Sam Choy's Poke to the Max

Ah, the joys of airport dining.  Grumpy staff.  Frantic other customers.  Food rarely freshly prepared.  Captive audience.  High prices.  Generally, highly unsatisfying on all dimensions: taste, value, service.  And yet, there I was, in SeaTac airport, with a delayed flight, looking for some food.

Of course, I had done my research in advance and knew my options, as I knew such a scenario could arise.  I wasn't planning to be stuck in the airport or to need to get food, but, yup, it happened.  At least I was armed with my list of reasonable choices.

I could have gone to Beecher's for the famous mac and cheese (that I've actually never tried), and I could have checked out the newish bubble tea place, both of which held promise, but instead, I headed to the airport outpost of Sam Choy's Poke to the Max, located in concourse D.  It was extremely far away from my gate at the far end of concourse A, but, I had way too much time to kill before my flight hopefully got to take off (delay caused by delayed inboard aircraft, that was still yet to take off where it was coming from ... sigh).  It was a serious hike and commitment to get there, but, I was fairly excited.

"Award winning chef, author, and proclaimed, “God Father of Poke” Chef Sam Choy offers a true taste of Hawai’i!  All of our menu dishes represent the various fusions that makes Hawai’i’s food so ONO!  Don’t be fooled by the name, because we serve more than just fresh poke.  Stop in for Spam Musubi, Loco Moco, our famous Garlic Chicken, and much more.  Whether your grabbing a plate at one of our food trucks, dining at our restaurant, or having us cater your event; escape with us and enjoy local style plate lunch, with a little Aloha in every bite.  "

Sam Choy's is relatively well known Hawaiian restaurant, with poke of course, but also a slew of hot dishes like loco moco, garlic chicken, and yup, plenty of spam.  They operate food trucks and restaurants around the west coast, with locations in Seattle, but also in California (and coming soon to SFO too).   I wasn't actually drawn to the poke lineup, as it is only tuna or salmon based, and not really customizable.  Nor was I really drawn to the rice plates, but the fish and chips certainly caught my eye, as did the firecracker shrimp or shrimp tempura, the assorted styles of masubi, and even the loco moco.  But I didn't actually need a full meal, just really something to pass the time, so I opted for one side dish I was really craving (macaroni salad - after having a mediocre version in The Club lounge) and dessert of course, because, zomg, they had local made ice cream in great flavors.

Ordering was done through a tablet (or in advance online on your own phone, they had QR codes all around to scan).  My order was ready promptly.  That said ... eh.  I don't think I'd go back.

Side Macaroni Salad. $4.75.

I was shocked by the portion of the macaroni salad.  I was expecting a small 8 ounce deli container size, maybe a pint, but instead, it was the same size huge bowl they use for poke bowls.  Nearly full to the top.  It was easily more than a quart.  So much macaroni salad!  It weighed a ton.

I couldn't wait to dig in.  I was even more excited as I looked it over, and saw chunks of egg white, and ... potatoes?  It was like a hybrid potato and macaroni salad, although dominantly still pasta.  There was also small bits of green onion.  Very heavily dressed.  No visible seasoning.

I took my first bite and was met with some disappointment.  It had very little flavor.  It tasted like mayo and little else.  Now, I love mayo, but this just fell entirely flat.  No acid.  No seasoning.  Nothing.  I'll admit I also expected maybe some pineapple, furikake, or something to make it Hawaiian-like.  This was beyond bland.

Another bite, more sadness.  The pasta was fairly mushy.  I'd prefer it al dente.  The egg white pieces were kinda hard.  The potato chunks were really the only fine part, well cooked, still skin on.  But overall, soft and mushy pasta, no flavor, and just not very good at all.  I did try adding salt, pepper, and furikake, but it still just needed more, and the textures weren't winners.

For only $4.75, this was ridiculously low priced, especially for an airport, as you'd pay considerably more at the grocery store deli for this quantity.  That said, it really wasn't good at all.  **.

Laina's Homemade Ice Cream - Ube (Vegan). $5.35. 

"Small batch ice cream made in Seattle's Rainier Valley area. Ube flavored ice cream (made w/ coconut milk)."

"(V) Handmade coconut base toasted coconut ice cream."

I didn't actually realize the ube ice cream was vegan when I selected it.  I knew Laina's makes a variety of both vegan and regular ice creams, but I only saw "ube" and grabbed immediately without looking further.  That said, coconut and ube are generally a good pairing, so I didn't mind.  Sam Choy's Poke to the Max also had matcha, lilikoi, toasted coconut (also vegan, coconut milk based), and pineapple whip (vegan) in stock.

When I opened it, the color initially turned me off.  It was so purple.  Too purple.  Barney purple.  Which to me screamed 1) food coloring and 2) unlikely to use real ube.  Still, I gave it a chance.

It was fine.  Not great, not bad, just, fine.  It wasn't as creamy as traditional ice cream, and was quite solid when I got it.  I waited for it to get nicely melty, but it never melted quite like regular ice cream.  It got ... sticky?  Yes, sticky ice cream.  In those ways, it was clear it was vegan.  That all said, the ube flavor was strong, and coconut was a nice backdrop.  It was still a nice treat to have in the airport.  I wouldn't go out of my way for this brand, but, it was fine.  ***.