CombatCritic's "TravelValue"

Monday, December 10, 2057

Countries Visited ... So Far ... 41 And Counting!

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List (Alphabetical)

Bahrain – Kingdom of Bahrain

Belgium – Kingdom of Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria – Republic of Bulgaria

Canada

Croatia – Republic of Croatia

Czech Republic

Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat/Grønland)

France – French Republic

Germany – Federal Republic of Germany

Greece – Hellenic Republic
Holy See

Hungary

India – Republic of India

Ireland
Israel

Italy – Italian Republic

Jamaica

Japan

Korea, South – Republic of Korea

Luxembourg – Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Macedonia – Republic of Macedonia

Malta – Republic of Malta

Mexico – United Mexican States

Micronesia – Federated States of Micronesia

Monaco – Principality of Monaco

Montenegro

Netherlands

Palau – Republic of Palau

Palestine - State of Palestine
Portugal – Portuguese Republic

San Marino – Republic of San Marino

Saudi Arabia – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Slovenia – Republic of Slovenia

Spain – Kingdom of Spain

Switzerland – Swiss Confederation

Tunisia – Republic of Tunisia

Turkey – Republic of Turkey

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United States – United States of America

- Guam

- Puerto Rico

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

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Title: Countries Visited ... So Far ... 41 And Counting!

Key Words: countries, country, nation, capitol, Google Maps, Google, map, maps, city, state, world, earth, visit, visited, traveler, 44, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, Yelp

Sunday, December 10, 2056

Why Should You Read My Reviews And Subscribe To TravelValue?

I served my country in the United States Air Force for over 20 years and have visited 44 countries over the last 35 years, all without spending over $75 per night for a nice hotel room and dining in excellent restaurants for well under $25 per person. How do I do it? Through diligent research, exploration, trial and error, and tapping local knowledge.

Would you like to stay in a central, 3-star hotel in a major city for under $20 per night? How about a room with a balcony and view of the Himalayas while attending teachings with the Dalai Lama for just $5 per night? Or a beachfront hotel for $13 per night? Maybe a meal prepared by a 5-star chef for less than $20? Well, you have come to the right place ...

CombatCritic's "TravelValue"

Having several popular travel blogs CombatCritic.com and received numerous accolades from several of the top travel and restaurant websites/apps (Yelp, TripAvisor, Zomato, Tabelog, Booking.com), you can trust my opinions.

Unlike many reviewers who are either afraid to tell the truth or have personal relationship with businesses and biased views, I reserve 5-stars (10 Bombs on my blog) for only the most flawless restaurants, accommodations, businesses, attractions and destinations, those where you absolutely and without a doubt get the most “bang-for-the-buck”.

CombatCritic.com

I try to remain as objective as possible in all of my reviews, providing the pros and cons as I see them and a rating based on the overall “value” as compared to similar entities in similar locations. I accept no "freebies" and only identify myself as a critic after having been a customer and paid the bill, so you can trust my reviews.

Here is a breakdown of my ratings both on my blogs (where I use a ten point scale) and on travel and dining websites (that all use 5 point Likert-type scales) ...

If I hate a place, they get 1-2 Bombs (1-star)

If so-so with numerous”issues", they get 3-4 Bombs (2-stars)

If average (the vast majority of businesses fall into this category if you look at the distribution of my ratings), they get 5-6 Bombs (3-stars)

If above average, they get 7-8 Bombs (4-stars)

If they are one of the very rare “best of the best” values in my experience, they get 9-10 Bombs (5-stars – I always round up from bombs to stars because I use a 10 point Likert-type scale in order to be more discernible).

Now that you understand my philosophy and ratings, on to my reviews …

CombatCritic

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Title: Why Should You Read My Reviews And Subscribe To My Blog?

Key Words: combatcritic, travelvalue, travel, value, combat, critic, review, reviews, objective, restaurant, hotel, attraction, destination, Italy, USA, India, Asia, Europe

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Olhão, Portugal: No Bull, El Torito Is Not Bad, But Overpriced ... Ay Caramba!

El Torito

Avenida 5 de Outubro 156

8700-304 Olhão, Portugal

Phone: 289 704 343

GrupoSabores.pt/ElTorito

€€€€ Mexican restaurant

Not bad. I was expecting much worse because I have seen few Mexican restaurants outside the American Southwest with authentic Mexican food. This barely approximates 'authentic', but I will not judge them by rigorous US standards.

The chips and salsa €2.95 appeared without being told we would be charged for them, but they also appeared house-made and were pretty darn good. I was expecting Doritos and the over-sweet El Paso salsa you can buy in stores here, so it was a decent start.

As abundant as avocados are in the Algarve, I wanted to try their Guacamole €3.50 and it was passable with diced onions and tomatoes, but no cilantro that I could taste and not enough garlic or salt. We also ordered the Rolled Tacos €4.50, deep fried flour tortillas filled with beef and topped with a creamy sweet sauce that I could have done without ... MEH!

My wife loved her Cheese Quesadilla €6.95 because it was stuffed with melted cheese, but how can you screw up a cheese quesadilla, right? I had the Tacos Chipotle €14, quite pricey for three small tacos filled with what seemed like stewed beef, not steak as I was told, cheese, which I could not find, and chipotle sauce, accompanied by a heap of pico de gallo and a smattering of Spanish rice and a tablespoonful of refried beans.

The Margaritas €5 tasted quite good, but I could not taste any tequila or other spirits and the buzz was MIA. For another €2, I could have gotten a pitcher, so, do that, it is a much better deal for their virgin margaritas.

CombatCritic Generously Gives El Torito 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Five Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

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Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Moncarpacho, Olhão, Portugal: Antonio, Antonio, Wherefore Art Thou Antonio

Restaurante Antonio

Avenida Lizarda Palermo,124

8700-081 Olhão, Portugal

+351 939 163 759

Website: Restaurante-Antonio (English)

Prices: €€€€

Many people I know had been raving about Restaurante Antonio, a 15 minute drive from our home in tiny Moncarpacho: 'they just remodeled and it is gorgeous'; 'the menu is so eclectic'; 'the food is wonderful'; 'I love Antonio and their patio is so nice'; etcetera; etcetera; etcetera, so we decided to give them a try.

When we arrived for our reservation, I was a bit surprised that the patio I heard was so nice took up half of the sidewalk and several parking spots on the avenida. Yes, it is tastefully done, a nice wooden structure with lighting and a cover, but cars, vans and trucks pass by on the street just inches from diners. Not very romantic.

We started with the obligatory couvert (cover), including bread, butter, and olives (€3.10) as well as the homemade cheese (€2) and a bottle of their house red, Penedo Gordo Tinto €9. Good start!

For our starters, my wife had the Goat Cheese with Honey and Walnuts (€6.25) and I ordered the Vegetarian Samosas (€4.75) so we could share. My wife enjoyed the goat cheese, which was tastefully presented, but I had one bite and decided the cheese was too pungent for me. The samosas were a bit greasy, lacking taste, and came with no dipping sauce. They were both gone in three bites ... chomp, chomp, chomp.

For entrees, we had the Mushroom Pie (€9.50) and the Filet Steak with Mushroom Sauce (€19.50). The 'mushroom' pie looked nice enough, but when my wife cut into it, there was nary a mushroom to be found ... ZERO mushrooms! I cut into my medium-well filet, having explained that 'pink in the middle and no blood in the sauce' was the goal, but it was NOT at all medium-well, but closer to medium rare, so I sent it back. We also asked why the mushroom pie had no mushrooms and the server, who was very nice and did a wonderful job by the way, told us that it was actually a vegetable pie and that she had not noticed the English translation error. When my steak came back, the same piece of meat, apparently washed off and cooked a bit longer, was still pretty red when I cut into it, but the rest of the steak was now overcooked, completely grey inside. Se la vie.

We shared a Lemon Tart (€3.75) for dessert, probably the best tasting course we had as well as a decent value.

In all, I have to say that we were a bit disappointed. Maybe it was because of all the hype, maybe my expectations were too high, an impossible bar to reach. The ambience was lacking, the food nothing stellar, the prices quite high when taste and portion size were taken into account, and the 'mushroom' pie and 'medium-well' filet left a bad taste in our mouths. At €60.35 ($70.45), I have to say that we have had better meals within walking distance from our home for half the price, so Antonio was not a great TravelValue in my opinion.