CombatCritic's TravelValue™: April 2018

CombatCritic™ ... World traveler - 42 countries and counting; Military Leader - Four combat operations; Amateur chef; Published author and producer - over 4 million visitors on seven platforms! Yelp "Black" Elite '14/'15/ '16/ '17/ '18/ '19 / '20/ '21/ '22 / '23 / '24; TripAdvisor ¨Local Guide¨, Zomato "VERIFIED CONNOISSEUR"; Booking.com "GENIUS"; and Foursquare "INSIDER". On the Front Lines in the Battle Against Mediocrity - Follow Me To TravelValue™ ... That's A Freakin' Order!

Friday, April 20, 2018

Long Beach, WA: Now I Know Where Cape “Disappointment” Got Its Name

Lost Roo

1700 Pacific Avenue South

Long Beach, WA 98631

Phone number: (360) 642-4329

Website: lostroo.com

Prices: $$$$

Having spent a few days at Cape Disappointment State Park just 15 minutes up the road, this was one of the few modern, semi-upscale (not a dive) restaurants on the peninsula as far as I could tell. The Lost Roo has an Australian theme complete with a kangaroo in the entry and boomerangs for door handles. The décor is modern with concrete, wood and steel with high, open ceilings.

I ordered the Roos’ Smoked Prime Rib French Dip ($15) and my better half the Mushroom and Swiss Burger ($13) along with two 10 Barrel IPAs ($5 each). The IPAs were good, but they were served in a thin glass (10-12 ounces max), compared to other joints in town where you get a pint (16 ounces) for $5 or less.

The French dip was supposed to come on a “hoagie roll”, but it looked more like a slightly elongated hamburger bun. For $15, it was a bit of a “disappointment”. The flavor was OK and the fries were decent, but I expected something more substantial for that price.

My wife’s burger was simply pitiful for $13, coming with an obviously frozen, pre-formed 4-5 ounce meat patty, a slice of Swiss cheese, and a couple of sautéed mushrooms on a store-bought bun. She had the tots instead of fries and they were straight out of the bag and frozen as well. The burger looked like something you would get a Jack In The Box and the tots were lukewarm … RAALPH!

At these prices, the Lost Roo would do well if they used fresh, handmade 6-8 ounce beef patties, a decent hoagie roll for the dip, and potatoes made in house, not straight out of a bag. Taking everything out of the freezer and throwing it on the grill or in the fryer is what you would expect at Denny’s, not a place as nice as this … WHAT A WASTE!

CombatCritic Gives Lost Roo 4 Bombs Out Of 10 … More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again"

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Vancouver, WA: Two Minutes Late For A Three Minute Pizza And We Were Turned Away!

Pizzeria La Sorrentina
9811 NE15th Avenue
Vancouver, WA 98665
Phone number (360) 980-1651
Website: lasorrentinavw.com
Prices: $$$$

We drove nearly 30 minutes from our home, arriving just two minutes after their 2PM "closing" time due to unexpected traffic. I was hoping to sample their offerings because, having lived in Naples, Italy for three years and being married to an Italian (my wife's family still lives in Naples and we visit quite often), I love authentic pizza Napoletana and was curious to see just how authentic theirs was.

When we arrived, the oven was going strong and the two employees were still there prepping for dinner with the door and window open. We stood there for a minute while the woman looked at us without saying a word, so I finally asked her "Are you closed?" to which she responded only with a "Yes". I was a bit shocked because there was absolutely no reason to turn us away and they did not even bother to tell us why they would not serve us at 2:02 PM.

If this was a sit-down restaurant, I could understand why we would not be served. However, having eaten many pizzas in Naples and attended a "pizzaiolo" (pizza maker) course there this past February, I know that a Neapolitan pizza takes less than 90 seconds to prepare and about 60-90 seconds to bake at 485 degrees Fahrenheit. I understand that they were "officially" closed and may have had things to do, but taking 3 minutes to make a pizza for a customer was, I believe, not too much to expect.

The restaurant business and customer service are all about making customers happy and turning us away so rudely was, in my opinion, uncalled for. Having spent a great deal of time in the business and owned a very successful mobile food operation myself, I would have never turned a customer away in similar circumstances, but that is just me.

After leaving a tip on Yelp regarding my experience, someone (whom I am assuming was the owner or manager) sent me a compliment with a "You're Funny" tag stating:

"I'm not going to serve pizza anyone even 1minutes late. Please come during business sir. Thank you"

With literally millions of readers annually across several platforms, including Yelp and my popular blog, my responsibility to readers is to provide an accurate, honest "opinion" based on my experiences, so I did not appreciate being laughed at ("You're Funny") because I take my responsibilities and commitment to my readers very seriously. A more professional and customer-oriented response would have been much more appropriate in my opinion. For example: "I am very sorry that we had to turn you away, but our employees were busy prepping for dinner and could not take the time to serve you. Please accept our sincere apology and come back to visit us very soon!" would have been a much more appropriate response and they would have likely gained a return customer. Unfortunately, based on our negative experience and the business's insulting responses to my tip, I will not be returning any time soon. Not an unreasonable person, if an apology is forthcoming, I may consider giving them another chance and revising my review/rating.

CombatCritic Gives Pizzeria La Sorrentina 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My "WALL OF SHAME" ... More Bombs Are Better!

One Bomb Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Portland, OR: Can You Say Biscuits And Gravy? Sure Ya Can!

Gateway Breakfast House

11411 NE Halsey Street

Portland, OR 97220

Phone number (503) 256-6280

Website: gatewaybreakfasthouse.com

Prices: $$$$

President Obama ate here in 2012 with a couple of veterans and there is a photo on the wall to prove it. A bit of a dive, the decor could definitely use an HGTV makeover, probably the first since 1985 from the looks of it. Do not expect anything fancy here and you will not be disappointed, just good, abundant, reasonably priced breakfast fare. The place was packed at 1:30PM on a Saturday, having to wait 15 minutes for a table.

My wife had the Pick Three ($7.95), selecting a pancake, French toast and hash browns (other choices: waffle, sausage links, eggs, biscuit and gravy, bacon, toast or English muffin). Plenty o' food for less than $8, she was satiated and content with her choices.

I ordered the Country Breakfast ($11.45), coming with two eggs over-medium, country fried steak (other options: bacon, sausage, ham, burger, pork chop or German sausage), hash browns (pancakes, French toast, waffle, or toast also available) and a biscuit and gravy. The country fried steak was smothered in country gravy and the hash browns plentiful. My only complaint being that the gravy could use a bit more seasoning, otherwise the breakfast was plentiful and tasty with the eggs cooked to perfection.