With A Wink And A Poké, New East Austin Food Truck Raising Eyebrows Over Name

AUSTIN, TX — A foodies' delight, Austin is awash in food trucks catering to every conceivable palate. But one new entrant into the crowded mobile restaurant industry is raising eyebrows — not for its culinary offerings but for the play on Asian words that constitutes its name.

The food truck at 1606 E. 6th Street has generated negative online reviews for its name: Poke Me Long Time. Some call it racist, while others are offended by the overt sexual innuendo. It's a film allusion to a scene in "Full Metal Jacket" depicting Vietnamese sex workers plying their trade to American troops stationed there with a promise to "love you long time."

But Kevin Randolph, who owns the food truck operation with his wife, Sherilyn Milch, denies the name is racist, telling the food blog Austin 360 that his wife is Asian — of Vietnamese descent, no less.

So what of the charge the name is a sexual innuendo? Guilty as charged, he readily acknowledged: "It’s not a racial thing. It’s more of a sexual thing, really,” Randolph told the blog.

Asked, then, how it is he came up with the name, he replied to the blog in a way that could be seen as quintessentially Austin — a city that has as its unofficial motto a rallying cry to "Keep Austin Weird" with as voluminous a glut of food trucks as aloof, bearded hipsters and concert-going party animals: “Oh, man,” 13-year Austin resident Randolph told the blog amid laughter. “Honestly, we just got really stoned one night. I’m not gonna lie to you.”

The tone of the mobile diner's social media posts support Randolph's admission of sexual innuendo. The name of its signature offering, the "Missionary Bowl," further advances the notion (there's another menu option alluding to a canine mounting stance that we won't repeat here).

But really: What's in a name? Would the menu of a food truck by any other name taste and smell as sweet? Reaction appears mixed, with some reviewers raving on the fare while others took umbrage at the wordplay.

"Cool," Adrienne L. wrote in her online review with palpable sarcasm. "Another play on the phrase that eroticizes and demeans Asian women. Thank goodness we've got this food truck around to make sure that old line never goes away."

Another reviewer took issue with both the name and the price points: "It's just too expensive for me," Paige W. wrote. "The food was good, but after dropping $13 I had to go get a second meal because I was still hungry. I also may just be a prude, but I kind of feel the overtly sexual names of the items on the menu make it inaccessible to families and people (like me) who don't want to picture sex positions as they're eating dinner?"

Carrie P. also took issue with the prices even though she liked the offerings: "The only thing that would prevent me from coming here is the price. $14 is steep for a small bowl and I would rather drive to Poke Poke for more reasonable offerings."

Manolo T. of Honolulu didn't mince words in issuing his negative verdict: "Another fake / wanna-be poké place with some sexually named dishes. Must be hipster haole famous spot. Anyone from 808 look at this disgusting pics to see how gross this place and the food is. Choke cabagge and 3 pieces of salmon, they call it poke. I call it -haole shenanigans. Skip this place."

Aside from Poke Me Long Time," the poké trend has hit as hard in Austin as it has elsewhere in the country. The term literally means "to slice or cut" in Hawaiian, and refers to chunks of raw, marinated fish (typically tuna) tossed over rice and topped with vegetables and umami-packed sauces. Like sushi, but with a twist.

A mere few weeks ago, Poké Bowl opened at 2828 Guadalupe St., a healthy stone's throw away from the University of Texas at Austin campus. The offerings at the brick-an-mortar restaurant (of which Patch has often partaken) are consistently fresh, with lower prices (a regular bowl with three proteins priced at $10.50 and a large with five main ingredients at $12.50) than at Poke Me Long Time.

Even a cursory glance at its social media posts shows a Poké Bowl penchant for wordplay too, but decidedly G-rated than that of its East Austin rival:

Other popular poké places in Austin include The Big Kahuna and Poké-Poké, both in the Rosedale neighborhood, Poké House at the Arboretum and Ola Poké at 6808 N Lamar Blvd.

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