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:

Yelp - "GOLD" Elite '14/'15/'16/'17/'18/'19 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over 1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

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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Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "Gold" Elite '14/'15/'16 /'17 / '18

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

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

Monday, February 17, 2020

Santa Luzia, Portugal: This Tavern On The Sea Is A MUST SEE If Near Tavira

A Tasquinha do Bruno
Rua Marechal Gomes da Costa, 5
Santa Luzia, Tavira
Phone number: 918876304
Hours: 07:00 – 24:00 Monday - Saturday
Prices: € € € € (Cash Only)

Holy crap Bartman, it does not get much better than this!

Recommended by our Dutch pro, Bart ... aaargh, at nearby Benamor Golf Club, I stopped in to check out Tasquinha do Bruno and was blown away! First they brought me a basket of fresh bread along with a shot glass filled with EVO, garlic, and a sprig of fresh rosemary as well as some marinated local olives and sliced carrot. Off to a great start. I then ordered two glasses, in succession, of delightful, local vinho tinto (red wine - 2.50), roasted chili peppers to die for and just like my Zia Gina in Italy makes (3.00), and a combo I had never envisioned, fresh, sliced mozzarella topped with a mild, warm, orange curry sauce (6.00).

This tiny place sits on a corner in the main square of Santa Luzia, a fishing village famous for their polpo (octopus), and is rustic and quaint on the inside with just five or six tables and a couple of stools to belly-up to the bar.

The staff could not have been nicer. The gentleman, who I assumed was Bruno, answered my questions about their wines and tapas in excellent English while the chef, likely his wife, prepared my delicious food. Finally, a sweet boy named Samuel, probably their son, grilled me on which of the 50 US states he should visit, listing every one in succession.

I had a wonderful evening, chatting with a Dutch tourist named Annika and savoring every bite and swallow of the tasty tapas and wine that were delivered to my table ... HOOAH!

CombatCritic Gives A Tasquinha do Bruno A Perfect 10 Bombs Out Of 10 And A Spot On My WALL OF FAME ... This Place Is The Bomb!

PS - I shall return often and update my review as I do as Bruno is just down the street from my apartment.

Ten Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians:

HOOAH!: "Phonetic spelling of the acronym HUA, which stands for 'Heard Understood Acknowledged.' Originally used by the British in the late 1800's in Afghanistan. More recently adopted by the United States Army to indicate an affirmative or a pleased response." - Urban Dictionary

"The Department of Military Science and Leadership, University of Tennessee claim HOOAH 'refers to or means anything except no' ... Regardless of its meaning ... the term is an expression of high morale, confidence, motivation and spirit." - WarChronicle.com

"The U.S. Air Force stole 'HOOAH' from the Army because we were part of the Army until 1947 and rather than waste a bunch of time coming up with something new and unique like "ROO-YAH" or "HAL-A-LOO-YAH", we said 'screw it, let's go with HOOAH' ... thanks Army ... HOOAH!" - CombatCritic

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Washougal, WA: Get With The Times And Check Out This Happy Hour

Washougal Times

1826 E Street

Washougal, WA 98671

Website: washougaltimes.com

Phone number: (360) 835-2488

Prices: $$$$

After my fiasco at another local brew pub, I was bit hesitant to try another fairly new burger, steak, and mac & cheese place, but I am glad I did. Occupying the same building as the old Heller's, they have updated the floors and decor to a certain extent, but it is still a bit "no frills" and lacking warmth.

We went for dinner, but after looking at the Happy Hour menu, we decided to order from it instead of the "All Day" or "Supper" menus. The all day menu has a large variety of choices with low-moderate prices, but the supper menu is very limited with meals (entree, soup or salad, potato and vegetable) running from $17 to $28. The meatloaf supper is $22, seemingly a tad high for such a simple dish.

The server looked at me patiently while I asked a few questions about the menu, but her service was top notch and she did not attack me for taking photos of our food and surrounds like their nearby rival's owner did.

I had the Burger and Beer ($8), selecting a 16 ounce IPA and adding pepper jack cheese (50¢) and bacon ($1.00) to my burger. The burger could have been bigger (1/3 pound or 5.33 ounces), but what can you expect from a $3.50 burger? The burger is just $8.50 on their all day menu which is still a relative bargain. The bacon was crispy, yet chewy just the way I like it and the bun was fresh and tasty. I also ordered a large side of fries ($3) with StoneJax seasoning ($1) and they were crispy and hot.

The War Department ordered two sliders ($3 each), one meatloaf with BBQ sauce and an onion ring on fresh ciabatta and the other a pork medallion and Gruyere cheese on a crispy, delicious focaccia. The bartender told us that they just switched bakeries recently, a wise choice in my opinion. She also got a pile o' tater tots ($3) which were also crispy and piping hot ... HOOAH!

My wife and I ate quite well, having devoured a bacon cheeseburger and fries, two sliders and an order of tots, and two IPAs for just $29 plus tip, about the same price as the lousy, frozen cheeseburger and fries, and a beer I had while on my own at their competitor's horrid restaurant. No competition folks, Washougal Times is the better of the two by a long shot (read my 7/10/2019 Yelp review if interested). We will be back for a full meal one day soon, so expect an update!

CombatCritic Gives Washougal Times 8 Bombs Out Of 10 For Their Happy Hour Menu ... More Bombs Are Better!

Eight Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "What-The-Fuck ... Over!"

Calabasas, CA: NBA Superstar and LA Lakers Great Kobe Bryant Dead At The Age Of 41 (January 26th, 2020)

Most people will remember Kobe as the magnificent athlete who inspired a whole generation of basketball players. But I will always remember him as a man who was much more than an athlete. pic.twitter.com/9EZuwk8wrV
— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) January 26, 2020

https://www.cnn.com/videos/sports/2020/01/26/kobe-bryant-death-kareem-abdul-jabbar-nr-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/kobe-bryant-dies-in-helicopter-crash/

Title: Calabasas, CA: NBA Superstar and LA Lakers Great Kobe Bryant Dead At The Age Of 41 (January 26th, 2020)

Key Words: basketball, bryant, CA, Calabasa, crash, dead, death, hall of fame, helicopter, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, killed, kobe, kobe bryant, la, LA LAkers, Lakers, national, NBA, superstar, tribute,

Monday, January 20, 2020

Gresham, Oregon: Not A Lot Of Luck, But A Decent Meal At La Herradura

La Herradura Mexican Restaurant

90 NE Division Street

Gresham, OR 97030

LaHerradura.com

Phone number: (503) 491-1650

Prices: $$$$

My buddy took me to La Herradura (the horseshoe) and it was pretty good, but I have had better and less expensive Mexican meals at many other restaurants in this and numerous other cities. Portland Mexican restaurants, like their Italian brethren, are, unfortunately, mediocre at best and this horseshoe was not exactly what I would call lucky.

First off, we had to pay for chips and salsa ($2.50), which were OK, coming with a small cup of mild green salsa and a similar size cup of bean dip. For the price ($4.95), the equally small cup of guacamole we ordered was not particularly a bargain, but it was decent. So far, so average.

My Tacos - Excuse The Crappy Photos, But My Samsung S7 Went Tits-Up

I had recently been through a rather traumatic experience and the purpose of our lunch was to talk about what had been going on and how I was doing. The place was relatively empty, but the server kept coming to our table, asking me if I was ready to order every 3-4 minutes, interrupting our rather sensitive conversation on each occasion. She eventually tried to sway me toward the lunch specials, which I had seen on the way in and was not particularly thrilled about. Finally, I had to quickly peruse the menu and out of frustration, went with my mainstays, two Carne Asada Street Tacos ($1.60 ea) and two Cheese and Onion Enchiladas (ala carte - $2.50 ea). Each taco came on two tiny little corn tortillas with a small amount of chopped, grilled steak, along with some diced white onion and cilantro. They were adequate, but I get much more meat on two larger corn tortillas at my local taqueria for just $1.50 a piece. The enchiladas were pretty good with lots of cheese and red chili sauce, but the onions were inexplicably missing.

Enchiladas - My Samsung S7 Went Tits-Up, So I Bought A Cheap Replacement Until The 5G Phones Come Out Later This Year

My high school pal had a better experience, having ordered the Chili Relleno Lunch Special ($8.95), which looked delicious and, according to him, it was. The chili was massive, stuffed with gooey cheese and surrounded by a fluffy egg omelette, coming with rice and beans and not a bad deal.

All in all, not bad and not great, but lunch for $30, including tip, with only water to drink seems a bit pricey for the meal we had. The service was efficient and friendly enough, but the nearly constant interruptions and the pressure to order our meals was a bit disconcerting.

CombatCritic Gives La Herradura 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Five Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

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