CombatCritic's TravelValue™: shop

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 shop. Show all posts

Friday, December 20, 2019

Surprise (Phoenix), AZ: Don't Be The Lone Ranger, Gallop Over To Oscar's For The Best Tacos In The Southwest!

Oscar's Taco Shop
16811 N. Litchfield Road
Surprise, AZ 85374
Website: oscarstacoshop.com
Phone number: (623) 214-2112
Prices: $$$$

I do not say this very often, but THIS PLACE IS THE BOMB, 10 Bombs in-fact. If you love tacos, and all discerning and patriotic Americans loves tacos, you have to try Oscar's, now, get over there!

Having grown up in LA and lived three years in San Antonio, Texas, I know good Mexican food, especially tacos, when I see or taste one. Oscar's makes their own corn tortillas and they are HUGE! Then they fill them with a ton o' meat - pastor, carne asada, and carnitas among many others - then pack on the pico de gallo and guacamole ... HOOAH

On my first visit, I ordered way too much ... "Give me two Cheese and Onion Enchiladas ($5.49), one Carne Asada Taco and one Pastor Taco (just $3.25 each), and a 4 ounce order of Chips and Guacamole ($2.99)" I naively said. I managed to chow down on the two tacos, one enchilada and about half of the chips and guacamole, but I was about to burst, so I asked for a to-go carton.

The tacos are awesome, massive, and delicious, packed with a shitload of lean meat and the enchiladas are some of the best I have had, and I love enchiladas. They make their own red chili sauce and you can tell, this stuff is not out of a can. I asked them not to top them with lettuce, tomato, and sour cream and I am glad I did. I would not want to ruin the flavor of these delectable treats with sour cream.

On my second visit, I decided to reign myself in despite my better judgment - or was it total lack of judgment? - and ordered one Pastor Taco, one Carne Asada Taco, and one Crispy Shredded Beef Taco ($2.50). They came out in a standard take-out dinner plate, filling the plate entirely, that is how big they are. The crispy taco was served in the same massive corn tortilla as all the others, perfectly fried to just the right crispiness so it did not fall apart when I ate it, then filled with tasty shredded beef, lettuce, tomato, and cheese ... HOLY MOLY!

The place is small and very clean with seven or eight tables, but most people seem to order in advance and park right in front in one of their 15-minute, carry-out parking spots. You will be greeted by the nicest, sweetest, customer-oriented staff and your food will arrive pronto Tonto. So get over to Oscar's Lone Ranger and order some of the best, value-priced Mexican food I have had in a long, long time.

Needless to say, I will be returning often over the next month, before returning to my hometown of Portland, Oregon and its dearth of good Mexican food ... BOO-HOO.

CombatCritic Gives Oscar's Taco Shop 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

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Portland, OR: Holy Cow! Does Voodoo Doll Have Something In His Pocket Or Is He Just Happy To See Me?

Voodoo Doughnut

22 SW 3rd Avenue

Portland, OR 97204

Old Town

Phone number (503) 241-4704

Website: voodoodoughnut.com

Prices: $$$$

If you have never been to Voodoo Doughnut, give 'em a try. The original location is here in downtown Portland (Old Town), but they have shops in Eugene (OR), Denver (CO), Universal Studios Hollywood (CA) and Orlando (FL), as well as Austin (TX).

These photos are from our trip to the original shop in Old Town yesterday. As you can see, their look is quite eclectic, colorful, and retro, the menu a bit pornographic, and THE DONUTS ARE GREAT!

Most donuts run between 75¢ (plain cake) to $3.25 with a couple in the $5 to $7.50 range. Dozens range from $14 to $18 unless you want to pick your own. They even have vegan doughnuts, although I do not know how many. You can reportedly get a coffin (photo above) full of donuts for $130.

Their menu is a tad on the perverted side, with a Cock-n-Balls going for $6.50, a Triple Chocolate Penetration is $2, a Butterfingering is $2, an Old Dirty Bastard is $3, a Portland Cream (the Official Doughnut of Portland) is $2.25, and /or, finally, a Custom Cock going for $7.50, not a bad deal considering the fact that creating a doughnut that looks like a rooster is probably a very intricate and time consuming process! C'est la vie, after all, their slogan is: "The Magic Is In The Hole".

We got a Bacon and Maple ($3.25), an Apple Fritter ($3), and a Voodoo Doll ($3.50). The bacon and maple was glazed and covered with maple icing with crisscrossed slices of fried bacon on top and it was OK, but the taste was a bit weird and not really my thing. The apple fritter was big and tasty, but it could have been much crispier in my opinion. And, last-but-not-last, the voodoo doll (see above) was also glazed, iced with chocolate, colorfully decorated to look like a perverted gingerbread man complete with a sugary confection erection (see photos). As Harry Carey would have said, "Holy cow!".

BOO!

Hey, Voodoo Doll, is that something in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

Yep, you're happy

The only negatives are that you should have your E ticket ready ("E" does not stand for "electronic" - SoCal natives will know what I am talking about) because there always seems to be a line outside, sometimes with several dozen people queueing up to get in. They even have a serpentine setup for their line just like the ones at the Magic Kingdom. Finally, the cashiers are never particularly friendly, not quite rude, but seemingly indifferent to customers. I presume that after their 700th customer of the day, they could get a bit cranky, but there is never an excuse for not treating customers with the utmost courtesy, friendliness, dignity and respect. They get a two BOMB deduction for the grouchy employees, otherwise, Voodoo Doughnuts would have gotten my PERFECT SCORE and a spot on CombatCritic's "WALL OF FAME".

So, march on down to a Voodoo Doughnut near you for an overload on your sensations' of sight, smell, and taste. The massive wall painting just across the street wraps this place up in a nutshell: "Keep Portland Weird". If you happen to go to the original location, tell 'em CombatCritic sent you ... HOOAH!

CombatCritic Gives The Original Voodoo Doughnuts 8 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Eight Bombs Equates To:

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

Oh, and keeping with the theme of this review ... BITE ME!

Read this and many other reviews from around the world on my popular blog, CombatCritic's TravelValue - www.CombatCritic.com - 70,000+ Visitors a Year ... And Counting!

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Washougal, WA: Great Haircut + Fair Prices = My Highest Recommendation

Washougal Barber Shop

1922 Main Street

Washougal, WA 98671

Phone number (360) 835-2302

Prices: $$$$

I had hesitated to try this barber because they do not advertise prices in the window or on the wall and they do not have a website as far as I can tell, but I decided to mosey on in one sleepy morning last week.

I received a friendly greeting from the owner and her two doggies, one a black Bulldog puppy and the other an older Yorkshire Terrier. I asked about prices for a haircut and was asked if I was retired. Having replied to her question in the affirmative, she told me $12 ... SOLD!

Unlike most of the chain shops with young, inexperienced beauticians, I was engaged in pleasant conversation while she cut my hair, finishing the job with a complimentary razor cut, hot towel, and short massage on the back of my neck. The cut was exactly as I had asked for, no modifications required.

I have finally found my new go-to barber, something I have not had since my retirement from the Air Force. I will return here from now on and recommend that you do the same if you want a good haircut at a reasonable price when in Washougal.

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

Ten Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians:

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