TravelValue: Portland, Oregon

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!

... 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: 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

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!

... 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: 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

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!

... 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: 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

Find "The Fatties" On Davis If In Need Of A Taco Fix In The Pearl

Los Gorditos

922 NW Davis Street

Portland, OR 97209

Pearl District

Phone number (503) 805-5323

Website: losgorditospdx.com

Prices: $$$$

On the plus side, the food was decent with reasonable portions and fair prices, particularly for downtown. On the flip side, the employees were too busy talking to assist us or communicate succinctly, the salsa bar's contents were mostly frozen, I am talking "ice", and I got a huge piece of gristle in my carne asada taco.

The place was not what I expected with stainless steel, glass and modern black tables and chairs instead of the colorful Mexican decor you routinely find in a mom and pop cantina. You pick from "vegan", "vegetarian", or "meat" menus sitting in front of the grill area, ordering at the adjacent register where they give you a number to place on your table. There were only high-tops and one four-top table with two long "family-style" tables with seating for 12, so be prepared to interact with strangers if so inclined.

We ordered Chips and Salsa ($3.50), a side of Guacamole ($2), a Quesadilla with Chopped Carne Asada ala carte ($5), two Carne Asada Tacos (2 x $2 = $4), and an Enchilada Plate (carne asada, rice and beans - $10.50).

The chips were OK, neither fresh nor warm and the salsa very orange with a strange taste, not bad, but odd. The guacamole was pretty good, made with fresh avocados and chopped tomato, a nice portion and an excellent value at just $2.

The quesadilla was a decent size and tasty with plenty of cheese and carne asada. My tacos had plenty o' chopped carne asada, but one had a piece of gristle the size of my pinky inside, at least I hope it was gristle, still a bargain at $2 each. The enchiladas were also pretty good, but a tad on the dry side and the rice/beans OK, nothing special.

Gristle

For just $24, we ate well and I would recommend "The Fatties" (Los Gorditos) if in the Pearl District and in need of a quick Mexican fix. Do not expect anything lavish and alcohol is not an option, so if you want a sit down meal with all the trimmings ... go elsewhere. Just be careful when you bite into your taco.

If this place had servers, some beer and margaritas, a better and not-frozen salsa bar, a little better quality control with their meat (maybe the cooks could stop the chit-chat for a while), and some charm, they could have scored 8-9 Bombs. However, ...

CombatCritic Gives Los Gorditos 6 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Six Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Good To Go"

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

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

650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"

Read Chris S.'s review of Los Gorditos on Yelp

On the plus side, the food was decent with reasonable portions and fair prices, particularly for downtown. On the flip...
Posted by Chris Sorrentino on Monday, April 2, 2018

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: Find "The Fatties" On Davis If In Need Of A Taco Fix In The Pearl

Key Words: Los Gorditos, los, gorditos, Portland, OR, Davis, taco, Pearl District, pearl, Mexican, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Google