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Faro, Portugal; Great Expectations, Oustanding View, But A Disappointing Breakfast Buffet

Harune Restaurant - AP EVA SENSES HOTEL Av. da República, 1  8000-078 Faro, Algarve, Portugal  Phone: +351 289 540 100 Email: book.eva@ap-ho...

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Yelp ROTD (Portland Review of the Day - 12/30/2018)

Yelp Review of the Day - December 30th, 2018:

Portland Saturday Market
2 SW Naito Pkwy
Portland, OR 97204
Southwest Portland
Phone number (971) 252-1866
Website: portlandsaturdaymarket.com
Prices: $$$$

Adjacent to and under the Burnside Bridge in downtown Portland, the market extends west across Pacific Hwy. Food stalls, arts and crafts, clothing and hats, musical instruments, jewelry ... you name it and it can be found at the Portland Saturday (and Sunday) Market.



You can find reasonably-priced parking in nearby public lots on the weekend or take either the Red or Blue Line to the nearby Skidmore Fountain MAX Station. Start under the Burnside Bridge next to the Willamette River and work your way south, then west across Pacific Hwy, ending your journey at Portland's legendary Voodoo Doughnuts to pick up a dozen of their unique and tasty treats to take home with you. Do not forget to take a photo at Voodoo Doughnuts and immediately across the street in front of the "Keep Portland Weird" wall mural.





Open every weekend from March through Christmas Eve, the market is open Saturdays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sundays from 11:00 am to 4:30 pm. Not much of a shopper myself, I simply enjoy people watching and sampling some of the eclectic food offerings both in the market and at neighborhood eateries. 



Enjoy a couple of hours meandering through the 252 booths, sit and soak in the sun, watching the seagulls along the Willamette River, or shop to your heart's content. What more can you ask for?

Yelp (Portland) Review Of The Day (Dec 30, 2018)


CombatCritic Gives Portland Saturday Market 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
Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "GOLD" ELITE '14/'15/'16/'17/'18 
  • 650,000+ Views A Year
Read Chris S.'s review of Portland Saturday Market on Yelp

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"


Zomato - #1 Ranked "VERIFIED" CONNOISSEUR (13) - Over  4 Million Review And Photo Views ... And Counting #1 Reviewer in Portland, Oregon!
Booking.com - Frequent Traveler "Genius"

Google Maps - "Top Photographer" With Over 1 Million Views!

View my food journey on Zomato!




View my food journey on Zomato!

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube and our sister channel, CombatCounselor Chronicleswith Over 1,250 Subscribers and 1,000,000 Video Views ... HOOAH!

Title: Portland, OR: Enjoy Your Sunday At The Portland Saturday Market

Key Words: Portland, Oregon, Sunday, Portland Saturday Market, Saturday, market, downtown, Voodoo Doughnuts, voodoo, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu,  destination, review, Yelp, Zomato, ROTD

Copyright 2018 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved

Montecalvo-Irpino, Italy: Abbiamo Mangiato Molto Bene e Pagato Poco (We Ate Very Well And Paid Very Little)

La Cantina di Baffone
Contrada Palombaro
Montecalvo, Irpino
Province of Avellino, Campania, Italy
Phone: +39-334-182-5144
Prices: €€€€

An agriturismo in my paternal grandfather's hometown, we discovered La Cantina di Baffone a few years back and I have never gone for a visit without at least one meal there. Just down the hill from downtown Montecalvo, a small, hillside town 60 miles east of Naples, the restaurant seems to be far from civilization in a relaxed and peaceful setting surrounded by olive and cherry orchards ... AHHHHHHH!

Owned by the lovely and very kind Daniela Racioppi, who does most of the interacting with guests, she greeted me warmly as usual and quickly gave us the menus. Knowing the menu very well, we quickly ordered some mineral water and a liter of the local red wine for the four of us as well as some bruschetta (€1.50/$1.75 - FYI: the "ch" in Italian is pronounced like our "k', so it is pronounced brew-sket-ah, not brew-shet-a) and a Caprese salad (€5/$5.75). The bruschetta was delish and the Caprese salad was bigger and better than most places that charge between €7/$8 and €12/$13.75.


Having been born about 15 miles away, my grandmother's cooking was very similar to the dishes found in this region, so I always feel right at home here. None of the pizzas are over €5 ($5.75) and they are the cheapest I have seen in recent memory, here or in Naples, and the most expensive thing on the menu is just €7 ($8). Naples is chock full of fabulous pizzerias, so my focus on this occasion was on the cucina tipica (local cuisine), Montecalvese in this case. 

For our first courses (primi), my cousin Gino, nephew Francesco and I all had the Cicatielli e Broccoli (€5/$5.75). Cicatielli (dialect) is a local pasta that is known as Cavatelli in other parts of Italy. With just the right amount of perfectly cooked pasta, the broccoli leaves were not overwhelmed by the light, olive oil sauce holding the pasta together. Top it with some grated Parmigiano Reggiano and you have a delicious pasta dish that would easily cost two to three times the price elsewhere.
As they say, "great minds think alike", so the three of us also ordered the Patane e Pupini (€5) for our secondi (second dish), a traditional combination of roasted sweet sausage, chunks of stewed beef, red and green bell peppers, and potatoes. My grandma used to make this and it was one of my dad's favorite dishes, and Da Baffone always does an excellent job in their preparation. Along with some local bread, I had to "fare la scarpetta" (to do the little shoe) with the leftover sauce, using a small piece of local bread to mop up the wonderful juices I could not possibly have left behind. My Italian-born wife always tells me that it is frowned upon in public, but I could not resist.

Thoroughly stuffed, I had no room for dessert, but Gino and Francesco order the cheesecake (€2.50), a house specialty, one drizzled with caramel and the other a fresh fruit sauce with strawberry, raspberry, and cherry from trees in the adjacent grove. The graham cracker crust was perfect and the filling as good as any stateside restaurant, a dessert easily fetching twice the price at most places.
Cantina di Baffone is a rarity and a place you can only find only off the beaten track in a place only locals know. The prices are ridiculously cheap, the portions big, and the food incredible. For a party of four, we ate extremely well for €15 per person, including drinks, making this restaurant an exceptional value. We only see my relatives once every year or two, but the next time we are in Montecalvo we will return to Cantina di Baffone for another inexpensive and delicious meal.

CombatCritic Gives Cantina di Baffone 10 Out Of 10 Bombs ... TravelValue Does Not Get Any Better Than This Folks ... 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
Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "GOLD" ELITE '14/'15/'16/'17/'18 
  • 650,000+ Views A Year
Read Chris S.'s review of La Cantina di Baffone on Yelp

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"


Zomato - #1 Ranked "VERIFIED" CONNOISSEUR (13) - Over  4 Million Review And Photo Views ... And Counting #1 Reviewer in Portland, Oregon!
Booking.com - Frequent Traveler "Genius"

Google Maps - "Top Photographer" With Over 3 Million Views!

View my food journey on Zomato!

View my food journey on Zomato!

View my food journey on Zomato!

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube and our sister channel, CombatCounselor Chronicleswith Over 1,250 Subscribers and 1,000,000 Video Views ... HOOAH!

Title: 


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Title: Montecalvo-Irpino, Italy: Abbiamo Mangiato Molto Bene e Pagato Poco (We Ate Very Well And Paid Very Little)

Key Words: La Cantina di Baffone, cantina, baffone, Contrada, Palombaro, Montecalvo, Irpino, Avellino, Campania, agriturismo, restaurant, Italian, Italy, review, menu, CombatCritic, travel, value, Yelp

Copyright 2018 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Ariano-Irpino, Italy: This Place is Fruity, But In A Very Good Way

Il Frutteto
Via Russo Maddalena 10
83031 Ariano Irpino, Italy
Phone number +39 342 5843685
Facebook: Il Frutteto
Prices: €€€€

My aunt and uncle (zia e zio) live in Ariano, Irpino not too far from Il Frutteto. I went to visit them and my cousins (cugini) in Montecalvo, Irpino, my paternal grandfather's hometown, between Christmas and New Years, and we stopped here for lunch on our way from Naples (Napoli) to Montecalvo.

Il Frutteto means "the fruit orchard" in Italian and the owner, a friend of my cousin Gino, opened this huge bar two years ago after owning a fruit and vegetable shop elsewhere in Ariano for many years. In addition to fruit, vegetables and groceries, they have a coffee bar with coffees, teas and pastries, a deli with meats and cheeses, and a tavola caldo (hot table) with an assortment of home cooked lunch options available at very reasonable prices.



We started with a primo (first dish) of hand made cicatelli, local dialect for cavatelli, with fresh tomatoes ... BUONISSIMO! For our secondi (second course) my nephew Francesco had a cotoletta Milanese (breaded veal cutlet), my cousin Gino the baccala, salted codfish also prepared with fresh tomatoes, while I kept it light with a small portion of zuppa di fagioli e scarole (ricetta campana - an escarole and bean soup my grandmother, also from the nearby small town of Trevico, used to make me as a child) and friarielli montecalvese (a long, green pepper roasted in olive oil - different than "friarielli" in Naples which is what they call broccoli rabe sautéed in olive oil). Everything was fresh and made in-house, a delicious meal, including a glass of wine and espresso, for just €30 ($34.30). Abbiamo mangiato bene e pagato poco (we ate very well and paid little) ... HOOAH!







I also bought a jar of crema al limone (lemon cream) for my wife, a relative bargain at €4.60 ($5.25), to take back to Naples as she was unable to accompany me on this trip.

CombatCritic Gives Il Frutteto 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
Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "GOLD" ELITE '14/'15/'16/'17/'18 
  • 650,000+ Views A Yea
Read Chris S.'s review of Il Frutteto on Yelp

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"


Zomato - #1 Ranked "VERIFIED" CONNOISSEUR (13) - Over  4 Million Review And Photo Views ... And Counting #1 Reviewer in Portland, Oregon!
Booking.com - Frequent Traveler "Genius"

Google Maps - "Top Photographer" With Over 3 Million Views!

View my food journey on Zomato!

View my food journey on Zomato!

View my food journey on Zomato!

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube and our sister channel, CombatCounselor Chronicleswith Over 1,250 Subscribers and 1,000,000 Video Views ... HOOAH!

Title: Ariano-Irpino, Italy: This Place is Fruity, But In A Very Good Way

Key Words: Il Frutteto, frutteto, orchard, fruit, lunch, Ariano, Irpino, Italy, market, coffee, bar, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Facebook

Copyright 2018 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved

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