Island Fin Poké Company - Saint Petersburg

Lunch! Mmm! On the positive side, they give a good value (10% off if you're a Crunch member), tasty food, and mostly gluten-free options. Also, their Dole Soft Serve is unexpectedly yummy. On the negative side, I ended up with an energy drain and a headache later that day. Around 10pm, after using the restroom, I suddenly felt much better. Because I ate nothing I don't normally eat (except their food), my condition cleared up suddenly after dumping the food, and because my girlfriend (who ate 1/4 of my food) also felt an energy drain throughout the day, I surmise that it was a mild case of food poisoning. Hate to tarnish the hard work of an establishment with a 4.8-star average review, but it is what it is. They ought to be more careful. Hopefully this review will prompt them to clean up their act a bit.

Before I rave about the food, I'm going to start with raving about the workers - particularly Matt & Brody. I had just been in a car accident & needed food while waiting (2.5 hrs) for a tow truck. I was shaken up and not thinking very straight. I accidently left my cell phone by the register when I walked out with my food. Of course, the insurance company, my friends & the tow truck driver were all trying to reach me. By the time I walked back to the restaurant, Matt had already put my phone someplace safe & had e-mailed me to let me know that he had it. (Folks -- Put your email address on your screen saver page!!!) Although I wasn't thinking straight, Brody paitently walked me through their bowl-building process and helped me make sure I didn't mess up my gluten-free restrictions. Matt also handed me a small, extra, yummy treat because I was having such a rough day. The food was absolutely delish, and they have some great choices (I loved the seaweed salad topping). They also had a great selection of topping sauces, and Brody let me tast the Wasabi sauce to see if it was too spicy. They have lots of protein choices, including multiple seafood options. They even use gluten-free soy sauce! So, I give both 5 stars to the food and the people.