CombatCritic's TravelValue™: de

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!

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Thursday, December 26, 2019

Sedona, AZ: Sandwiches of Fire And Enchiladas Of Ice, I Stuffed My Pie-Hole On Christmas Day In Any Event

Tortas De Fuego
1630 W Hwy 89A
Sedona, AZ 86336
(928) 282-0226
tortasdefuegosedona.com
Prices: $$$$

Finding a place to eat on Christmas day in beautiful Sedona is tough enough, but as I walked through the door at Tortas de Fuego, there was only a single table, a two-top, right in front of the door available. The place was packed and now I know why. The good news, just after I sat down, droves of people from all over the world (India and France to name two) came through the door. The bad news, it was 37 degrees Fahrenheit outside and every time they opened it, the cold air rushed in to embrace me.

I kept it simple, ordering Chips and Salsa ($1.99), a 2 ounce side of Guacamole ($1.99), one Regular Carne Asada Taco ($2.99), one Regular Al Pastor Taco ($2.79), and a Cheese and Onion Enchilada with Red Sauce ($2.50), all ala carte.

The chips were not the best I have had, likely out of a bag and barely warm, but their salsa bar was the BOMB. They had one red salsa that was very spicy and two green salsas, one medium on the hot scale and the other, which was almost yellow, the mildest. The bar also had pico de gallo, pickled veggies, cilantro, radishes, and lime wedges. I found the yellow sauce to be the best, it was delish, but a combo of the yellow (mild) salsa and the red (spicy) one tasted the best to me.

The (regular) tacos were bigger than standard street tacos and filled with a generous portion of meat along with the usual diced white onions and cilantro, but I added the pico de gallo, my combo salsa, and half of the small cup of guacamole on each. The tacos were wonderful, but they each came with just one thin, corn tortilla, making them a bit messy to eat during the last few bites. Two tortillas would have been perfect. The guacamole was more like an avocado salsa with more tomatoes, diced onion, and other stuff then avocado and I do not think they were Hass.

The cheese enchilada was small, but tasty, and the red sauce quite good, but it was served in the more traditional way where the only heat applied comes from the hot tortilla and the lukewarm chile sauce, so it was not very warm. The queso fresco that they put on top hardly melted. Nevertheless, it was quite good.

I was tired of the cold air billowing through the door and the people standing at the door in front of me watching me eat, so I left post haste. The bill came to around $13, quite a bargain, and the service was wonderful, even though they were overwhelmed with customers, so I gave them a double sawbuck ($20), wished them Felice Navidad, and told the large party of Frogs, I mean French, au revoir!

CombatCritic Gives Tortas de Fuego 7 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Seven Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Shits & Grins"

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Sunday, February 3, 2019

Lisbon, Portugal: Pastéis de Belém Is "The Bomb" - A Must Visit When In Lisbon

Pastéis de Belém
R. de Belém, 84- 92
1300-085 Lisbon, Portugal
Belém, Belém - Restelo
Phone number +351 213 637 423
Website: pasteisdebelem.pt
Prices: €€€€

If you have not had a Pastel de Nata, a sweet, custard filled tart found in Portugal in general and Lisbon in particular, you have not lived. You can find these tasty little treats at most pastelerias (Portuguese bakeries) in Lisbon and elsewhere for about €1 each, a bargain in any event. But this place is the home of these custard filled tarts, having used a recipe created my monks for over 180 years.

They began making Pastels de Belém in 1837, the "Gold" standard for these pastries, following an ancient recipe from the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery) just down the street. They continue to sell them to this day and you can either eat-in at their restaurant on the west side of Lisbon (Belém) or get in the long line, that moves very quickly, to buy the tarts, sandwiches and other delightful pastries to-go.

We were told that Pastéis de Belém were better and different than anywhere else in Portugal and they were right! They sell so many that they are still warm form the oven when you get them, biting into the flaky pastry and sweet, creamy custard filling that is absolutely delightful. They charge a premium here where with Pastéis de Belém setting you back a lofty €1.10 here, the home of this delectable dessert.

Make sure you get the packets of cinnamon and powdered sugar to sprinkle on top, the Portuguese way, in order to enjoy these delicious morsels to their fullest potential. They will box them up for you, so take a small or large bag full back to your room for a delightful breakfast over the next few days (HINT: Do not refrigerate). If you come to Lisbon and do not try Pastéis de Belém ... YOU ARE A LOSER!

CombatCritic Gives Pastéis de Belém 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

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Portland, OR: Rose City's Italian Denny's Is A "Così" Little Place

Denicolas

3520 SE Powell Blvd
Portland, OR 97202
Creston-Kenilworth, Southeast Portland
Phone number: (503) 239-5220
Website: Denicolas.com
Prices: $$$$

Portland has dozens, if not hundreds, of wonderful restaurants, but trying to find a family-style, mom and pop, down-home Italian restaurant without the foo foo plates, faux gourmet tiny portions, and absurd prices is like trying to find a liberal at a Trump rally. Then I saw Denicolas menu, photos and reviews online, and briefly, very briefly, had some hope.

The smell was right when we walked in, but the place looks more like a Denny's than an Italian restaurant, bright lights, vinyl booth seats, and all. It took our server ten minutes to greet us and we rarely saw her after that. She took our order and brought us our bill, but other staff members did everything else.

My wife ordered the Special of the Day, cheese ravioli in a creamy mushroom and Marsala sauce ($14.95) and I, the Veal Parmigiana ($21.50), both adding a side salad and the antipasto at $2.79 a pop.

I had a glass of wine, the Dolcetto di Dogliani (2005), an Italian red ($6.25) that was decent for the price. The salads were small and simple, but fresh with romaine, grape tomatoes, and dressing on the side. The antipasto consisted of a few carrot slices, three small cubes of mozzarella, pepperoni and salami, and some peperoncini for two of us to share, accompanied by four slices of Italian bread and four small squares of focaccia topped with herbs and tomatoes. So far, so good.

My wife's ravioli looked mass produced and frozen, but were plentiful and not that bad, and the mushroom Marsala sauce was actually very good. When my wife, who was born and raised in Italy, thinks American-Italian food is good, that is not a bad sign. She liked the sauce, but thought there was too much Marsala, but I had to disagree because there can never be too much Marsala ... Bravo!

The veal was plentiful, but, like many places, a bit too thick, not pounded as thin as it should be before being breaded and pan fried. The veal was topped with ample sauce and mozzarella, then put under the broiler a tad too long. It was not bad, not the worst, but far from the best ... "così così" ("so-so" in Italian and pronounced like the word "cozy") as my grandfather would have said. The accompanying pasta with "meat sauce" had very little meat (or as the Wendy's lady used to say: "Where's the beef?") and was a bit on the skimpy side with barely enough sauce to coat the pasta. Once I did combine the two, adding a ton of parmesan for flavor, I saw that the pasta had not been drained well and there was water pooling underneath, one of the ten deadly sins of pasta serving (second photo below).

The prices were not that bad, the food not that great, and the service only adequate. Denicolas would definitely be the best Italian restaurant in Lawrence, Kansas (not a high bar), one of the worst in Brooklyn, New York, and in Portland "così così" if that tells you anything.

CombatCritic Gives Denicolas 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Five Bombs Equates To:

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Read Chris S.'s review of Denicolas Restaurant on Yelp

DeNicola's Italian Restaurant

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Title: Portland, OR: Rose City's Italian Denny's Is A "Così" Little Place

Key Words: Denicolas, DeNicolas, de, nicolas, Portland, Oregon, Italian, pasta, veal, 97202, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog,

Translation for Civilians: Charlie-Mike = "Continue Mission"

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