Poke bar @ Bay Area Costco

Poke spotted at Costco in California!!

Imagine my surprise as I walked into a Bay Area Costco this week and saw a poke bar!  Usually found only in Hawaii, they carried all the same varieties of wasabi, shoyu, and spicy ahi poke - albeit at slightly higher prices.  The Costco employee didn't know if it would be a permanent counter but said it was there for at least this week.  Maybe they are doing a test run to see if it's popular enough to keep around.  I had to try it, even if just for the novelty of seeing the poke bar in California.  I got the Wasabi Poke at $17.99/lb and it was good but could have had a stronger wasabi flavor.  There was a 1/2 lb minimum purchase so I ended up eating all of it for lunch since I had other errands afterwards.  Given the warm weather lately it wouldn't have made it home anyway, right? ;)

As an avid Costco lover, one of the highlights of my trip to Hawaii a few years ago was visiting Costco.  We love visiting Costco when we travel, even within California, just to see the different, local products they may carry.  We've found beer from local breweries, new snacks, and even different food court items.  In Hawaii, one locally made product we tried was a tray of fresh mochi with different flavors ranging from green tea to blueberry to peanut better and jelly.  The mochi was so soft and pillowy!

Costco Hawaii, 2010: Poke bar and fresh mochi

The other notable Costco item was the poke bar - different varieties of freshly made poke sold by weight. Poke is a raw seafood salad typically made with tuna sashimi marinated with things like soy sauce, sesame seeds, furikake, and wasabi.  It's a common appetizer found throughout Hawaii and something I wouldn't mind eating as a main meal mixed with some salad greens.

Has anyone else seen poke at their local Costco lately?
UPDATE:  Flown in from Oahu weekly. Available Tuesday-Sunday.
UPDATE 2: See more Costco locations where Hawaiian poke has been spotted!

Spotted at:
Costco Almaden
5301 Almaden Expy
San Jose, CA 95118

Reportedly at the following Bay Area locations as well:

Costco Redwood City

2300 Middlefield Rd

Redwood City, CA 94063

Costco Downtown San Francisco
450 10th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

Costco Concord

2400 Monument Blvd
Concord, CA 94520