Bella Vista, AR: "Fred's" Is Back In Business And They Mean "Business"!

Fred’s Hickory Inn

1502 N. Walton Blvd
Bentonville, AR 72712
Phone; (479) 273-3303
Website: fredshickoryinn.net

I will update this review in more detail as time allows, but I wanted to get it on the books ASAP.

Great place, very good food, excellent service and fair prices.

They accommodated our 20-person group without a flinch, just like we were a party of 4 dropping in for dinner. The drinks and food came post haste and with not just a smile, but a story or two and some good humored jabs from our server.

Excellent barbecue, they also have steaks, seafood, and pasta dishes, although their Bolognese sauce on the side of spaghetti I had was the primary reason for the one-star downgrade. On night two I had the lasagna which was pretty good, not quite like my mom, grandma, mother-in-law, and Zia Gina make, but not bad.

Prices range from $14-$35+ for dinner entrees, including soup or salad and a side or two, very fair for food and service of this caliber.

CombatCritic Gives Fred's Hickory Inn A Very Respectable 8 Bombs Out Of 10 And A Thumbs-Up ... More Bombs Are Better ... See You In The Fall Y'All! 

Eight Bombs Equates To:

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Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

TripAdvisor - Top Contributor

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

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Title: "Fred's" Is Back In Business And They Mean "Business"!

Key Words: Fred's Hickory Inn, Fred's, Freds, hickory, inn, Bella Vista, AR, Bentonville, Arkansas, barbecue, BarBQ, steak, pasta, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Zomato

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

Washington DC: Great Pizza (If You Are From The Midwest)

Wiseguy NY Pizza

300 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 1
Washington, DC 20001
Between N. H St and N. 3rd St
Phone: (202) 408-7800
Website: wiseguynypizza.com

Where we come from, the Midwest, pizza sucks. So coming to the East Coast, we were looking forward to some good Italian food in general and pizza in particular. Wiseguy NY Pizza beats anything we have in Lawrence, Kansas, but it was not anywhere near the best. That is coming from someone spoiled with wonderful pizza, having lived in Naples (Italy, not Florida) and being married to an Italian.

The place is clean and the staff friendly. There were several pies to choose slices from and my wife was happy to see that there were "white" offerings as she has na aversion to tomatoes (yes, she is actually Italian and does not eat tomatoes, drink wine, or cook, but that's another story).

The slices range from $2.99 (cheese/Margherita) to $3.99 (Specialty), but they had a "Combo Special" - two slices (from any 20" pie) and a fountain drink for $9.69 so we went for it. My wife chose two of the Mushroom Truffle slices and I picked two NY Supreme slices.

The pizza was really good if you are from the Midwest and "mezza mezza" (so-so) if you are from Napoli. The slices were big, there were plenty of toppings, and the flavor was decent, although the NY Supreme needed a little help (extra oregano and parmesan cheese). The mushroom truffle was tasty in my opinion, but my wife has been spoiled by Neapolitan pizza all her life and said it was "OK" (a compliment from her).

All-in-all, we were satiated and relatively pleased to have a good meal for just over $20 in Washington DC. Hey, open a store in Lawrence ... PLEASE!

CombatCritic Gives Wiseguy NY PIzza 6* Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better

Six Bombs Equates To:

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Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

TripAdvisor - Top Contributor

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - #1 Ranked Foodie





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Title: Washington DC: Great Pizza (If You Are From The Midwest)

Key Words: Wiseguy NY Pizza, wiseguy, NY pizza, New York, new, york, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, Washington DC, Washington, DC, restaurant, menu review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: G2G =  "Good To Go"

* Ratings are based on "value" (bang for the buck) as compared to similar restaurants in a particular market/locale

Washington, DC: CombatCritic Was In The Haus ... And He Wasn't Happy

Biergarten Haus

1355 H Street NE

Washington, DC 20002

Between N. Linden Court and N. 14th St

Phone: (202) 388-4053

Website: biergartenhaus.com

I will not spend a great deal of time on this review because Biergarten Haus can be summarized very briefly, overpriced and mediocre. 

Having traveled extensively in Germany, I know good German bier and food when I taste it. A 1/2 liter of draft German beer (less than 17 ounces) was $8, so I did not taste it and drank water instead. We ordered three pretzel rolls ($5) and even though they looked appetizing, they had obviously been "nuked" (microwaved) because the outside was soft and warm, but the inside was as hard as a rock. The accompanying "homemade" mustard was good and spicy.

My wife ordered the Brauernwurst ($14), coming with a single sausage, a potato pancake, and sauerkraut. Everything tasted OK, but you normally get some bread and a salad or soup with German food. That was not the case and my wife, who is rather petite and not a big eater, was still hungry when we returned to our room, eating a yogurt from the fridge.

I had the Jägerschnitzel ($20), a breaded pork cutlet with hunter sauce (a brown, mushroom gravy). The cutlet was of decent proportion, but the breading was soft, not crispy as it should have been, obviously nuked like the pretzels. The hunter sauce was watery and bland, adding little taste to the dish. The fries were the decent, nothing special. I was also a bit hungry afterward, so I also had a snack in our room because we were not about to pay $8 for a nuked apple strüdel.

Coming in at $50 (for two), including tip, this meal was not a good value and an overall disappointment. The only reason they get 4 bombs instead of 3 was the service. The bartender who took and served our order was extremely kind and efficient, and for that we were grateful.

CombatCritic Gives Biergarten Haus 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

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Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

TripAdvisor - Top Contributor

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - #1 Ranked Foodie





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Title: Washington, DC: CombatCritic Was In The Haus ... And He Wasn't Happy

Key Words: Biergarten Haus, biergarten, bier, garten, beer, garden, German, Washington Dc, Washington, DC, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Zomato

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

Washington DC: Oui, Oui ... French With A Kick ... Mon Ami

Le Grenier

502 H Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
H Street Corridor/Atlas District/Near Northeast
Phone: (202) 544-4999
Website: legrenierdc.com

Excellent, reasonably priced French cuisine in a historic building just northeast of the Capitol, Le Grenier was a delight.

We were cheerfully accommodated while dropping in last minute on our way back to our room in eastern DC, having decided on French instead of German while en route. The service was excellent and the food tasty, not traditional French, but spicier with possible north African or Caribbean influences. The bread was OUT OF THIS WORLD, warm and soft on the inside, crispy on the out, we ate far more than would be reasonable ... oops!

I had a glass of complimentary Shiraz, courtesy of a Yelp Check-In Offer (thanks Yelp!), to start things off as well as the Casserolette de Moules (mussels and melted leeks in a creamy saffron sauce - $6.75) for my appetizer and the Pissaladière (a caramelized onion tart with herbes de Provence, creamy goat cheese, and Kalamata olives - $8.75) for my wife. The mussels were delish, but there were just five and they were, surprisingly, still in the shell, so by the time I deshelled them, there was not all that much to eat. The tart was wonderful, savory and oniony ... YUM, YUM!

My wife ordered the Paupiette de Veau ($20.95), "cumin infused ground veal with crimini and oyster mushrooms wrapped in cabbage and accompanied by wild rice and a green peppercorn velouté". The dish was excellent albeit a bit too spicy for my non-heat-seeking spouse of Italian origin, so I had to finish it for her ... poor me. I had the Terre é Mer ($22.95), described as "seared merguez sausage and shrimp over chorizo confit with a goat cheese sauce, sundried tomato and pine nut dust", accompanied by saffron infused mashed potatoes. The sole sausage was extremely thin and, unfortunately, very dry, being topped with three small grilled shrimp. The chorizo confit actually came in a flaky pastry on the side, not over, making the dish difficult to eat. Trying to get a piece of the dry sausage, shrimp, the wonderful cheese sauce, the chorizo, and the extremely flaky pastry together in one bite, with a fork no less, was next to impossible. The few times I was able to mix the appropriate ingredients together in a single bite was heavenly, but most were masticated solo or in pairs, resulting in a less than thrilling culinary experience. 

By the time we were done, we were satiated and happy, the bill coming in at $100 more or less, including tip. Not bad for a nice meal in the big city, including appetizers, entrees and two (paid for) glasses of wine.

CombatCritic Gives Le Grenier 7 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Seven Bombs Equates To:

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Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

TripAdvisor - Top Contributor

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - #1 Ranked Foodie





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Title: Washington DC: Oui, Oui ... French With A Kick ... Mon Ami

Key Words: Le Grenier, le, grenier, Washington DC, Washington, DC, French, cuisine, food CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: S&G = "Shits & Grins"

KC Yelp Elite Event Comes To ... Lawrence, Kansas - It's A Burger Bash @ BurgerFi!

Burger Bash @ BurgerFi

Yelp Elite Event

BurgerFi

918 Massachusetts Street

Lawrence, KS 66044

First off, thanks to Josh, owner of BurgerFi-Lawrence, for hosting such a great event and to Adam for FINALLY bringing an event to Lawrence ... HOOAH! It was so close to home that my wife and I were able to walk to the event.

Good wine, spirits, and beer, provided by BurgerFi (4 oz samples of each draft), a local winery (Chardonnay), and a Parkville distillery (vodka and gin) got the evening off to a roaring start. Then the food began to arrive and arrive and arrive and arrive. Two kinds of French fries (regular and Urban Style) and scrummy onion rings to share, then half of a BurgerFi Burger, half of a Breakfast All Day Burger, half of a VegeFi Burger (no bun), and 1/3 of a Chicago Style Hot Dog. Then it was time for dessert ... a small Key Lime or Coffee Mocha shake and a Red Velvet Concrete.

The food was plentiful and good and the drinks kept flowing for two hours. We were stuffed by the time it was over. The company, excellent as always, it was great to see some of my old Elite friends (Adam, Scott and Billie) and meet a few new ones (Bill and Sara).

I gave BurgerFi an average (3 Star/6 Bomb) review on my first visit, offering some suggestions for improvement, and was impressed by the owner's and corporate's willingness to reach out and ask for more feedback. I am even more impressed that they apparently took some of it to heart as they are increasing the size of their burgers and buns in the near future ... WOO-HOO! I look forward to trying the NEW AND IMPROVED BurgerFi Burgers when available.

CombatCritic Gives The "Burger Bash At BurgerFi" 10 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Ten Bombs Equates To:

"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, we said 'fuck it, let's go with HOOAH' ... thanks Army ... HOOAH! - CombatCritic

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

TripAdvisor - Top Contributor

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - #1 Ranked Foodie





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Title: KC Yelp Elite Event Comes To ... Lawrence, Kansas - It's A Burger Bash @ BurgerFi!

Key Words:  KC, Kansas City, Elite, Event, Comes To ... Lawrence, Kansas, Burger, Bash, BurgerFi, hamburger, Massachusetts, Mass, street, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu review, Yelp