2019 is the 13th anniversary of tikichris.com. I’m marking the seemingly inauspicious milestone with Lucky 13: a yearlong miniseries about 13 places to eat and drink that helped shape and define what I love about the London food and drink scene.
Next in the queue of my longtime London food faves is Daddy Donkey; and I say queue because there always seemed to be one new to its burrito-mobile when it first parked at Leather Lane Market. The queue always moved quickly though, and I never minded waiting for what was on offer. In 2013, the truck was swapped for a permanent site on Leather Lane. Avid fans of this street food hero still don’t seem to mind lining up for fully loaded burritos (and not much else).
I had moved back to London around the same time that Daddy D had opened for business and was living a short walk away from Leather Lane.. I was extremely excited when I found out somebody in London was doing burritos right. As pleased as I returning to this city that I love, I craved some of the tastier aspects of American cuisine. And as much as DD purported to be a “kick ass Mexican grill,” I reckoned burritos to be more of an American thing. The flavours were beautifully Mexican though, that was for sure.
These days, one wouldn’t blink at a burrito joint in London (and if you did you’d be blinking a lot). They’re all over the place. Most are decent. Daddy Donkey remains one of the best (I reckon Chilango is a good choice too).
Not so long ago, street food that was worth seeking out wasn’t anywhere near as readily available 13 years ago as it today. In this respect, DD was a pioneer and helped pave the way for the plethora of top rate vendors to follow. Similarly in the recent past, general acceptance of North American yumminess was not a given the UK. Hardly anybody was cooking simple quality food like burritos, tacos, burgers, pizza, poutine and such. DD was among the savvy first movers. We should all be glad for that.
Aside from the brick-and-mortar move, much is the same with a Daddy Donkey dining experience. A typical burrito costs £7 (a bit more than the original price). There are some new additions to the menu though (you can add chorizo to your burrito now and there’s a wider selection of salsas, stuff like that). Service is still swift and friendly. The burritos are as massive and delicious as I remember they were in 2006.
Daddy Donkey is located at 50b Leather Lane, EC1N 7TP. Find out more at daddydonkey.co.uk.
Still hungry? I’ll be back soon with another taste of a Lucky 13 place to eat in London.
