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"

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp "GOLD" ELITE '14/'15/'16/'17/'18/'19 

• Over 1.4 Million Views A Year

Read Chris S.'s review of La Herradura Mexican 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!

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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

Copyright 2020 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved

Washougal, WA: No Bueno Compadres! ... Not Good Mate!

Los Dos Compadres

701 E Street

Washougal, WA 98671

Phone number (360) 335-1706

Website: They Do Not Have One

Prices: $$$$

I thought Mexican restaurants in the Midwest were bad ... until we moved to Portland, Oregon. I love Mexican food, but I would rather cook at home then eat the crap places like this put out.

I paid $20 plus tip ($24) for a dinner for one with NO DRINKS, only water, and all I had was a taco, enchilada, and chimichanga (it was actually a burrito) with refried beans and a small side of guacamole ($4.95). I like to have a margarita or a beer when I eat Mexican food, but I refuse to order drinks at restaurants that do not print drink prices on their menus. Soft drink prices were on the menu, but you have to guess how much the alcoholic drinks will be, meaning they are probably trying to gouge you.

The chips were store-bought, about the same quality as you can get at Safeway just down the street and the salsa likely out of a plastic tub. You apparently have to pay extra if you want more than one bowl of their mediocre chips. I asked if they had "hot" salsa, something every Mexican restaurant I have ever been to has, but was told "that's all we got". The guacamole was not bad and was well seasoned, but the serving was skimpy for $5.

The taco came on a pre-fab shell, a sure sign that you are eating at a substandard Mexican restaurant. If they do not even bother to fry their own taco shells, that tells you about their commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction. Tacos are one of America's favorite foods, so why would anybody eat at a place that uses Rosarita or Old El Paso taco shells? There was plenty of ground beef, but it was an odd red color and so greasy (see video below) that the crappy shell was falling apart shortly after arriving at my table. I had to eat the last half off of the plate with my fork.

The cheese and onion enchilada was the sole highlight of the meal, but that is not saying much. The supposed "chimichanga" that I ordered was actually a very small burrito, the smallest flour tortilla I have ever seen with shredded beef inside and two small dabs of guacamole on top. I asked the server if that was what they call a "chimichanga" and he said it was, telling me that it was supposed to be deep fried, a step they apparently had missed. Being so dismayed by my experience, I politely declined when he offered to have it remade.

The service was friendly and good with the food coming very fast and my water glass topped-up without delay. Unfortunately, the food sucked just like at their sister restaurant a few blocks east and the fork they gave me still had food on it from the last customer. It was not the worst Mexican restaurant I have ever been to, but it was close.

CombatCritic Gives Los Dos Compadres 3 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Three Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up"

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "GOLD" ELITE '14/'15/'16/'17/'18 

• 650,000+ Views A Year

Read Chris S.'s review of Los Dos Compadres on Yelp

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Title: Washougal, WA: No Bueno Compadres! ... Not Good Mate!

Key Words: Los Dos Compadres, los, dos, compadres, Washougal, Washington, Camas, Portland, Oregon, tacos, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Google

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

Camas, WA: Extremely Underwhelming - An Unfortunate Trend In Recent Weeks

Feast At 316
316 Dallas Street
Camas, WA 98607
Phone number (360) 210-7498
Website: camasfeast316.com
Prices: $$$$

After hearing and reading good things about Feast at 316, we decided to invite some friends from Gresham for lunch after having attended my wife's presentation on Emily Brönte at the Camas Public Library around the corner. The place was empty when we arrived, a relatively small dining room and bar with brick walls, wooden tables and chairs, and chalkboards. At $40 for lunch, including tip, a burger, meatloaf and an IPA ($6), I was not impressed in the least. 

The Plain Jane burger ($10) was as described, a simple, decent size beef patty with cheddar cheese on a basic bun, a small lettuce leaf (with a puddle of water still on it), thinly sliced tomato and onion, and homemade sweet pickle slices that were not very good. The accompanying steak fries appeared to be cut in-house and were seasoned well, but lukewarm, not hot. Not a bad value overall, but the meat had an odd taste.

My McCusker Meatloaf ($15) was wrapped in bacon and a puff pastry, but very dry with no gravy or sauce. It had obviously been sitting somewhere for quite a while because it was, like the fries, lukewarm, had little flavor, and fell apart when cut with my fork, making it difficult to eat. The "smash fried potatoes" seemed more like burnt potato skins than fried potatoes, sitting on a red sauce, apparently their "Monkey Gland" sauce, which tasted as bad as the name sounds. The accompanying brussel sprouts came in a bacon Dijon sauce and were too rich for me to finish. Believe it or not, the same meatloaf is $25 on their dinner menu, but I felt ripped off having paid $15 for the lunch version, neither coming with soup, salad, and/or bread.

Pasta dishes run $22 to $27 and other entrees range from $23 (chicken) to $43 (8 ounce filet) on the dinner menu. At $27, their "Fettucine" Bolognese (misspelled on the menu - it should be "fettuccine" with two Cs) costs three times more than the best and most expensive Bolognese I have ever had in Italy. Based on our lunch experience and their dinner menu prices, I do not see myself spending $100 on a mediocre, lukewarm dinner for two any time soon.

At least they do not have a 5% surcharge for non-tipped employees any longer, apparently having decided to pay their employees a fair wage without gouging customers any more than they already do.

CombatCritic Gives Feast At 316 3 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Three Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up"

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Read Chris S.'s review of Feast At 316 on Yelp

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!

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Camas, WA: Extremely Underwhelming - An Unfortunate Trend In Recent Weeks

Key Words: Feast at 316, feast, 316, Camas, Washington, Portland, Oregon, steak, house, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Google, Facebook

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Dear Friend (Caro Amico), Get A Clue (Ottenere Un Indizio)!

Caro Amico Italian Cafe
3606 SW Barbur Blvd
Portland, OR 97239
South Portland, Southwest Portland
Phone number (503) 223-6895
Website: caroamicoitaliancafe.com
Prices: $$$$

Ho-Hum. When I saw just 3.5 stars, I had some concerns. But with nary a decent, home-style Italian restaurant in a town infamous for its culinary delights, I decided to give Caro Amico a shot.

Having lived and traveled extensively in Italy and being married to an Italian, I am used to great, authentic Italian food and Neapolitan pizza at extremely reasonable prices. This has not been the case in Portland in the year we have lived here. With pasta dishes at $20+, individual "Neapolitan" pizzas, and I use that term loosely, in the same price range, and veal entrees (no soup/salad, bread, or both) at $25 and up (when you can find veal), I have found Italian food in Portland and surrounds expensive and subpar. Caro Amico was no exception.

We were herded into the dark bar at 5:20PM even though there were several tables in the restaurant available. The bartender seemed a bit grouchy, not understanding my wife's inquiry about sauce options for her pizza (she's allergic to tomatoes) and stating "whatever" rather than taking the time to understand or explain.

Their "Happy Hour" menu is a joke, with drink prices basically the same as regular prices as far as I could tell and half orders of menu dishes at half-price. Where is the value in that? Being our first visit, we decided to order of the regular menu.

Instead of getting an 6.5 inch "small" one-topping pizza/snack for $11.50, my wife ordered a large pizza "Milano Style", which turned out to be "olive oil and sweet basil" (aka "pesto"), with mushrooms ($18.50) so we could take home the leftovers, a much better value. Having lived in Naples, Italy most of her life, she is a bit of a pizza snob, claiming that the size was "OK" and the sauce, cheese and mushrooms somewhat flavorful, but the crust rather chewy and "blah".

I went with my "American" favorite, Veal Parmigiana (which you would never find in Italy - there is no such thing as meat with tomato sauce and cheese on top), my go-to dish and a telltale sign of a restaurant's quality and value. At $24.75, the "veal" was not bad, but a bit too thick (could have been pounded more) and a little tough. The sauteed veggies were rather flavorless, a mixture on broccolini, zucchini, onions and peppers and mixed in with the pasta (penne) that did not have enough sauce on it. The sauce was fair, not bad, but nothing special. Either the penne or veggies had not been drained well enough because there was a pool of water under the pasta, an unforgivable faux pas and pet peeve of mine.

If you are paying $25 for an à la carte entrée, they could at least drain the pasta and put enough sauce on it so you do not have to eat plain, watery penne ... barf! They also do not serve bread with your meal, something expected at the vast majority Italian restaurants stateside and at ALL restaurants in Italy. There was not even bread on the menu, except for the $7 garlic bread that costs exactly the same on both the regular and happy hour menus.

The numerous "5-star" reviews indicate that they have obviously never been to Italy, having likely eaten only in Portland's dearth of decent Italian restaurants, so Caro Amico's 3.5 -star Yelp average seems a bit high to me. I give them deductions for a lukewarm reception, shoving us into the dark and dingy bar with a grumpy bartender, lack of bread with our meal, a lousy happy hour menu, watery pasta, and not so cheap à la carte menu. Based on this, our first visit, we will not be returning anytime soon ... not impressed in the least.

CombatCritic Gives Caro Amico 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

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

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "GOLD" ELITE '14/'15/'16/'17/'18 

• 650,000+ Views A Year

Read Chris S.'s review of Caro Amico Italian Cafe on Yelp

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!

... 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: Portland, OR: Dear Friend (Caro Amico), Get A Clue (Ottenere Un Indizio)!

Key Words: Caro Amico Italian Cafe, Caro Amico, caro, amico, Italian, pizza, 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