Sushi donut craze strikes Monterey's Poke Lab.

There are a lot of ways to look at a sushi donut. 

You can look at it as a clever creation. You can look at it as the most recent symptom of our society's collective Instagram obsession. You can look at it as a sales gimmick. You can look at it as an awkward way to eat raw fish and rice. You can look at it as a bagel. 

Most of all, it's just fun to look at.

Vegan cookbook author Sam Murphy of Melbourne, Australia, is credited with inventing it, and Project Poke Co. in Fountain Valley, California, helped touch off what's become a viral hit nationwide.

Essentially it's rice shaped in a donut mold, nestled onto a sheet of seaweed and layered with sauces, sashimi and Japanese finishing elements like tobiko and furikake seasoning.  

Today the Washington Post's Maura Judkis spotlights the sushi donut phenomenon, writing, "First there was latte art, then Cronuts, ramen burgers, sushi burritos, rainbow food and rolled ice cream. Now, the latest hyper-visual Frankenfood."

Popular new downtown Monterey spot Poke Lab (200-3474) gives local foodies a taste of the phenomenon as of this weekend.

Chef James Anderson shapes sushi rice into form, layers on wasabi mayo and pretty pieces of yellowfin tuna, Verlasso salmon, tiny masago fish eggs and sliced veggies before dusting it with furikake and serving ginger and avocado.

One runs $6, two go for $10.

Unscientific research answers one of the more pressing questions raised by the craze: The best way to eat it is…like a donut.