Vancouver, WA: No Veal, No Deal – Olive Garden Delivers Mediocrity with a Side of Sticker Shock

Olive Garden

16405 SE Mill Plain Blvd 

Vancouver, WA 98683

Phone number: (360) 256-4051

olivegarden.com

Prices $$$$

We came for the all-you-can-eat soup, salad, and breadsticks — the Holy Trinity of corporate Italian cuisine — and yeah, they come free with a lunch special. The catch? Lunch specials are only Monday through Friday until 3pm. We showed up on a Saturday. Oops. Missed it by that much.

My wife ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo — $12.49 on the lunch menu, $17.49 for dinner. I went with the Chicken Parmigiana, which jumped from a manageable $13.49 at lunch to an eyebrow-raising $21.49. So when the bill came out to damn near $55, I nearly spit out my overpriced Diet Coke.

To his credit, the server offered to grab the manager and maybe knock the prices back down to lunch levels. But I declined. I missed the fine print. My bad. That’s called integrity, folks — look it up.

The salad? Fresh, sure. But whoever’s in the back manning the vinegar bottle went full Molotov cocktail. I like tang, but this was a salt-and-acid bomb. The Zuppa Toscana was watery, with a sausage-to-potato ratio so low it might’ve qualified as vegetarian. Not awful, just … meh. Breadsticks? Still the MVP — soft, salty, and piping hot.

The wife liked her Alfredo. My chicken parm and limp spaghetti? It was food. That’s about as glowing as I can get. But hey, it’s Olive Garden — it’s not like we walked in expecting Nonna to come out of the kitchen.

And for the love of God and every Italian who’s ever lived, how in the hell are there so few decent Italian restaurants in Portland? And don’t even get me started on the complete disappearance of veal. No veal marsala, veal parmigiana, or saltimbocca alla romana? What in the Fettuccine Alfredo is going on here folks? Somebody kill me a baby cow already — I need my veal fix, dammit!

CombatCritic Gives Olive Garden 5 Bombs Out Of 10 💣💣💣💣💣 More Bombs Are Better … Unless You’re On The Receiving End … HOOAH!

Five Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

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Title: Vancouver, WA: No Veal, No Deal – Olive Garden Delivers Mediocrity with a Side of Sticker Shock

Key Words: Vancouver, WA, veal, pasta, breadsticks, Olive Garden, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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Legacy Medical Group - Camas: A Disgrace to Veterans and a Violation of Basic Human Rights and Decency

Legacy Medical Group - Camas

1625 SE 192nd Ave Ste 100, Camas, WA 98607

legacyhealth.org

(360) 566-4840

I am absolutely appalled by the treatment I received at Legacy Medical Group in Camas from a female ARNP--late 50s, cold, unprofessional, and clearly unqualified to treat patients, especially suicidal and disabled combat veterans like myself.

Let me be very clear:

I've been severely ill for over four years, critically ill for the past 10 months, and I am now extremely depressed and suicidal. I told this provider, plainly:

"I don't want to live like this anymore."

That's not drama. That's my reality.

Instead of compassion or concern, she responded with ego and condescension. She acted annoyed by my pain, said I was being rude, and shut down the appointment in less than five minutes. No support. No care. No help. Just dismissal and abandonment.

This wasn't a one-off. On a previous visit, she showed zero interest in my complex condition--focused only on my lorazepam prescription--and today she confirmed what I feared: she simply doesn't care.

I'm a 100% disabled combat veteran with PTSD, and I was suicidal during that visit. That should have triggered immediate action. Instead, I was treated like a nuisance.

To prove my point, she sent the police to my house ¨to check on my well-being¨shortly after leaving the office, an obvious ¨cover-your-ass¨move, not done out of concern or compassion, and further substantiating my account.

I filed complaints with Legacy, Medicare, Tricare, and the Washington State Board of Nursing, and I will be disputing any charges for this so-called "appointment." Billing for five minutes of cruelty is not just unethical--it's fraud.

Legacy Health completely ignored my complaint and the Washington State Board of Nursing protected their own, go figure, rather than addressing the matter, stating that my complaint was ¨baseless¨, having never contacted me once for clarification.

Then, to add insult to injury, I received a registered letter (see photo) accusing me of being "threatening.", a blatant, disgusting fabrication to cover for their shameful behavior. Disgusting human beings, unprofessional behavior ... shame on you!

NEXT STEP: Filing a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. YOU CAN'T DO THAT - complaint filed 6/14/2025.

Legacy Health, you failed me--and every veteran who walks through your doors. Your motto should be: "Do no harm ... unless it's a suicidal veteran.¨

CombatCritic Gives Legacy Medical Group - Camas 0 Bombs Out Of 10 ... And A Permanent Place On My WALL OF SHAME™ ... More Bombs Are Better ... Unless You're On the Receiving End

ZERO Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

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Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"

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Title: Legacy Medical Group - Camas: A Disgrace to Veterans and a Violation of Basic Human Rights and Decency

Key Words: Legacy Medical Group, Camas, Washington, legacy, medical, group, disabled, combat, veteran, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, business, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

Copyright 2024 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved

Ayamonte, Spain: Not Bad - Decent Food, Nice Environment, and Overpriced Food

La Pasta Gansa

Plaza de la Lota, 8 

21400 Ayamonte, Spain

Phone: +34 959 471 608

LaPastaGansa.com

Nice environment, decent service, and tasty chow, but portion sizes and price left a bad taste in my mouth. We stopped in for lunch on a whim, never having seen this place open before.

The menu was much more limited than their online version for some reason. The food was presented nicely enough, but the prices were quite high for lunch (€40 for two - water only)

A small breaded pork cutlet and a little pile of spaghetti bolognese for €17 seems extreme, €12 to €13 would have been a more appealing price point, and my wife's Ravioli alle Erbette in Salsa di Gorgonzola (€13.00) was good, but there were just five ravioli and the herbs were actually spinach, leaving her confused and hungry.

Decent, overpriced food probably will not bring us back anytime soon.

CombatCritic Gives La Pasta Gansa 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Five Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

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   Counting - #1 Reviewer in Portland, Oregon!

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"

Booking.com - Frequent Traveler "Genius"

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Title: Ayamonte, Spain: Not Bad - Decent Food, Nice Environment, and Overpriced Food

Key Words: Ayamonte, Spain, La Pasta Gansa, Italian, oizza, pasta, gansa, goose, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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Olhão (Faro), Portugal: Decent Food and Service, But The 30% Discount Elevated My Rating

Tacho d'Avo

Urbanizacao Village Marina 21A

Olhao 8700-292 Portugal

+351 289 722 249

Prices: €€€€

I wish I had seen the TripAdvisor 30% discount on the ala carte menu before we went last night, but, as it turns out, we received the discount without asking ... HOOAH!

We were the only people in the restaurant at 18:30 when we arrived and had our pick of tables. Unfortunately, they had no air conditioning on this hot summer evening, so we had to switch tables to a shadier place as the sun went down and into my wife's face.

We ordered a 1/2 liter of house red wine and a small Cheese and Sausage Board (€7.50) to get us started. The wine was decent and the board adequate with salami, two cheeses, three types of ham, and some olives.

My better half decided on the Basil and Pine Nut Ravioli in Roquefort Sauce (€18/€12.60 with discount). They were more tortelloni than ravioli, but the dish was very tasty and filling. My Sicilian wife was very happy with her choice.

I ordered the Steak with Roquefort Sauce (€20/€14 with 30% off), coming with fries and rice. The steak was medium in size and the sauce very good, but the meat was quite chewy. I had asked the server about the Large Steak for 2-3 people (€40) because I had seen photos of some great looking T-Bone steaks online, but she could not tell me what kind of steak it was or much else for that matter.

The service was good overall, but nobody bothered checking on us after the food was delivered and I had to go find some salt and pepper for my meal. We waited so long for someone to return that I ended up going up to the cash register to pay.

CombatCritic Gives Tacho d'Avo 7 Bombs Out Of 10 (5 Out Of 10 if we hadn't received the discount)... More Bombs Are Better!

Seven Bombs Equates To

Translation for Civilians: "Shits & Grins"

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MENU

Read Chris S.'s review of Tacho d'Avo on Yelp

Google 'Local Guide' (Level 7) - 677,631 Visitors in August 2023 Alone ... HOOAH!

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   Counting - #1 Reviewer in Portland, Oregon!

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"

Booking.com - Frequent Traveler "Genius"

... 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: Olhão (Faro), Portugal: Decent Food and Service, But The 30% Discount Elevated My Rating

Key Words: Olhão, Faro, Portugal,  Tacho d'Avo, tacho, avo, steak, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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