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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TripAdvisor - Top Contributor

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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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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

Alexandria, VA: Sam Phao Means "Stuff Your Pie Hole With Great Food For Little Money"

Sam Phao Thai Cuisine

1019 King Street

Alexandria, VA 22314

Old Town Alexandria

Phone: (703) 548-3736

Website: samphaothaicuisine.com

To start, I love Thai food, so I appreciate good Thai when I taste it. Next, comparing the DC area to Lawrence, Kansas is like comparing Dom Perignon to Andre, "not gonna do it, wouldn't be prudent", particularly when it comes to restaurants and prices. Lawrence restaurant options are bleak at best, hardly a decent restaurant in town, but DC has an abundance of excellent restaurants and they ain't cheap compared to the Midwest.

Enter Sam Phao, a small place in central Old Town Alexandria. I checked several menus in Old Town after a day at Mount Vernon and the prices in Alexandria (for "average" food) were not cheap. The $$ options on Yelp were running $20-$30 for an entree and we did not really want to blow another C-note for dinner (my blog is named "TravelValue" after all), then I saw Sam Phao. Their prices were very reasonable and the reviews excellent, so I hit "Directions" and off we went.

The ground floor room we entered was very small, so we were taken upstairs to a larger dining room and a table for two by the window. For starters, we ordered a Chicken Satay ($5.95) and a Crispy Wonton ($4.95). There were four large skewers of chicken satay along with the peanut sauce, cucumber relish and four 1/4 pieces of toast. The satay and peanut sauce were yummy and the toast a novelty, but it made it easy to get the chicken, peanut sauce and relish all on a fork. The six wonton had a savory minced chicken inside of the crispy fried wrapper as well as sweet and sour sauce and cucumber relish for dipping. They were excellent as well ... what a great start!

For mains, my wife got the Pad Thai “J” ($10.95), thin rice noodles and mixed vegetables stir-fried with egg, bean sprouts, scallions, tofu, and crushed roasted peanuts. I ordered the Yellow Curry ($13.95) with beef, potatoes, carrots, and onion, all of them my favorites are a rare find in one dish. I was not wild about the Pad Thai because of the egg (which is optional), but it was massive and my wife loved it. The yellow curry was divine, one of the best curries i have had in a long, long time. There was plenty o' beef, big chunks of potato, large slices of carrot, and pieces of onion along with the white rice. The curry sauce was an incredible combination of hot spiciness along with a very slightly sweet aftertaste, so I dumped the rice in the bowl of curry, instead of the other way around, and delightfully spooned the contents into my pie hole until gone ... HOOAH!

At $40, including tax, for two appetizers and two entrees, we could not have been more pleased. The prices rival those of similar, but inferior, restaurants in Lawrence, so in Alexandria and the DC area, this place was THE BOMB.

CombatCritic Gives Sam Phao 9 Bombs Out Of 10, A Rare And Near Perfect Rating ... More Bombs Are Better Of Course!

Nine Bombs Equates To:

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Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

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Title: Alexandria, VA: Sam Phao Means "Stuff Your Pie Hole With Great Food For Little Money"

Key Words: Sam Phao Thai Cuisine, Sam Phao, Sam, Phao, Thai, cuisine, food, curry, Alexandria, VA, Virginia, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: OOH-RAH! = "U.S. Marine Expression Of Enthusiasm"

Washington DC: Air And Space Museum - An Airman's Dream With A Few Flaws

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Independence Avenue and 6th Street SW

Washington, DC 20560

Phone: (202) 633-1000

Website: nasm.si.edu

The Air and Space Museum is a dream for an Airman like me, but the crowds drove me bonkers! 

The exhibits are sublime, from Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis to the original Wright Flyer, the aviation history in this building is impressive. However, the massive amount of humanity roaming the halls was a nightmare. People roaming around in a trance or engulfed in conversation or their cell phone caused bottleneck after bottleneck. Having only a week in DC with too many things to do and see, we did not have time to lollygag and that was extremely frustrating.

The building is also in desperate need of maintenance. From a leaking roof that stained the walls to carpets with duct tape covering the holes, the building requires some simple maintenance to bring it up to Washington DC and Smithsonian standards.

CombatCritic Gives The Smithsonian's Air And Space Museum 8 Bombs Out Of 10 With A Two Bomb Deduction For Crowds And Poor Maintenance ... More Bombs Are Better!

Eight 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: Air And Space Museum - An Airman's Dream With A Few Flaws

Key Words: Washington DC, Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian, air, space, national, Washington, DC, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, attraction, museum, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Translation for Civilians: WTFO = "What-The-F#@& ... Over!"