A clean-eating maverick biz makes its home in two Jersey beach towns

by Marisa Procopio

There’s no shortage of burgers, pizza, and funnel cake at the
Jersey Shore…and what kind of lamentable place would it be without
them?

On the other hand, the Shore is a place that draws visitors from every walk of life, and with appetites for every type of food. Healthy has a place here and everywhere, and when it is both tasty
and substantial, worthy of the starving and the sun-drenched (and maybe a little over the over-indulging), sales will be brisk.

Eat Poke Bro set up its first shop in Manasquan in 2016 and will re-open for the season on Memorial Day weekend. The Ocean Grove boardwalk was next, which set up shop this past April.

The brainchild of Jamie Giovinazzo, president and founder of Eat Clean Bro, Freehold’s flourishing all-natural, healthy-eating enterprise takes clean eating to a different level…specifically, to a Hawaiian one.

Poke is a traditional, raw, sushi-grade fish salad, and those who love sushi will be very much at home with a bowl of it.

Hungry patrons can enjoy tuna, salmon, or Korean-barbecue chicken, served over white rice, brown rice, or greens—all liberally seasoned with a variety of Asian condiments and sauces familiar to most, like pickled cucumber, sriracha, and sesame oil, as well as less common treats such as yuzu (a type of citrus), togarashi (a chili-pepper spice blend), and furikake, a mixed spice that some refer to as Japanese salt and pepper.

“It’s clean, reasonably priced…with an Asian twist,” said Brooke Gulkis, account relations manager and customer service associate.

“There are vegetarian options as well. It’s a lot to offer.”

Another welcome twist is Eat Poke Bro’s commitment to working with
regional growers.

“For produce, we try to do as local as possible…give business to local people,” Gulkin emphasized. “Our vendor is kind of a one-man show. Everything is coming in fresh.”

The menu at the location in Manasquan was recently retooled, and now both locations will share the same items. (“We’ve perfected the menu,” said Gulkis.)

Eat Clean Bro’s healthy-food makers are excited to keep indulging beachgoers, and to keep introducing newcomers to poke’s bright, fresh flavors.

“Last year this concept was very new to us,” asserted Gulkis. Their challenge was “getting the word out.”

Now, after a successful summer hawking healthy food in one beach town and revving up for another summer at two, the feeling is satisfaction.

“It’s something to be proud of,” she said.

Eat Poke Bro
The Dunes, 4 North End Boardwalk, Ocean Grove
191 Beach Front, Manasquan / eatpokebro.com