Due to the extended hiatus of Springs Tasty I thought it was time I started my own thing. After going to Little Donkey twice before, I thought it was finally time for me to write up a review and I invited Jack Walley to join me.

Little Donkey is a local restaurant chain with three locations in AL: Homewood, Off 280 in Hoover, and Montgomery and we chose to visit the Hoover location with the white brick exterior.

Atmosphere:

Upon entering Little Donkey, the bar instantly welcomed us to Happy Hour. The modern design of the bar accentuated plywood and metal which contrasted traditional mexican motifs on the far side of the open kitchen. However, neither of us are of drinking age, so we hurried to a naturally lit table so we could begin chowing down on complimentary tortilla chips and our choice of red or green salsa. We chose red, and the fresh acidity of the salsa paired with warm, crispy, and well-seasoned chips did not leave us regretful. After this initial snack, we began ordering our discounted tacos, courtesy of the 3-6pm Happy Hour.

The Food:

Carnitas Taco

Dylan: The Carnitas taco was good, but I just wish that the meat had some crispiness to it. It had great bright notes but it needs some crisp element to contrast the generally homogeneous texture.

Jack: I disagree with Dylan on this one. The taco, though not crispy, left little to be desired. Tender, juicy, and citrusy, the complexity of flavor in the pork shoulder was allowed to shine by being coupled with relatively simple garnishes: salsa verde, white onion, and cilantro.

Fried Catfish Taco

Jack: I’m a sucker for fried catfish. Flakey well-seasoned strips were hidden by a mountain of chipotle slaw, pickled onion, chipotle sour cream and cilantro. None of these are bad things, but the volume with which they were present made it difficult to 1) eat due to volume of toppings and amount of liquid and 2) taste the catfish. This is disappointing to a catfish lover, but could be remedied by a higher catfish to topping ratio.

Veggie Taco

Dylan: This taco was amazing. The taco has roasted mushrooms and onions which provide a dark-sweet and complex flavor from the long cook time, but the taco is topped off with crema and mojo verde giving it a bright and creamy flavor. It had the best flavor out of any taco I have had before, but being served on a corn tortilla is in my opinion a mistake. This taco falls apart too easily given the ingredients and if you order it consider getting it on a flour. Get this on a flour tortilla because it might just collapse on you otherwise.

Jack: Yep. Best taco on the menu. Hands Down.

Chicken Taco

Dylan: The Smoked Chicken taco tastes fine. Nice smokey-juicy chicken and good flavor. It really is a beautiful taco though! The meat is perfectly smoked and the radishes just add something special to the color. While the taco shares a lot of components with the Carnitas taco but it stands on its own. It just feels like it’s missing something, maybe add some Oaxacan Queso!

Jack: It’s a chicken taco. Fancy and tasty chicken, but otherwise not that special. True classic.

Fried Chicken Taco

Dylan: This one was a beast; I thought for two dollars I would get a measly chicken tender but instead you get a generous size of protein topped with ranch dressing, lettuce, and pickled onions all on a flour tortilla. The chicken was crisp and juicy and the breading had a great spice blend. The taco had a perfect balance between the crunch of chicken, the crisp lettuce, the soft tortilla, and acid from the pickled onions. The biggest gripe I have is the amount of lettuce, and most of it just ends up falling off the taco. I suggest you try their Fried Chicken Sandwich, because this fried chicken blows any fast food chicken out of the water.

Beef Brisket Taco

Dylan: The Beef Brisket taco costs more than the speciality taco and value wise it was ok. It had a nice smoky flavor and great brisket but again value wise it doesn’t rank highly.

Jack: This taco looked significantly prettier than it tasted. The contrast of the peppers and the crema and the cilantro was artful, and hyped you up to take a bite. Once you couldn’t see it anymore though, it was disappointing. It wasn’t bad, but I wouldn’t go for it again. I might have been more impressed if not for the $4 price point.

Oaxacan Taco

Dylan: This taco is not cheap. It's $4.25 but for what you get it’s a pretty good deal. You’re getting thick slices of a seared rib-eye steak with their Oaxacan Queso, roasted mushrooms and onions, and topped with some cilantro for color. The waitress claimed the meat was so good “they don’t even need to season it.” They should season it. The steak was cooked medium, yet it was still fork tender and seared well. The Oaxacan Queso should be used on more tacos. It elevated this taco from ok to pretty good. While it was quite the looker, overall not great value but if you’re willing to spend the money get it on Fridays and Saturdays when its available as a special.

Street Corn(Elote)

Jack: It’s got the funk. But not too much. Just the right amount of funk and cheese and spices and deliciously sweet corn. On the cob, off the cob, it doesn’t matter.

Tres Leches Cake

Dylan: Yeah, I took a bite before we took the photo. This cake is my favorite part of coming here. It feels so light when you eat it and the sponge itself is so nice and springy. The soak also just adds that extra creaminess and the fresh tart fruit level out that sweetness.

Jack: Zoo wee mama!

Thoughts and Remarks:

Wait time ups and downs

While at first it took 15 minutes to get our first plate, every other plate took only around 8 minutes. If you want to order another plate of tacos, order it right as you get your plate. The time between tacos you get is a nice steady eating pace that lets you enjoy the tacos without them getting cold or soggy.

Final Thoughts and Taco Ranking:

Although we couldn’t get through the entire menu Little Donkey is a great place for students to go after school. You get discounted tacos and there is something for everyone. They offer value we haven’t seen anywhere else and you will fill your stomach for less than 5 dollars. If you get a chance visit a Little Donkey location and show them your support.

Veggie
Fried Chicken
Carnitas

P.S.

Little Donkey, PLEASE. PLEASE. DON’T CUT LIME WEDGES IN THOSE TINY CORNER PIECES. PLEASE CUT THE LIMES INTO EITHER WEDGES OR CORED AND QUARTERED LENGTHWISE.

— Sincerely Dylan

Happy Hour Taco Flight @ Little Donkey 280