Love & Hominy is a rather small restaurant in downtown Hood River, seating only perhaps 25 people…read morein a mixture of tables and countertop seating. It's a brisk business, so while ordering is counter service style, the tables turnover quickly. When we visited at 12:30 on a Sunday afternoon, there was a small line ahead of us to order, but only around 5 minutes or so after we ordered, several tables cleared out and we were able to sit down. The food took about 15 minutes to arrive.
Combo, Vietnamese w/ Pork, Mediterranean w/ Chicken, Salsa ($15.50) - The chips, half moon shaped, seem to be fried in house, being really thick, great for dipping with no breakage, and perfectly crunchy. They have somewhat of an oily sheen on the surface, but aren't overly greasy at all. They aren't salted too heavily and instead seem to be slightly sweetened. The salsa included in this meal is refreshingly tangy and creamy. It's completely mild, though, with no hint of heat whatsoever. The chips easily dip in without getting soggy.
The tacos all seem to use the same base - a fried corn tortilla heavily seasoned with a doritos locos-esque spice mixture, then filled with tender basmati rice. I believe they store a bunch of tortillas filled with rice sitting in trays, which can then be grabbed off the shelf to customize to order. That would explain why the shells get completely soggy and why the sauces are all applied on top of the rice rather than below. They are also wrapped in aluminum foil, which allows the rice to basically steam inside the taco shell, creating more sogginess. Overall a disappointing base.
The Vietnamese combines fish sauce and banh mi pickles, combined with sweet creamy kewpie mayo drizzled over the rice and thinly sliced cucumbers as a second wall complementing the taco shell. The pickles and cucumber are crunchier than the shell. There are jalapenos but there's no heat at all. The pork is shredded and tender with a somewhat smoky quality, but there's not much included at all, perhaps only a tablespoon or two of meat. It's mostly vestigial against the massive amount of pickles on the top. I'd say the flavors are somewhat similar to a vegetarian banh mi. It's definitely missing in the meat department. There are so many veggies piled onto this taco that things fall out left and right while eating.
The Mediterranean includes acidic pickled onions, a slaw lightly dressed in vinaigrette, thinly sliced cucumbers, a bunch of salty feta, and shredded mint leaves. There's some tzatziki drizzle, but not enough to make a huge impact. The chicken is shredded very finely and again not given in enough of a quantity to really do much for the taco. I feel like the chicken is precooked white meat, similar to the chicken in those packaged salads.
Combo, Thai w/ Chicken, Tex Mex w/ Shrimp, Queso ($15.50) - The queso is served warm. It's thick and cheesy, tasting like pretty standard queso with again no heat whatsoever despite tiny flecks of red.
The Thai includes a red bell pepper, cabbage, and edamame (why edamame?) slaw, lightly dressed in a peanutty and sweet vinegar. On top of the rice is a thicker peanut and ginger drizzle, enough to give some freshness and boost the umami. The overall flavor profile does remind me of an Americanized Pad Thai with mostly sweetness and nuttiness and no tamarind fruity tang.
The Tex Mex is interesting. They actually char the corn quite well, so it's sweet and smoky in flavor. They add the same queso as the dip for the chips, then cilantro and then soy bacon crumbles, which I found to be disturbing in texture, almost like crunchy egg shells. They do include three or four pieces of sweet shrimp which aren't overcooked.
The seasoning on the taco shells doesn't work for me. The flavors clash with the unique ingredients used in the creative tacos. In addition, I'm so confused why they use the same rice base. I guess it's a cost cutting measure? They add a ton to every taco and it spills out all over the place. They could easily amp up the unique qualities of each taco. For example, cilantro rice for the Tex Mex, Jasmine rice for the Thai, vermicelli for the Vietnamese. It's okay to use rice, but it's just such a boring and uninspired base when they are trying to be so creative with the flavors. It feels like filler used to cheapen up the tacos. I have similar feelings towards the meat. It's the same for every taco, no uniqueness in flavor or texture. The only thing different are the toppings and the slight bit of sauce on top. Just think - for the Vietnamese, sweet lemongrass grilled pork, for the Tex-Mex, lime chile grilled shrimp, etc. Then again there's so little meat included in the first place.
Overall I left a little disappointed. It seems to be targeted towards people who want fusion food without straying too far away from Americanized roots. It's just not for me.
Bathrooms - Single unisex room.
Note: Love & Hominy charges a 3% credit card fee
