Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz, Spain: Mehbe I Walked Too Far For The Mexican Food At El Villano

El Villano

Calle de las Magnolias, 37 11500 

El Puerto de Santa María, Spain

Phone: +34 956 853 845

Wesbite: N/A

Prices: €€€€

I walked one kilometer to eat here because, first, parking was impossible to find near my hotel and did not want to give up my space, and, second, the menu and photos made it appear that the food was nearly authentic Mexican.

The server spoke a little English, so I ordered a small pitcher of margarita, a half-order of nachos (€4.75) , and the Tacos Tijuana (€11.00).

The margarita was too sweet and had little alcohol. Meh!

The server told me that I could not order just chips and salsa and I thought he said that I could order a 'half' order of nachos, but when the nachos arrived, it was a full order (€9.50), obviously a miscommunication, so I let it slide. The chili was not bad and it came with a small cup of green salsa, guacamole, and pico de gallo, but the chips were not house-made as appearing in the photos I saw, they were Tostitos. Had I known, I would not have bothered. Meh #2!

The tacos arrived looking pretty good, four corn tortillas with a decent portion of carne asada and a liquified guacamole with small cups of green salsa and pico de gallo. They were pretty tasty, but four small tacos for €11.00 was not exactly a TravelValue.

Overall, the food was decent, not great, and the service good, so I will go easy on them even though I was told the chef was from Tijuana. 

Meh...be I should not have walked so far for what I got.

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

Five Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

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Title: Puerto de Santa Maria,  Cadiz, Spain: Mehbe I Walked Too Far For The Mexican Food At El Villano

Key Words: Puerto de Santa Maria,  Cadiz, Spain, Mexican, food, El Villano, taco, burrito, enchilada, margarita, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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Olhão, Portugal: No Bull, El Torito Is Not Bad, But Overpriced ... Ay Caramba!

El Torito

Avenida 5 de Outubro 156

8700-304 Olhão, Portugal

Phone: 289 704 343

GrupoSabores.pt/ElTorito

€€€€   Mexican restaurant

Not bad. I was expecting much worse because I have seen few Mexican restaurants outside the American Southwest with authentic Mexican food. This barely approximates 'authentic', but I will not judge them by rigorous US standards.

The chips and salsa €2.95 appeared without being told we would be charged for them, but they also appeared house-made and were pretty darn good. I was expecting Doritos and the over-sweet El Paso salsa you can buy in stores here, so it was a decent start.

As abundant as avocados are in the Algarve, I wanted to try their Guacamole €3.50 and it was passable with diced onions and tomatoes, but no cilantro that I could taste and not enough garlic or salt. We also ordered the Rolled Tacos €4.50, deep fried flour tortillas filled with beef and topped with a creamy sweet sauce that I could have done without ... MEH!

My wife loved her Cheese Quesadilla €6.95 because it was stuffed with melted cheese, but how can you screw up a cheese quesadilla, right? I had the Tacos Chipotle €14, quite pricey for three small tacos filled with what seemed like stewed beef, not steak as I was told, cheese, which I could not find, and chipotle sauce, accompanied by a heap of pico de gallo and a smattering of Spanish rice and a tablespoonful of refried beans.

The Margaritas €5 tasted quite good, but I could not taste any tequila or other spirits and the buzz was MIA. For another €2, I could have gotten a pitcher, so, do that, it is a much better deal for their virgin margaritas.

CombatCritic Generously Gives El Torito 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Five Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

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Zomato - #1 Ranked "VERIFIED" CONNOISSEUR (13) - Over  4 Million Review And Photo Views ... And Counting - #1 Reviewer in Portland, Oregon!

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Title: Olhão, Portugal: No Bull, El Torito Is Not Bad, But Overpriced ... Ay Caramba!

Key Words: Olhão, Portugal, bull, El Torito, overpriced, taco, tacos, guacamole, burrito, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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Gresham, Oregon: Not A Lot Of Luck, But A Decent Meal At La Herradura

La Herradura Mexican Restaurant

90 NE Division Street

Gresham, OR 97030

LaHerradura.com

Phone number: (503) 491-1650

Prices: $$$$

My buddy took me to La Herradura (the horseshoe) and it was pretty good, but I have had better and less expensive Mexican meals at many other restaurants in this and numerous other cities. Portland Mexican restaurants, like their Italian brethren, are, unfortunately, mediocre at best and this horseshoe was not exactly what I would call lucky.

First off, we had to pay for chips and salsa ($2.50), which were OK, coming with a small cup of mild green salsa and a similar size cup of bean dip. For the price ($4.95), the equally small cup of guacamole we ordered was not particularly a bargain, but it was decent. So far, so average.

My Tacos - Excuse The Crappy Photos, But My Samsung S7 Went Tits-Up

I had recently been through a rather traumatic experience and the purpose of our lunch was to talk about what had been going on and how I was doing. The place was relatively empty, but the server kept coming to our table, asking me if I was ready to order every 3-4 minutes, interrupting our rather sensitive conversation on each occasion. She eventually tried to sway me toward the lunch specials, which I had seen on the way in and was not particularly thrilled about. Finally, I had to quickly peruse the menu and out of frustration, went with my mainstays, two Carne Asada Street Tacos ($1.60 ea) and two Cheese and Onion Enchiladas (ala carte - $2.50 ea). Each taco came on two tiny little corn tortillas with a small amount of chopped, grilled steak, along with some diced white onion and cilantro. They were adequate, but I get much more meat on two larger corn tortillas at my local taqueria for just $1.50 a piece. The enchiladas were pretty good with lots of cheese and red chili sauce, but the onions were inexplicably missing.

Enchiladas - My Samsung S7 Went Tits-Up, So I Bought A Cheap Replacement Until The 5G Phones Come Out Later This Year

My high school pal had a better experience, having ordered the Chili Relleno Lunch Special ($8.95), which looked delicious and, according to him, it was. The chili was massive, stuffed with gooey cheese and surrounded by a fluffy egg omelette, coming with rice and beans and not a bad deal. 

All in all, not bad and not great, but lunch for $30, including tip, with only water to drink seems a bit pricey for the meal we had. The service was efficient and friendly enough, but the nearly constant interruptions and the pressure to order our meals was a bit disconcerting. 

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

Five Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

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Title: Gresham, Oregon: Not A Lot Of Luck, But A Decent Meal At La Herradura

Key Words: Gresham, Oregon, luck, La Herradura, la, herradura, horseshoe, mexican, taco, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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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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Zomato - #1 Ranked "VERIFIED" CONNOISSEUR (13) - Over  4 Million Review And Photo Views ... And Counting - #1 Reviewer in Portland, Oregon!

Booking.com - Frequent Traveler "Genius"

Google Maps - "Top Photographer" With Over 3 Million Views!

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

Key Words: Sedona, AZ, Tortas de Fuego, tortas, de, fuego, fire, tacos, taco, Mexican, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Google

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