.

Kissfish officially opened at 70-21 Austin Street on February 22nd making it the first restaurant in Forest Hills to focus on poke and sushi hand rolls and wraps.

Poke is traditionally a Hawaiian dish consisting of bite-sized raw fish. Modern versions can be found adorned with toppings like fresh vegetables, nori, and tobiko (fish roe). Poke is actually a blend of Hawaiian culture and the concept of Japanese sashimi.

Kissfish offers toppings like Kani (crab sticks), edamame, avocado, seaweed salad, and mango to name a few. From there you can add sauces like poke sriracha or wasabi mayo.

Fish is generally a very healthy food and poke fills a gap for fresher options in Forest Hills. Before Kissfish, the address was home to Power Juice Bar which barely made it through the summer of 2017.

Forest Hills eateries are mainly comprised of small businesses as opposed to chains and while many new restaurants go up, they don’t often last too long.

Ripe Juice Bar, just a few doors down, has managed to stay successful, but still, there is a lack of healthy eateries in the neighborhood. Lee Guilder of Forest Hills said he hopes other healthy options open soon, adding that he’s amazed that “Forest Hills does not have a Chopt, Sweetgreen or Hale and Hearty in the neighborhood.”

On why Blajeski decided to venture into poke he said, “The whole poke bowl concept– there really isn’t one in this neighborhood so I just thought it would be a good addition to the neighborhood and what not. I was just thinking (from) a business perspective.” Adding that he loves the idea of poke.

Since Blajeski isn’t familiar with poke himself, he turned to his business partner, Ken Liu, age 31, to help out since he used to manage Yuba, a sushi restaurant in Manhattan.

There are multiple businesses in Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan especially, that focus on poke. It’s not a new concept but it has recently become increasingly popular amongst New Yorkers.

I spoke with Forest Hills resident, Alice Ortizo who has eaten at PokeWorks, a popular poke chain with locations in NYC and elsewhere. In terms of how Kissfish compares, she said, “Kissfish has fresh fish and a very fair price for Austin Street. They are still on their soft opening so they are still working out kinks.” Namely issues with portion consistency and time management, adding that you should “be prepared to wait.”

Blajeski personally thinks that Kissfish differs from other places because, “at the other places, they mix their food. We like to have everything so you can see what (you) have. We want to show the artistic side of the food as well.”

At Kissfish, the handrolls range from $2.95 to $4.25 each while wraps are $7.95 and poke bowls are $9.95.

With poke rolling into town it leaves questions like “what other trendy foods are we going to see?” What will come next? Maybe some mason jar avocado concoctions?

In the meantime, in terms of future plans, Blajeski might add more items to the menu but that’s about it for Forest Hills. However, expect to see more Kissfishes around New York, namely the Lower East Side if all goes well.