Little Donkey, Johnny’s, Topgolf among restaurants receiving 95 and above inspection scores in November

Top Golf
Top Golf Birmingham, photo by Pat Byington, Bham Now

Several popular Birmingham area  restaurants, including popular places such as Little Donkey and Johnny’s Restaurant received 95 and above on their health inspection scores over the past 30 days.

As a public service, Bham Now publishes monthly Jefferson County Department of Health restaurant inspection scores and profiles local places that were scored in the past few weeks.

Birmingham, Jefferson County Department of Health
Jefferson County Department of Health.

This month, we are featuring  popular restaurants and our favorite donut shop.

How are the inspections conducted?

According to the Jefferson County Department of Health, the agency, “regularly inspects establishments in Jefferson County where food is prepared or sold for human consumption. Two type of inspections, scored and alternative (non-scored), are performed throughout the year.”

The food service inspection scores are updated regularly on the Jefferson County Department of Health website.

In this food service inspection edition, the scores were received after November 10th. Here are our featured restaurants for this month.

Johnny’s Restaurant – 98

Johnny’s Greek And Three from Southern Foodways on Vimeo.

One of Birmingham’s best meat and three restaurants, owner and chef Tim Hontzas, was  named last year a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation Award for best chef in the South. Carrying on Magic City’s rich tradition of Greek home cooking, Johnny’s located in downtown Homewood in 2012.

Topgolf – 96

Top Golf
Top Golf in Birmingham, photo by Pat Byington, Bham Now

Sure everyone loves playing Topgolf, but the food is Topgolf’s secret weapon. Their menu has a wide variety of items, including from a 40 ounce MegaBurger (yes, you can share it) to  injectable donut holes. Obviously, playing Topgolf is encouraged, but many folks go for the food.

Little Donkey – 95

LittleDonkey 180213 174112 Little Donkey, Johnny's, Topgolf among restaurants receiving 95 and above inspection scores in November
Little Donkey staffers Hannah Ferrucci and Ashton Kupferberg. (Pat Byington/Bham Now)

This 95 score was accomplished at Little Donkey’s original Homewood restaurant. Known for its authentic Mexican menu, Little Donkey also has some southern items like fried chicken. Their “famous fried chicken” item was honored earlier this year as one of the best in America by Thrillist.

Chronic Tacos – 96

IMG 6166 Little Donkey, Johnny's, Topgolf among restaurants receiving 95 and above inspection scores in November
Two customers share their love for tacos at Chronic Tacos. Photo by Anne Holmes.

One of only two Chronic Tacos franchises in Alabama, the Vestavia Hills eatery opened last year at the Patchwork Farms Retail Center. Popular in California, Chronic Tacos promotes  healthy menu items with all-natural meats and numerous vegetarian options .

Hero Donuts – 96

Homewood
Hero Donuts diverse brand of donuts – photo by Pat Byington, Bham Now

Everyone loves Hero Donuts!  The popular Homewood donut shop  across from Homewood Central Park started out as a pop-up at Pepper Place, and now has its own store adjacent to Nabeels.

Once again, visit Jefferson County Department of Health’s Food Service website for the latest scores.  These food service inspections are invaluable and help keep us all safe. It is our “right to know.”

Pat Byington
Pat Byington

Longtime conservationist. Former Executive Director at the Alabama Environmental Council and Wild South. Publisher of the Bama Environmental News for more than 18 years. Career highlights include playing an active role in the creation of Alabama's Forever Wild program, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Dugger Mountain Wilderness, preservation of special places throughout the East through the Wilderness Society and the strengthening (making more stringent) the state of Alabama's cancer risk and mercury standards.

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