Poke (Hawaiian for "to slice" or "cut crosswise into pieces"; sometimes anglicised as 'poké' to aid pronunciation) is diced raw fish served either as an appetizer or a main course and is a popular dish in Hawaii. Traditional forms are aku (skipjack tuna) and hee (octopus). Hee poke is sometimes called tako poke in places where the Hawaiian language is not spoken. Poke differs from other raw fish dishes in that it does not use citrus fruits as a curing agent. History Poke began with fishermen seasoning the cut-offs from their catch to serve as a snack. According to the food historian Rachel Laudan, the present form of poke became popular around the 1970s. It used skinned, deboned, and filleted raw fish served with Hawaiian salt, seaweed, and roasted, ground candlenut meat. This form of poke is still common in the Hawaiian islands. Beginning around 2012, poke became increasingly popular in North America. From 2014 to mid-2016, "the number of Hawaiian restaurants on Foursquare, which includes those that serve poke," doubled, going from 342 to 700. These restaurants serve both traditional and modern versions of the dish. The modern version is sometimes called poké bowl and may have the ingredients arranged in a grouped way rather than mixed. Contemporary poke restaurants are mostly—but not exclusively—fast casual style restaurants where the dish is fully customizable from the base to the marinade on the fish. There is a three-day "I Love Poke" festival held in San Diego yearly to celebrate the dish and its many variations. Controversy Poke has existed in Hawaii since the early 1970s, but in the mid to late 2010s, it skyrocketed in popularity in the continental United States. This has allowed for lots of cultural controversy. In October of 2015, a restaurant in New York named Sons of Thunder turned to poke as a backup plan after dealing with stove issues.Since Sons of Thunder's poke boom in 2015, cities like Los Angeles and New York have seen numerous other poke shops open, as well as international destinations like Toronto, London, and Sydney. Various locals shared their thoughts about poke in the mainland: I tried one, and I swore never to go again," said Sonny Acosta, 30, who moved to New York from Honolulu two years ago. "It's not really poke." It's not just that poke tastes better when you're in Hawaii. It's that mainland restaurateurs, bandwagoning on what