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

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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 …

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Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

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Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie

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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

Monday, May 3, 2021

Olhão, Portugal: Sandy Clams, Raw Beef, and High Prices Left Me Very Disappointed

Restaurante Mósse

R. Teófilo Braga, 75

8700-402 Olhão, Portugal

Phone: +351 928 022 512

Website: N/A

Prices: €€€€

I was very surprised when my wife told me that she and some friends were going to a French restaurant in Olhão for lunch in a few weeks, so we thought we would go there for our first post-lockdown meal.

Restaurante Mósse is a ten minute walk from our home in the back streets of Olhão's Old Town, surrounded by Moorish architecture and cobblestone streets, and just a two to three minute walk from the Ria Formosa and Ohlão's restaurant row.

A very nice interior, but the chairs are old and worn, a dichotomy of eras. Francisco, our waiter, was very nice and attentive, speaking decent English. I had a glass of Dao (red/tinto - €3.50), being the best deal on the menu by far and we ordered a large bottle of still water (€2.50) because they had sparkling water only in small bottles.

We ordered a cheese platter (€6.50), bread and olives (€3.00) as a starter. The bread was OK, nothing special, but the olives were great and cheese was good although a bit skimpy for the price. Escargot was not an option as the menu appeared to be far more Portuguese than French.

My wife decided on the Clams in White Wine, Garlic and Coriander ('Bulhâo Pato' - €13/large order) for her main course. There was probably less than €2 worth of ingredients - a few dozen razor clams, a little wine and coriander, and a s**tload of garlic - but the dish was tasty even though there was more than a little sand still in the under-washed clams. Surprisingly, the clams did not come with a side of french fries, like traditional French moules frites (mussels and fries) would have, too bad. Some crusty bread to sop-up the excess sauce would have been a definite plus, but it was not to be.

The closest thing to French cuisine were the sirloin steaks with a variety of potential sauces (mushroom, garlic, pepper, black beer, and spices with tomato chutney). I had the Sirloin Steak with Mushroom Sauce, ordered medium/medium well ('just a little pink in the middle, not bloody', I told Francisco - €18). However, after the first bite, it was obvious that the meat was not only undercooked, it was barely cooked and nearly raw. The sauce was delicious, but the fries, yes, my entree came with fries, were soggy with oil and hardly salted. It took us 10-15 minutes to get Francisco's attention as he paid strict attention to a few new guests and when we showed him the raw meat, he went to the kitchen for a word with the cook.

The only other highlight of the meal was the dessert, a Portuguese Coffee Cake (€4) that was delicious, very similar to tiramisu except the layers were much thinner and separated by a thin, crispy pastry, yum!

When I asked for the check, he returned and told me that if we wanted the €18 price (still on the bill) adjusted for the steak problem, we would have to talk to the owner at the cash register, rather odd, but that is what I did. The owner asked 'how much of the steak did you eat', after telling her about the problem, as if she was going to adjust the price by 50% had we eaten half, but when I showed her the photos of an almost whole steak bright red throughout, she decided to remove the entire charge. Good move.

I had high hopes, but between the sandy clams, relatively high prices, so-so bread, and uncooked steak, I, in good conscience, cannot rate this restaurant any higher than I have. I know very well that this and millions of other restaurants and businesses have had a horrendous year and I sympathize with their plight, but when you have a cook that has no idea what he is doing, you might be better off keeping the doors shut until you find one who is not going to break teeth and cause diseases from Salmonellas, Escherichia coli, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes bacterias in undercooked beef.

CombatCritic Gives Restaurante Mósse 3 Bombs Out of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Three Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up"

Menu

Sunday, April 11, 2021

It's More Than Just A Spa, It's A Dog Spa!

Dog Spa-Centro Canino do Monte Escrivao

Monte Escrivão, 401A 8700-178 Olhão, Portugal

Phone: +351 289 705 471

dogspa.com.pt

Prices: €€€€

Manuel, Sandra, and Monica are all wonderful and the facility is top-notch. The animals have lots of room to run and play or be trained on their extensive obstacle course. We trust DogSpa 100% with our dog Kemper and their rates are very fair.

He attends the day spa twice a week, loves it, and comes home a happy Kemper, I mean camper. They even pick him up and drop him off at our home in Olhão.

Manuel has extensive training and experience working with animals, having worked with police dogs on the east coast of the United States. If you have a new puppy or a dog with behavior problems, he is the one you need to help.

We highly recommend DogSpa for training, day spa. boarding, and other pet related services.

CombatCritic Gives DogSpa 10 Bombs Out Of 10 And A Spot On My 'WALL OF FAME' ... More Bombs Are Better!

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

Saturday, April 10, 2021

Hostal Macavi: Inexpensive, Clean, Comfortable And Friendly, Unlike Hostal Playa Candor Down The Street

Hostal Macavi

C/ Écija,11

11520 Rota (Cádiz), Spain

Phone: + 34 956 81 33 36

Website: hostalmacavi.es

Prices: €€€€

I had a reservation through Booking.com at Hostal Playa Candor in Rota, but I finally gave up waiting for a closed hostel to open, having a medical appointment at Naval Air Station Rota early the next morning. Upon arrival, the hostel was dark with no sign of life and nobody answered their phone, but I was lucky enough to find a hostel just down the street, Hostal Macavi, which was obviously open and where I was given a very nice room. They were also very nice, professional, and kind, unlike Hostal Playa Candor.

Hostal Playa Candor - Dark & Deserted Upon Arrival For My Booking.com Reservation And Their Phone Rang Off the Hook When I Tried to Call!

I was greeted by the owner, Vicente, at the door of Hostal Macavi at 22:00, arriving without a reservation and was told they had rooms available for just €30 ($36) for the night.

His English was good enough and better than my Spanish, so communication was not a problem. Vicente told me where I could park and even came outside on a chilly, windy night to ensure I found a legal place to secure my car for the night.

I took the elevator to the 1st floor and when I saw the room, I was very pleasantly surprised for the price I paid. Large and simply, but tastefully decorated with a full size bed, a chair and table, closet, clean linens, a nice, big bathroom and a 42" TV mounted on the wall. They had Wi-Fi, but the signal was so weak, I could not connect. No bother as I had to get to sleep and get up early for my medical appointment early the next morning.

I slept like a log on the comfortable bed with no noise all night, took a shower in the huge enclosure, got dressed and went downstairs for a hot cup of coffee before departing.

Carlos cheerfully greeted me and we chatted for 45 minutes while I drank my coffee. His English was very good, having lived in the USA and England for many years. When it was time to go, he said 'that will be €1', a fair price for a double shot Americano with milk and sugar in an American size coffee mug ... HOOAH!

CombatCritic Gives Hostal Macavi 10 Bombs Out Of 10 And A Spot On My 'WALL OF FAME' ... More Bombs Are Better!