CombatCritic's TravelValue™: Another Yelp "Review of the Day" (ROTD) For CombatCritic ... HOOAH!

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!

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Another Yelp "Review of the Day" (ROTD) For CombatCritic ... HOOAH!

Portland Yelp ROTD for 10/23/2019

SOLID. No BS here like I had at a place in downtown Washougal recently, Shelby's has fresh, hot food (not frozen); excellent and friendly service; and fair prices. What more can you ask for?

It was chow time, so we headed to Shelby's for the first time and I am not quite sure why we waited so long because I had heard good things about them. The decor is simple and nostalgic with tasteful maple wainscoting and knick-knacks adorning the walls. Best of all, it was very clean! We were met with a smile and a welcome, then taken immediately to a booth in the main dining room (the pub-style lounge was also an option).

I asked about happy hour and was told that it was from 2-5pm daily in the lounge, so we were a bit late anyway. Their happy hour food menu looked appealing with a few real bargains like a hamburger or BBQ sandwich for $7 or street tacos for $3 a piece. I was a bit dismayed by their happy hour drink discounts with just 50¢ off of wells ($8-$11), wine ($9), and beer ($6). Their drinks are not particularly cheap, so a food deal is definitely in order.

My wife got the Mushroom and Havarti Burger ($13) with grilled mushrooms, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato and garlic mayo, coming with a large side o' fries, a relative bargain in this town ... HOOAH! Her meal was hot, obviously freshly made, and very tasty. The meat looked fresh and the Havarti was real cheese, not the processed cheese-like squares some places serve their customers.

I had a hankerin' for some BBQ, so I asked for the Brisket Plate ($14.50) with 6 ounces of brisket so tender and juicy that you could cut it with a fork, choice of two sides (fries, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, hush puppies, brussel sprouts and bacon, etc. - I had the fries and hush puppies), choice of BBQ sauce, and cornbread and butter. The brisket was scrummy, perfectly cooked and seasoned, and the fries were cut in house and hot and crispy, just like I like them. The brisket rivaled some of the best BBQ I had during our 11 years living in Kansas City, a city where you can find some of the best BBQ in the world. The hush puppies were also very good, crispy outside and soft and moist inside although I could taste neither the bacon nor the jalapeños purportedly contained therein.

The only negatives were minor ones: the temperature inside (could have been 4-5 degrees cooler); the minuscule happy hour drink discount; and the honey for the cornbread we were promised, but which never quite materialized. Those minor infractions were the only things separating this review from a perfect rating, a rating I do not routinely hand out as readily as many other reviewers do. So there ya have it ... good grub!

CombatCritic Gives Shelby's Grille 8 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!