CombatCritic's TravelValue™: Sunday

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!

Showing posts with label Sunday. Show all posts

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

Thursday, April 5, 2018

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

Portland Saturday Market

2 SW Naito Pkwy

Portland, OR 97204

Phone number (971) 252-1866

Website: portlandsaturdaymarket.com

Prices: $$$$

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?

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:

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Gravesend, England: Dry The Pudding Was Dry, But These "Hacks" Offer A Decent Sunday Roast

Toby Carvery

Coldharbour Road

Gravesend DA11 8AB, United Kingdom

Phone number: +44 1474 535286

Website: tobycarvery.co.uk
Facebook Page

Prices: ££££

I had my doubts after reading the sole "2-Star" review on Yelp, but the place was packed whenever we drove by, so we made a reservation for a traditional English Sunday roast, but with a twist, this place is a buffet. They apparently fixed the problems they had when they first opened, not uncommon.

The place is new and tastefully furnished with a small bar and John Smiths, unfortunately, as their sole ale. We made a reservation for 6:45PM on a Sunday, being seated at 6:48PM, not bad. The service was friendly and efficient as it should be.

You can "Trade-Up to a King Size" at a cost of around £12 ($16.25), so the small ones must be £10.50 ($14.25) or so. I am guessing because I did not see the prices anywhere, not having looked at the menu (why order a starter at a buffet?) and because our friends treated us. The rule is (for any size plate) - one trip for meat and as many as you want for the sides dishes.

They start by literally tossing a Yorkshire pudding on the plate and the choice of meats included roast pork, turkey, ham and beef in that order. I assume you get "about" the same weight in meat no matter how many you choose, so I asked for the pork and beef. The serving size was adequate, not too much and not too little. The Yorkshire pudding was a bit too dry in the middle, consequence of making so many at once and leaving them sitting under a heat lamp for so long.

Then there were the choices of sides: rosemary roasted potatoes, stuffing, mashed potatoes (plain and with mustard seed), green beans, peas, some orange things I never heard of, scalloped potatoes, creamed cauliflower, brown gravy, and horseradish, mint and cranberry sauces. Beside the pudding, I had the roasted and mashed potatoes (I did not care for the mustard variety), some stuffing, scalloped potatoes and cauliflower with brown gravy on nearly everything and horseradish sauce on the beef.

"Brilliant" as the locals would say. The food was very good and a decent TravelValue for the price. Make sure you trade-up to the "large plate" for an extra €1.50 and extra meat, including a couple of sausages. Traditional Sunday roast buffet-style ... HOOAH!

The downside: 1) The parking lot is not big enough for the number of cars .... the place was packed; 2) Beer/ale selection was inadequate; and 3) the Yorkshire pudding was not fresh - too dry.

CombatCritic Gives Toby Carvery 7 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Seven Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Shits & Grins"

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