Washougal, WA: We Walked Into A Trap, But Won't Be Coming Through That Door Anytime Soon

Trap Door Brewery

1834 Main Street

Washougal, WA 98671

(360) 314-6966

trapdoorbrewing.com/home

Prices: $$$$

$17 for a 5-inch Italian sub and $9 for a pint? Give me a break!

The food was meh, the servers couldn’t crack a smile if their lives depended on it, and the prices are flat-out insulting. I just spent 4+ years in Europe where inflation was the same (thanks Joe), yet restaurant prices didn’t skyrocket like they have here. The only explanation: good old-fashioned American greed.

The fondue was decent and the best value on the menu.

That “Italian sub” barely stretched six inches and had a whisper of meat and cheese. At best, it was worth $10 … maybe. Charging $17 is highway robbery with a pickle on the side.

Washougal doesn’t need another overpriced brewpub—there are already too many of those, along with sushi joints and Chinese takeout. A mom & pop Italian restaurant with red and white checker tablecloths and candles melting down Chianti bottles would be a welcome sight this side of Olive Garden. This was our first visit and it will be our last.

CombatCritic gives Trap Door Brewery 4 Bombs Out Of 10 … More Bombs Are Better … Unless You’re On The Receiving End!

Four Bombs Equates To:

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

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

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Title: Washougal, WA: We Walked Into A Trap, But Won't Be Coming Through That Door Anytime Soon

Key Words: Washougal, WA, Trap Door, brewery, beer, pizza, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

Copyright 2025 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reservedddd

Washougal, WA: Victoricos - Not Bad, But Not Good, For The Price, Either

Victoricos Washougal

103 C Street

Washougal, WA 98671

(360) 954-5892

Victoricos.com

Prices: $$$$

The food is not bad, but the prices are a bit absurd for the quality/quantity.

We ordered online, so, of course, it was more expensive than going to the restaurant and ordering in-person. I understand that, but I had no idea they jack-up the prices AND charge a fee AND you pay a tip, not to mention tax, again, of course. Food delivery in Portugal, where we live, is much different, paying the in-store menu price, but adding a small fee and tip.

I ordered 3 Rolled Tacos ($6.49 / $4.99), a Two Enchilada Combo ($12.50 / $11.50), a Shredded Beef Taco ($5.29 / $4.29), a Fajitas Plate Combo ($17.99 / $15.49) and a small side of Rice and Beans ($4.99 / $3.99) for my son and me.

The taquitos were very good, crispy with lots of shredded beef and topped with guac and cheddar cheese.

I was actually shocked when I saw the shredded beef taco. It was small, a little bigger than the palm of my hand, coming with a fair amount of shredded beef, lettuce, and cheese. It was more than a tad greasy, but it tasted good, however, for $5.29 I expected something a little special ... bigger? guac? pico de gallo? tomato? 24 carat gold sprinkles? ... Olé! It is the most expensive taco I have ever eaten and I have chowed-down a shitload of tacos.

The enchiladas were decent enough, but the container was too narrow, so there was zero sauce between the first inch and the last. Tjere was little cheese as well. They were difficult to cut into bite-size pieces because the dry beef was clinging together. SNAFU!

At $5, the side of rice and beans was a joke. I kept looking for the other container because I expected that only the rice OR the beans was in the one I found, but, when I opened it up, the rice AND beans were both crammed-in. Surprise! The beans were okay, but the rice was tasteless.

A 15% markup, $7, on a $40.26 bill, a total of $47.26 for everything we ordered, so with tip and service fee, it brought the total to $56.08. Not unheard of I guess, but I was very surprised when I found out the difference in the pricing.

CombatCritic Gives Victoricos Washougal 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

BOHICA

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

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

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Read Chris S.'s review of Victoricos Washougal on Yelp

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Title: Washougal, WA: Victoricos - Not Bad, But Not Good, For The Price, Either

Key Words: Washougal, WA, Victoricos, Mexican, tacos, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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Washougal, WA: Post Script - The 2 Rivers Bar And Grill Attack And Debacle

2 Rivers Bar and Grill

1700 Main Street, Suite 110

Washougal, WA 98671

Phone number (360) 210-7987

Website: 2riversbar.com

Prices: $$$$

I deleted my original review after consulting with Yelp and the Washington State Attorney General about the slanderous public reply the owner of 2 Rivers Bar And Grill published on Yelp, calling me a "transient" (vagrant) and "creepy" (pervert) in order to try to cover up for their crappy, overpriced, frozen food and highly unprofessional behavior. Rather than apologize for my horrid experience, I was attacked with lies by the restaurant's owner. Let me briefly explain.

I had a horrendous experience here on Father's Day. When I first entered for dinner immediately after a round of golf at the local country club, it was not clear where to go based on the odd layout, so I stood in front of the bar while the bartender, who turned out to be the owner, Derik, stared at me for a few uncomfortable moments, then said "Can I help you?" Of course you can help me you jerk, do people come in to your restaurant to sit down and eat or go shopping? I replied with the obvious, "Yes, I would like to sit down and eat some food please" if it were not obvious enough for him. He also insulted me in front of fellow patrons, hollering out across the bar, "Should I take it outside so you can get a better picture?", as I took photos of my substandard hamburger, drink and the surrounding dining room as I always do when eating somewhere for the first time.

He later claimed in his blasphemous public reply to my review on Yelp that he mistook me for a transient who came in the week before, making excuses for my poor treatment when I first entered, even though I was wearing golf attire appropriate for a day on the links at the country club. Would a transient be wearing golf shorts, a new Under Armor golf shirt, Nike Air sneakers, and $200 Oakley sunglasses? He also claimed that I was secretly taking photos of the waitress, his wife apparently, who had her huge, fake boobs popping out of her tight, very low-cut blouse while I was simply taking a few photos during my experience to publish with my review. This guy and his wife are not just sick, they are compulsive liars.

I had contacted Derik last November, right after they opened, to see if they wanted to be included in my annual Veteran's Day list of local restaurants offering free or discounted meals to veterans and to be published on my popular food and travel blog. Free advertising, basically, as my blog gets over 100,000 visitors a year. Being a retired Air Force officer and disabled combat veteran, I try to do as much as I can for fellow vets because I am one and have worked extensively with active duty and Iraq/Afghanistan veterans as a licensed psychotherapist. Derik refused to acknowledge my offer even though he "claims" to be a veteran himself. 

So, when he attacked me publicly and defamed my character, even though he knew I was a veteran and food/travel writer, the gloves came off. You can read about their frozen food, terrible service, and unprofessional behavior in many other Yelp reviews, so I will not detail my experience any further here because it is now about more than that. Can you say defamation of character? This place will be closed soon enough because they are obviously struggling and with frozen food, even worse customer service, and unprofessional attacks against those who offer them constructive criticism, I predict they will not make it through another Pacific NW winter.

I support local businesses 100%, as I did with 2 Rivers Bar and Grill by offering them free advertising on my blog and keeping an open mind during my first visit (despite all of the negative comments about them on Yelp and other social media platforms - see below), so the last thing I want is for someone to fail. However, when I see someone like Derik, with ZERO experience in the highly competitive restaurant business and who attacks customers whom say anything negative, the writing is, unfortunately, on the wall for this sorry businessman.

Businesses that offer quality products, outstanding customer service, fair prices, and always act in a professional manner and with integrity have a much higher probability of succeeding in the extremely competitive hospitality industry. 2 Rivers Bar and Grill gets an "F" in all those categories to go along with their current "D+" rating by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Nuff said.

In his reply full of lies, fake news, Derik lashed out with defamatory remarks about me, a highly decorated, disabled, combat veteran and retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, but he neither addressed nor denied my review comments about his highly unprofessional behavior and extremely low-quality frozen foods, so my assessment must have been spot-on. What kind of lies will he make up when I publish this review I wonder? We will have to wait and see how low this turd of a human being will stoop in his treatment of a fellow veteran.

UPDATE: WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND

Dirtbag Derik, now a mayoral candidate in Washougal, was arrested for fourth-degree assault domestic violence in mid-September and has suspended his short-lived campaign in addition to losing his wife and business:

Washougal mayor candidate faces domestic assault charge

 by KATU Staff  - Friday, September 17th 2021

WASHOUGAL, Wash. — Camas police have arrested a candidate for mayor of Washougal on a domestic violence charge.

Police say on Wednesday night, Washougal police were dispatched to Derik Ford's house for a reported assault.

When they found out he was the suspect, they called in Camas police to avoid a conflict of interest.

Police say Ford's wife told them he had assaulted her and she had visible injuries.

When they caught up with Derik Ford and interviewed him, they say he denied any physical confrontation.

As of early Thursday night, court records indicated Ford was still in jail.

He faces one count of fourth-degree assault domestic violence.

KATU reached out to his campaign for comment.

Washougal, WA: Get With The Times And Check Out This Happy Hour

Washougal Times

1826 E Street

Washougal, WA 98671

Website: washougaltimes.com

Phone number: (360) 835-2488

Prices: $$$$

After my fiasco at another local brew pub, I was bit hesitant to try another fairly new burger, steak, and mac & cheese place, but I am glad I did. Occupying the same building as the old Heller's, they have updated the floors and decor to a certain extent, but it is still a bit "no frills" and lacking warmth.

We went for dinner, but after looking at the Happy Hour menu, we decided to order from it instead of the "All Day" or "Supper" menus. The all day menu has a large variety of choices with low-moderate prices, but the supper menu is very limited with meals (entree, soup or salad, potato and vegetable) running from $17 to $28. The meatloaf supper is $22, seemingly a tad high for such a simple dish.

The server looked at me patiently while I asked a few questions about the menu, but her service was top notch and she did not attack me for taking photos of our food and surrounds like their nearby rival's owner did.

I had the Burger and Beer ($8), selecting a 16 ounce IPA and adding pepper jack cheese (50¢) and bacon ($1.00) to my burger. The burger could have been bigger (1/3 pound or 5.33 ounces), but what can you expect from a $3.50 burger? The burger is just $8.50 on their all day menu which is still a relative bargain. The bacon was crispy, yet chewy just the way I like it and the bun was fresh and tasty. I also ordered a large side of fries ($3) with StoneJax seasoning ($1) and they were crispy and hot.

The War Department ordered two sliders ($3 each), one meatloaf with BBQ sauce and an onion ring on fresh ciabatta and the other a pork medallion and Gruyere cheese on a crispy, delicious focaccia. The bartender told us that they just switched bakeries recently, a wise choice in my opinion. She also got a pile o' tater tots ($3) which were also crispy and piping hot ... HOOAH!

My wife and I ate quite well, having devoured a bacon cheeseburger and fries, two sliders and an order of tots, and two IPAs for just $29 plus tip, about the same price as the lousy, frozen cheeseburger and fries, and a beer I had while on my own at their competitor's horrid restaurant. No competition folks, Washougal Times is the better of the two by a long shot (read my 7/10/2019 Yelp review if interested). We will be back for a full meal one day soon, so expect an update!

CombatCritic Gives Washougal Times 8 Bombs Out Of 10 For Their Happy Hour Menu ... More Bombs Are Better!

Eight Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "What-The-Fuck ... Over!"

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp "GOLD" ELITE '14/'15/'16/'17/'18/'19 

• Over 1.4 Million Views A Year

Read Chris S.'s review of Washougal Times 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!

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

Title: Washougal, WA: Get With The Times And Check Out This Happy Hour

Key Words: Washougal, WA, Washougal Times, times, happy, hour, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

Copyright 2020 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved

Washougal, WA: Peggy's Place Revisited - Lessons Learned? Nope!

Peggy's Place
3010 Evergreen Highway
Washougal, WA 98671
Phone: (360) 210-5500
Website: NONE
Prices: $$$$

I guess Peggy did not appreciate my previous 4-star (8 out of 10 bombs) Yelp review this past Easter - that review was selected, by the way, as Yelp Portland's Review of the Day, aka ROTD, on 6/23/19 - after having sent her the link via Messenger where we had been talking based on her interest in my assistance as a new restaurant owner. However, I never even got a thank you, FU, or anything else for that matter. Having managed large military organizations in my 20-year career and several successful businesses since, I foolishly thought that my 10+ years of experience could help a local business owner get on her feet as quickly as possible. Because I am a firm believer in supporting local businesses, I had offered my assistance last March and Peggy initially seemed very receptive, but when I returned with my wife, son and his girlfriend for breakfast last weekend to see what had changed, I was quite discouraged by what I saw.

The first thing I noticed was the chalkboard behind the cash register advertising Key Lime Pie for $25 (whole pie) or $6 for a slice as well as Cheesecake going for $45 per pie and $8 a slice. I had assumed that customers might get 1/6 of a pie for the quoted prices, but right beside the register is their dessert display case with rather small slices of key lime pie and cheesecake, likely 1/8 of a pie in size. Do the math. Apparently, she decided to blow off my suggestions as well as my concerns about her $8 biscuits and gravy in my first review.

The place is bright and clean, and we were seated right away. The menu is very much the same as last time and her prices on most items are spot-on, even lower than some other local eateries. My son ordered the classic breakfast - 2 eggs, hash browns, choice of meat, and toast for $9;  his girlfriend, who is vegan, ordered a "vegan" Breakfast Burrito ($10) with "NO MEAT, NO EGGS, AND NO CHEESE, only hash browns and veggies"; my wife had her usual, the French Toast ($9) which came with 2 slices of bacon; and, finally, I asked for a Half Order of Biscuits and Gravy ($5), making it "A Meal" for $4 more by adding 2 eggs and 2 slices of bacon, and adding a side of hash browns ($2 more for a total of $11).

My son was quite happy with his classic breakfast, but the bacon was way too dark and crispy, likely because they were about to close and decided that they had to use the rest of the food that had been sitting around for God knows how many hours. The eggs seemed to be cooked as ordered - over medium.

His girlfriend's $10 VEGAN breakfast burrito was tiny for the price and it came with a big GLOB OF SOUR CREAM just a fraction of an inch from the burrito. She thought about saying something, but decided to bite the bullet. When people identify a special diet or food allergy to a server when ordering, a restaurant MUST  ensure that the food is prepared as ordered with ZERO cross-contamination because that is what the customer wants and a simple mistake could result in death. Oops!

My wife's french toast was identical to our last visit and she liked it very much, but this time her bacon was also too burnt to eat, so she tossed the slices on my plate. Her coffee was bland and weak, a total disappointment after the Hawaiian blend they served on Easter.

When my biscuit (singular) and gravy, bacon, and eggs (over-medium) arrived in a bowl, I was a bit surprised and could not see the eggs until I realized that they were under the biscuit and gravy! Fortunately, for me and them, I like to toss my biscuit, gravy, bacon, eggs, and hash browns into a pile, cut them in to bite size chunks, and enjoy the enmeshment of flavors ... YUM! Alas, my bacon was the same as the rest, but I also do not mind crunchy on the continuum of bacon choices. My sole issue was that my over-medium eggs were served over-easy, a faux pas that a predominantly breakfast restaurant should not be making. Again, I am more flexible than many and it was not a biggy as far as I was concerned. As we say in the US Air Force: "Flexibility if the key to Air Power" ... HOOAH!

There is still no Peggy's Place website, no menu posted online (other than the one I posted last Easter and it was removed from Yelp for some unknown reason), no advertising, and zero social media presence, all things I recommended earlier this year. They have not even claimed their Yelp page and most likely have not read their negative (and positive) reviews. 

If business owners neither listen to their customers nor understand advertising in this day and age, the likelihood is, ultimately, failure. Most new restaurants close their doors within the first two years and I hope that does not happen here, so I seriously hope Peggy's Place is prospering despite my serious concerns.

CombatCritic Gives Peggy's Place A Very Generous 4 Bombs Out Of 10 - A 4 Bomb Deduction From Last Easter - More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

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

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp "GOLD" ELITE '14/'15/'16/'17/'18/'19 

• 650,000+ Views A Year

Read Chris S.'s review of Peggy's Place 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!

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

Title: Washougal, WA: Peggy's Place Revisited - Lessons Learned? Nope!

Key Words: Washougal, WA: Peggy's Place, Peggy's, Peggy, place, Portland, OR, breakfast, lunch, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Google, Facebook

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