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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...

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Moncarpacho, Olhão, Portugal: Antonio, Antonio, Wherefore Art Thou Antonio

Restaurante Antonio
Avenida Lizarda Palermo,124 
8700-081 Olhão, Portugal
+351 939 163 759 
Prices: €€€
Many people I know had been raving about Restaurante Antonio, a 15 minute drive from our home in tiny Moncarpacho: 'they just remodeled and it is gorgeous'; 'the menu is so eclectic'; 'the food is wonderful'; 'I love Antonio and their patio is so nice'; etcetera; etcetera; etcetera, so we decided to give them a try.
When we arrived for our reservation, I was a bit surprised that the patio I heard was so nice took up half of the sidewalk and several parking spots on the avenida. Yes, it is tastefully done, a nice wooden structure with lighting and a cover, but cars, vans and trucks pass by on the street just inches from diners. Not very romantic.
We started with the obligatory couvert (cover), including bread, butter, and olives (€3.10) as well as the homemade cheese (€2) and a bottle of their house red, Penedo Gordo Tinto €9. Good start!
For our starters, my wife had the Goat Cheese with Honey and Walnuts (€6.25) and I ordered the Vegetarian Samosas (€4.75) so we could share. My wife enjoyed the goat cheese, which was tastefully presented, but I had one bite and decided the cheese was too pungent for me. The samosas were a bit greasy, lacking taste, and came with no dipping sauce. They were both gone in three bites ... chomp, chomp, chomp.
For entrees, we had the Mushroom Pie (€9.50) and the Filet Steak with Mushroom Sauce (€19.50). The 'mushroom' pie looked nice enough, but when my wife cut into it, there was nary a mushroom to be found ... ZERO mushrooms! I cut into my medium-well filet, having explained that 'pink in the middle and no blood in the sauce' was the goal, but it was NOT at all medium-well, but closer to medium rare, so I sent it back. We also asked why the mushroom pie had no mushrooms and the server, who was very nice and did a wonderful job by the way, told us that it was actually a vegetable pie and that she had not noticed the English translation error. When my steak came back, the same piece of meat, apparently washed off and cooked a bit longer, was still pretty red when I cut into it, but the rest of the steak was now overcooked, completely grey inside. Se la vie.


We shared a Lemon Tart (€3.75) for dessert, probably the best tasting course we had as well as a decent value.

In all, I have to say that we were a bit disappointed. Maybe it was because of all the hype, maybe my expectations were too high, an impossible bar to reach. The ambience was lacking, the food nothing stellar, the prices quite high when taste and portion size were taken into account, and the 'mushroom' pie and 'medium-well' filet left a bad taste in our mouths. At €60.35 ($70.45), I have to say that we have had better meals within walking distance from our home for half the price, so Antonio was not a great TravelValue in my opinion.
CombatCritic Gives Restaurante Antonio 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!


Five Bombs Equates To:


Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

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Title: Moncarpacho, Olhão, Portugal: Antonio, Antonio, Wherefore Art Thou Antonio

Key Words: Moncarpacho, Olhão, Portugal, Restaurante Antonio, Antonio, Poruguese, international, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

Copyright 2021- 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved

Sunday, September 26, 2021

Rota (Cadiz), Spain: Good Chow ... Toscania, Toscana, No Matter How You Spell It, The Food Is Pretty Darn Good

Ristorante Toscania 
Plaza Barroso 6
11520 Rota, Cadiz, Spain
956 846 310
€€€€
The hostel associated with this restaurant is in the middle of the old town in an old villa with a large central courtyard with lots of plants and open air. 





The restaurant is 100 meters away on the plaza which is also where we checked-in. Ristorante Italiano Tuscana has an extensive menu of antipasti, pastas, meat dishes, desserts, and a full bar. They have an indoor, air-conditioned dining room and tables outdoors on the plaza. The food was very good, the portions appropriate, and the prices fair. We ate there twice and enjoyed our meals along with their resident dog, Rocco, who was very sweet, lingering near outdoor diners, but not begging or being a nuisance at all.
  




             
The first night we had l'insalata caprese €8 and tortelli 4 formaggi ai burro e salvia €15 for my wife and the lasagna bolognese €10 for me along with a bottle of water with gas and a liter of sangria €12. My lasagna was delicious and HUGE, but my wife's tortelli had not been properly drained, watering down the rich butter and sage sauce, but my wife still enjoyed it.




On the subsequent evening, we forewent the starter, my wife ordering the tagliatelli con funghi €10, me the spaghetti carbonara, and sharing the cotoletta alla milanese €12, a bottle of water and two glasses of house red wine. All were very tasty, especially the carbonara which was prepared in the traditional way by adding egg yokes just before serving with plenty o' pepper ... HOOAH!


Our dinners, a starter, main and wine/water ran around €50, not bad for  good meal for two, so Ristorante Toscania was a definite Travelvalue and worth a return visit the next time we go to Naval Air Station Rota.
CombatCritic Gives Hostal Sixto and Ristorante Toscana 8 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!
Eight Bombs Equates To:
Translation for Civilians: 'What-The-Fuck ... Over!'

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Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

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Title: Rota (Cadiz), Spain: Good Chow ... Toscania, Toscana, No Matter How You Spell It, The Food Is Pretty Darn Good

Key Words: Rota, Cadiz, Spain, Ristorante Toscana, Toscania, Hostal Sixto, Ristorante Toscana, Hostal, Sixto, Ristorante, Toscana, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, hotel, accommodation,  review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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Glendale, CA: Honest, Fair Lawyer And A Dodgers Fan - Don't Kill ALL Of The Lawyers Shakespeare

The Artis Law Firm
Estate planning attorney
450 N Brand Blvd Suite 600
Glendale, CA 91203
Phone: (818) 532-5599
$$$$
Tab Artis was friendly and professional from he get-go. He told me up front what it would likely cost to handle my portion of an inheritance being split 9 ways and I ended up getting an $848 refund from my retainer, so he was spot-on!

Tab is a good man and an excellent lawyer, showing concern for my personal life (and the Dodgers of course) as well as excellent attention-to-detail in my case. He was easy to work with and didn't nickel and dime me for every email, farming out simpler tasks to less costly staff.

Everything went very smoothly and Tab was on top of everything as it occurred, keeping me informed every step of the way and sending a monthly accounting of his work.

Tab was a pleasure to work with and I would not hesitate to hire him again. If you are in need of a lawyer top handle your estate planning or settlement and distribution, he is your man.

CombatCritic Gives The Artis Law Firm 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/'19/'20/'21 
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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: Glendale, CA: Honest, Fair Lawyer And A Dodger Fan - Don't Kill ALL Of The Lawyers Shakespeare

Key Words: Glendale, CA, honest, fair, lawyer, law, attorney, Dodgers, fan, Shakespeare, estate, wills, trust, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, service, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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