CombatCritic's TravelValue™: market

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 market. Show all posts

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Dundee, OR: Country Store Feel And Overpriced Food, Visit Only During Happy Hour

Red Hills Market

155 SW 7th Street

Dundee, OR 97115

(971) 832-8414

Website

Hours: 7:00 am - 8:00 pm 7 Days a Week

Prices: $$$$

Sitting a half block back off the main road, I would not have known it was there had our golf pro not suggested going here after an OPGA Senior Pro-Am in McMinnville, in the rain no less.

Interesting space with a country store feel, you wind your way through food and drink products before ordering at the register, protected by a plexiglass screen. They have a limited menu with breakfast ($8 - $12), appetizers ($7 - $20), soups and salads ($5 - $13), individual, handmade wood-fired pizzas ($13 - $16), sandwiches ($9 - $13), cookies ($3), and a variety of drinks, including wines and beers.

We were lucky enough to get there during Happy Hour, so I took advantage, ordering a Margherita Pizza ($10 - normally $13) - named after Queen Margherita of Napoli because it was her favorite pizza and is the color of the Italian flag, red, white and green - and a hazy IPA ($5 - normally $6). Fifteen bucks for dinner and a beer, not bad and a decent TravelValue!

The pizza was pretty good, not great, and definitely not a vero pizza napolitana (true Neapolitan pizza), coming with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese topped with fresh basil leaves and drizzled with EVO. The beer selection was not very robust and the Hazy Bubblewrap IPA, the only IPA on tap, was rather nondescript.

Cute place, decent food, and a bit pricey for non-happy hour food and drink, but worth a visit, particularly during happy hour (3-6pm Monday - Friday) because the sandwiches, which looked very good by the way, DO NOT come with a side (fries, chips, salad, etc.).

If I were to return, highly unlikely, I might try the Rym Reuben with house smoked pastrami, sauerkraut, and gruyere cheese served on toasted rye bread along with a hot side of pickles ($12) off of the main menu and a side of the happy hour Jojos (fries - $5, normally $8, quite steep for a side of fries). Along with a beer, $22 still would not be a bad price for a decent sandwich, fries and a drink, but $20 for just a reuben and fries, no beer, is a bit absurd.

CombatCritic Gives Red Hills Market 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Five Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

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

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Ariano-Irpino, Italy: This Place is Fruity, But In A Very Good Way

Il Frutteto

Via Russo Maddalena 10

83031 Ariano Irpino, Italy

Phone number +39 342 5843685
Facebook: Il Frutteto

Prices: €€€€

My aunt and uncle (zia e zio) live in Ariano, Irpino not too far from Il Frutteto. I went to visit them and my cousins (cugini) in Montecalvo, Irpino, my paternal grandfather's hometown, between Christmas and New Years, and we stopped here for lunch on our way from Naples (Napoli) to Montecalvo.

Il Frutteto means "the fruit orchard" in Italian and the owner, a friend of my cousin Gino, opened this huge bar two years ago after owning a fruit and vegetable shop elsewhere in Ariano for many years. In addition to fruit, vegetables and groceries, they have a coffee bar with coffees, teas and pastries, a deli with meats and cheeses, and a tavola caldo (hot table) with an assortment of home cooked lunch options available at very reasonable prices.

We started with a primo (first dish) of hand made cicatelli, local dialect for cavatelli, with fresh tomatoes ... BUONISSIMO! For our secondi (second course) my nephew Francesco had a cotoletta Milanese (breaded veal cutlet), my cousin Gino the baccala, salted codfish also prepared with fresh tomatoes, while I kept it light with a small portion of zuppa di fagioli e scarole (ricetta campana - an escarole and bean soup my grandmother, also from the nearby small town of Trevico, used to make me as a child) and friarielli montecalvese (a long, green pepper roasted in olive oil - different than "friarielli" in Naples which is what they call broccoli rabe sautéed in olive oil). Everything was fresh and made in-house, a delicious meal, including a glass of wine and espresso, for just €30 ($34.30). Abbiamo mangiato bene e pagato poco (we ate very well and paid little) ... HOOAH!

I also bought a jar of crema al limone (lemon cream) for my wife, a relative bargain at €4.60 ($5.25), to take back to Naples as she was unable to accompany me on this trip.

CombatCritic Gives Il Frutteto 10 Bombs Out Of 10 And A Spot On My "WALL OF FAME" ... More Bombs Are Better!

Ten Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians:

Pages - CombatCritic's "TravelValue"

Follow Me To TravelValue!

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