Sunday, April 15, 2018

Turned Away And Insulted After Being Two Minutes Late For A Three Minute Pizza

Pizzeria La Sorrentina
9811 NE15th Avenue
Vancouver, WA 98665
Phone number (360) 980-1651
Website: lasorrentinavw.com
Prices: $$$$

We drove nearly 30 minutes from our home, arriving just two minutes after their 2PM "closing" time due to unexpected traffic. We were hoping to sample their offerings because, having lived in Naples, Italy for three years and being married to an Italian (my wife's family still lives in Naples and we visit quite often), I love authentic pizza Napoletana and was curious to see just how authentic theirs was.

When we arrived, the oven was still going strong and the two employees were still there prepping for dinner with the door and window open. We stood there for a minute while the woman looked at us without saying a word, so I finally asked her "Are you closed?" to which she responded only with a "Yes". I was a bit shocked because there was absolutely no reason to turn us away and they did not even bother to tell us why they would not serve us at 2:02 PM. 

If this was a sit down restaurant, I could understand why we would not be served and would not expect it. However, having eaten many pizzas in Naples and attended a "pizzaiolo" (pizza maker) course in their this past February, I know that a Neapolitan pizza takes less than 90 seconds to prepare and about 60-90 seconds to bake at 485 degrees Fahrenheit. I understand that they were "officially" closed and may have had things to do, but taking 3 minutes to make a pizza for a customer was, I believe, not too much to expect.

The restaurant business and customer service are all about making customers happy and turning us away so rudely was, in my opinion, uncalled for. Having spent a great deal of time in the business and owned a very successful mobile food operation myself, I would have never turned a customer away in similar circumstances, but that is just me. 

After leaving a tip on Yelp regarding my experience, someone (whom I am assuming was the owner or manager) sent me a compliment with a "You're Funny" tag stating: 

"I'm not going to serve pizza anyone even 1minutes late. Please come during business sir. Thank you"

Part of my responsibility to readers on Yelp, my blog, and other sites is to provide an accurate, honest "opinion" based on my experiences, so I did not appreciate being laughed at ("You're Funny") because I take my responsibilities and commitment to my readers very seriously. A more professional and customer-oriented response would have been much more appropriate in my opinion. For example: "I am very sorry that we had to turn you away, but our employees were busy prepping for dinner and could not take the time to serve you. Please accept our sincere apology and come back to visit us very soon!" would have been a much more appropriate response and they would have likely gained a return customer. Unfortunately, based on our negative experience and the business's insulting reaction to my tip, I will not be returning any time soon. Not an unreasonable person, if an apology is forthcoming, I may consider giving them another chance and revising my review/rating.

CombatCritic Gives Pizzeria La Sorrentina 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My "WALL OF SHAME" ... More Bombs Are Better!

One Bomb Equates To:
Translation for Civilians: "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"


Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "GOLD" ELITE '14/'15/'16/'17/'18 
  • 650,000+ Views A Year
Read Chris S.'s review of Pizzeria La Sorrentina on Yelp

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"

Pizzeria La Sorrentina Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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 1 Million Views!

View my food journey on Zomato!

View my food journey on Zomato!

View my food journey on Zomato!

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube and our sister channel, CombatCounselor Chronicleswith Over 1,250 Subscribers and 1,000,000 Video Views ... HOOAH!

Title: Vancouver, WA: Turned Away And Insulted After Being Two Minutes Late For A Three Minute Pizza

Key Words: Pizzeria La Sorrentina, pizzeria, la, Sorrentina, pizza, Sorrento, Vancouver, Washington, Portland, Oregon, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Facebook


Copyright 2018 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Can You Say Biscuits And Gravy? Sure Ya Can!

Gateway Breakfast House
11411 NE Halsey Street
Portland, OR 97220
Phone number (503) 256-6280
Website: gatewaybreakfasthouse.com
Prices: $$$$

President Obama ate here in 2012 with a couple of veterans and there is a photo on the wall to prove it. A bit of a dive, the decor could definitely use an HGTV makeover, probably the first since 1985 from the looks of it. Do not expect anything fancy here and you will not be disappointed, just good, abundant, reasonably priced breakfast fare. The place was packed at 1:30PM on a Saturday, having to wait 15 minutes for a table.


My wife had the Pick Three ($7.95), selecting a pancake, French toast and hash browns (other choices: waffle, sausage links, eggs, biscuit and gravy, bacon, toast or English muffin). Plenty o' food for less than $8, she was satiated and content with her choices.

I ordered the Country Breakfast ($11.45), coming with two eggs over-medium, country fried steak (other options: bacon, sausage, ham, burger, pork chop or German sausage), hash browns (pancakes, French toast, waffle, or toast also available) and a biscuit and gravy. The country fried steak was smothered in country gravy and the hash browns plentiful. My only complaint being that the gravy could use a bit more seasoning, otherwise the breakfast was plentiful and tasty with the eggs cooked to perfection.

All-in-all, this was the best breakfast I have had in quite some time and, without a doubt, I will be Barack.


CombatCritic Gives Gateway Breakfast House 8 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Eight Bombs Equates To:

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

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "GOLD" ELITE '14/'15/'16/'17/'18 
  • 650,000+ Views A Year
Read Chris S.'s review of Gateway Breakfast House on Yelp

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"


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 1 Million Views!

View my food journey on Zomato!




View my food journey on Zomato!

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube and our sister channel, CombatCounselor Chronicleswith Over 1,250 Subscribers and 1,000,000 Video Views ... HOOAH!

Title: Portland, OR: Can You Say Biscuits And Gravy? Sure Ya Can!

Key Words: Gateway Breakfast House, gateway, breakfast, house, biscuits, gravy, Portland, Oregon, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

Copyright 2018 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Enjoy Your Sunday At The Portland Saturday Market

Portland Saturday Market
2 SW Naito Pkwy
Portland, OR 97204
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?


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
Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "GOLD" ELITE '14/'15/'16/'17/'18 
  • 650,000+ Views A Year
Read Chris S.'s review of Portland Saturday Market on Yelp

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"


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 1 Million Views!

View my food journey on Zomato!




View my food journey on Zomato!

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube and our sister channel, CombatCounselor Chronicleswith Over 1,250 Subscribers and 1,000,000 Video Views ... HOOAH!

Title: Portland, OR: Enjoy Your Sunday At The Portland Saturday Market

Key Words: Portland, Oregon, Sunday, Portland Saturday Market, Saturday, market, downtown, Voodoo Doughnuts, voodoo, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu,  destination, review, Yelp, Zomato, Google

Copyright 2018 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved

Monday, April 2, 2018

CombatCritic Is The #1 Reviewer In "The Foodie Capital" Of The U.S. ... Portland, Oregon!

It's Official ... CombatCritic is the #1 Reviewer in Portland, Oregon according to Zomato ... HOOAH!
Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "GOLD" ELITE '14/'15/'16/'17/'18 
  • 650,000+ Views A Year
Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"


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 1 Million Views!

View my food journey on Zomato!




View my food journey on Zomato!

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube and our sister channel, CombatCounselor Chronicleswith Over 1,250 Subscribers and 1,000,000 Video Views ... HOOAH!


Title: CombatCritic Is The #1 Reviewer In "The Foodie Capital" Of The U.S. ... Portland, Oregon!

Key Words: CombatCritic, #1, number, 1, top, best, reviewer, Portland, Oregon, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, hotel, destination, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, Google

Copyright 2018 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved