Boise (Meridian), ID: : Big Place, Excellent Service, Good Value, So-So Execution

Louie’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant

2500 E. Fairview Avenue

Meridian, ID 83642

Phone number: (208) 884-5200

Website: louiespizza.com

Prices: $$$$

A cavernous room with Italian street motif and a fountain in the middle, the ambiance was decent enough. My server, Journey, was friendly, professional and very efficient. Their house wine was not bad and a good value at $4.75 per glass.

The prices are fair enough with the Veal Parmesan and a side of pasta coming in at $17.99, including soup or salad and garlic bread (which was not obvious from reading the menu). I asked for and got Bolognese (meat) sauce on my penne, but the pasta was not drained well and made the adjacent veal quite soggy. The veal was a bit too thick and chewy, so it could have used a good pounding before being breaded to make it more tender and appear larger. The sauce was OK, but would have probably been better had it not been watered down by the poorly drained pasta.

CombatCritic Gives Louie's Pizza and Italian Restaurant 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 

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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"

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Title: Boise (Meridian), ID: : Big Place, Excellent Service, Good Value, So-So Execution

Key Words: Louie’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant, Louie's, Louie, pizza, Italian, Meridian, Boise, ID, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu,  review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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Long Beach, WA: A Dive With Good Burgers ... And Proud Of It!

Long Beach Tavern
302 Pacific Avenue South
Long Beach, WA 98631
Phone number (360) 642-3235
Website: longbeachtavern.com
Prices: $$$$

Not a bit of a dive, this place IS a dive and they are proud of it! We steered away at first after looking at the menu which had only burgers and pizza for the most part. A guy coming out while we stood there said to us, “they got cold beer and good food”, so after realizing that many places in town were closed on Wednesdays, we decided to give them a shot.

This place has not been remodeled since the 1970s and that’s OK because they do not pretend to be anything they are not. This is a working tavern with beer, burgers, pizza and a cast of regulars who all know each other. The corner of the bar has a sign next to it saying: “RESERVED – Liars Corner”, so I guess the guy and gal sitting there cannot be trusted to tell the truth. They have a decent selection of tap and bottled beers on-hand, so I got an IPA or two which were both cold and a decent value at $4.75 a pint.

Mushroom Swiss Burger ($8.25) with fries ($2.50)

Double Burger ($8.50) with cheese ($1), bacon ($1.25), and a side of fries ($2.50)

We ordered two burgers, me a Double Burger ($8.50) with cheese ($1), bacon ($1.25), and a side of fries ($2.50) and my better half a Mushroom Swiss Burger ($8.25) with fries ($2.50). I could have probably gone with a single beef patty because there was so much meat, I could barely open my pie hole wide enough to bite the damn thing. The fries were supposed to be “beer battered” according to the menu, but they were closer to “shoestring” and straight out of a bag, being the only “disappointment” of the meal. My wife’s $10.75 burger plate was much larger and tastier than the one we paid $2.25 more for just up the street a few nights before.

CombatCritic Gives Long Beach Tavern 7 Bombs Out Of 10 … More Bombs Are Better!

Seven Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Shits & Grins"

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

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

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Read Chris S.'s review of Long Beach Tavern 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!

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Title: Long Beach, WA: A Dive With Good Burgers ... And Proud Of It!

Key Words: Long Beach Tavern, Long Beach, Washington, Cape Disappointment, 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

Long Beach, WA: A Mild "Disappointment", But A Decent Value Overall

Malai Thai Restaurant

509 Pacific Avenue South
Long Beach, WA 98631
Phone number (360) 642-2275
Prices: $$$$

Having spent a few days at Cape Disappointment State Park just 15 minutes up the road, this was one of the few modern, semi-upscale (not a dive) restaurants on the peninsula as far as I could tell and the highest rated of two on Yelp. We arrived at the front door on Wednesday night, but, oddly enough, they were “Closed”, so we had to find somewhere else to eat in a town with few dining options, even fewer in early spring before the summer throngs arrive.

The Chicken Pot Stickers with Ginger Soy Sauce ($7) were pretty good, coming with seven at exactly a buck a piece. The accompanying sauce was one of two “disappointments” of the evening, a small cup half filled with soy sauce and a little ginger which I could not taste. The other disappointment and a pet peeve was when our entrees both arrived before we were even half-way finished with our appetizer. No excuse.

I ordered my Thai go-to, Massaman Curry, with beef, potatoes, onion and peanuts ($11). It was good, not the best I have had by far, coming with a fair amount of thinly sliced beef in a Massaman sauce that was also “thinner” than most. The flavor was still pretty good.

My wife had Malai Noodles Special (D1 - $9.95), coming with stir fried yakisoba noodles with cabbage, carrot, onion, celery and beansprouts topped with crispy chicken strips and a sweet and sour sauce. The veggies were fresh and the chicken crispy and abundant, a good value at less than $10.

Again, not the best Thai I have had and I love Thai food, but a relative bargain in a tourist town with few decent dining options and even fewer TravelValues.

CombatCritic Gives Malai Thai 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"

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: Long Beach, WA: A Mild "Disappointment", But A Decent Value Overall

Key Words: Malai Thai, malai, Thai, Long Beach, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Cape Disappointment, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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

Portland, OR: 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

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