And this Leytonstone taco joint has some of the biggest flavours I can imagine are possible in such a small dish.
It is an informal place, with colourful graffiti covering the walls, open ducting and chatty waiters.
It was definitely not a fine dining setting and you could be mistaken for thinking it was a nice fast-food place – but we definitely did not rush here.
Homies on Donkeys started in a stall in Walthamstow’s Wood Street Market, where founders Erik ‘Smokey’ Bautista and Sandra Bello served just a few dishes from a tiny space.Starters of tortillas with guacamole and refried beans (Image: Ben Gardner)
Since moving into the much larger space with help of a crowdfunding campaign, a broader range is joined by a rotating menu of seasonal specials.
One of these was corn ribs. The sweet sweet and smoky charred corn was coated in a thick garlicky sauce. Unlike most corn ribs, these were indulgent enough to deserve the title of ‘ribs’.
We chose for our tacos rump beef, curried prawns, bavette steak, lamb, sea bass and tuna.
Smokey told me that he wanted to create the “beefiest beef” flavour and all the flavours were turned up to their maximum volume.
And he’s done a pretty good job. This was most clear with the bavette, a definite must if you visit.
Imagine your favourite food had been reduced and reduced into a stock, and then wrapped up into three super flavoursome bites.
I once saw a Japanese invention that was a fresh change of shirt, pants and socks, compressed into a compact brick which expanded and could be worn when you added water.
This was the food equivalent. Little mini meals that exploded into full flavour when it touched your tongue.
Sometimes these ‘mini meals’ you would not expect in taco form – the lamb and beef tasted like a roast dinner wrapped up.
It is good to balance some fresher flavours with the darker, heavier meat fillings.
This was provided by the fish – a generous slab of sea bass, with a pesto sauce that was a light and bright change.
Science is Smokey’s other passion, and he uses I was surprised how big of a role it played in the food.
The pesto was emulsified by a process I cannot recall and amino acids had a role in a blow of delicious refried beans we had to start.
Most of it went over my head, but what did not was how much work and creativity goes into all these dishes.
He sometimes outlined at least five steps just to get one ingredient cooked just as he wanted it.
This, and the really generous portions, made this place great value – it is £10 or under for a plate of two, with two plates being enough for one.
Smokey previously told Eater he makes “food that takes your taste buds on a mad journey”.
Each dish at Homies on Donkeys left me looking around at the two people I was sharing with, wide eyed at the explosion of flavours.
You don’t know what to expect when you put one of these parcels in your mouth, but I guarantee you it will be delicious.
