Boise, ID: Small Portions And Overpriced, Undercooked Food Left Me Hungry ... For Somewhere Else

Applebee’s Grill + Bar
2810 W Elder Street
Boise, ID 83705
Phone number: (208) 344-5630
Website: applebees.com
Prices: $$$$

WEAK. OK, they are open late, being a plus when you have been driving for nearly 14 hours and the only reason they are NOT getting a 1-star rating.

The server was friendly enough, but she was also the hostess, seating newcomers rather than focusing on her customer's needs. The place was unusually busy for a Monday night and the Dodgers were playing on the TVs in the bar, but I was not given the option of sitting there for some reason. I was too tired to object.

I ordered the Whisky Bacon Burger ($12.29 - "no pink") which, according to the menu, has "caramelized onions and bacon seared into an all-beef patty PILED with Pepper Jack cheese, crispy onions, Applewood-smoked bacon and Fireball® Whisky-infused steak sauce on a Brioche bun". "Piled" is quite a stretch because this was one of the smallest $12 plus hamburgers I have ever had and it and the accompanying smattering of "classic fries" barely filled the very small plate. The flavor of the burger was not bad and the fries lukewarm, but my "no pink" burger was definitely undercooked (see photo) even though their menu also states: "CONSUMING RAW OR UNDERCOOKED MEATS ... MAY INCREASE YOUR RISK OF FOODBORNE ILLNESS". I was too hungry to send it back and still hungry after my meal, having been the only one I consumed the entire day. Fortunately, I did not get sick.

I do not order soft drinks i when I eat out and alcohol was not an option without my designated driver, so I had water, bringing the total to $15 plus for a very disappointing burger and fries. For comparison, my boys and I ate at another national chain (famous for their salad bars) in Dillon, Colorado the night before, paying just $12.99 (only 70¢ more) for an incredible all-you-can-eat salad, a larger "Smokehouse Burger" with more and hotter fries, AND dessert (hot fudge cake with ice cream and whipped cream). 

Needless to say, I will not be eating a Applebee's again, preferring any fast food chain's burger and fries at half the price paid here.

CombatCritic Gives Applebee's Grill + Bar 3 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Three Bombs Equates To:

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

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Title: Boise, ID: Small Portions And Overpriced, Undercooked Food Left Me Hungry ... For Somewhere Else

Key Words: Applebee's Grill + Bar, Applebee's, Applebee, grill, bar, Boise, ID, Idaho, airport, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Google, Facebook

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Lawrence, KS: You Can Get Anything You Want At "Alces" Restaurant ... "Moooooooose"

Blue Moose Bar And Grill

525 Wakarusa Drive. Suite D

Lawrence, KS 66049

Phone number: (785) 727-4999

Website: thebluemoosebarandgrill.com/lawrence

Prices: $$$$

My friends, yes I actually have friends, had told me wonderful things about Blue Moose, but when I read the reviews on yelp*, I had my doubts. Lawrence is not all that big, but we rarely get over to West Lawrence, so having dropped off a UHaul in the area, we decided to give the Moose a shot (pun intended).

We were told there was a 30-minute wait, but there were a slew of empty tables, at least seven or eight on the side of the restaurant we could see alone. How can there be 25 people waiting in the lobby and a 30-minute wait with so many empty tables?

The menu is eclectic - "American New - in metrosexual speak, with choices from Mexico (empanadas, fish/carne asada tacos, quesadillas), Italy (pasta, flat bread pizza), Asia (wontons, curry, and America (burgers, steaks, chicken). The decor is modern and tasteful, but cold with the stone and wood surfaces that have become so cliché these days.

We decided to sit at the bar to speed things up, but the bartender pretty much ignored us for 15-20 minutes after serving us our drinks and giving us menus. Now I have seen firsthand why they have only garnered 2.5 stars so far. Our order was finally taken by his assistant and our starter, the Beef Empanadas ($7.99), arrived shortly thereafter. They (3) were actually quite good with a deep fried cornmeal exterior and a beef, cheese and poblano pepper interior, accompanied by an avocado salsa and sour cream. They were crispy, not greasy, and the flavors quite pleasing to the pallet ... Olé!

My wife's Build Your Own "Mac N Cheese" ($9.99) with sauteed mushrooms and steamed broccoli (99¢/ea) were topped with garlic butter breadcrumbs and came with a ciabatta in an interesting bowl that presented the dish rather nicely. I thought it was a bit bland, but my pasta loving Italian thought it was quite good ... Mama Mia!

Like most restaurants I visit for the first time, I like to see if they get the basics right, so I ordered their Blue Moose Burger ($10.99), medium-well, with sauteed onions and bacon. You can "add a house salad" to an entree for $1.99, but the sandwich menu states: "Sub a 'small' house salad" for $1.99. I found it hard to believe that you could get a "whole" house salad with an entree for $1.99, but you had to substitute your fries (etc.) for a "small" one for the same price, so I asked the beertender. He confirmed my disbelief, telling me that you in-fct have to give up your side in order to get a salad ... and you have to pay an extra $1.99 ... Good Grief!

The burger arrived with fries, sans small salad, but also missing were the sauteed onions I ordered. I do not like bloody meat and medium is about as raw as I will go, but this burger was well done and dry. The flavor was not bad and the patty big enough, but the sauteed onions would have added some much needed moisture had they been where they were supposed to be. The highlight of my meal were the fries, hot and crunchy, not crispy, with a spicy zing that was a pleasant surprise ... Holy Cow!

I was torn ... bad reviews, only a few weeks in business (bugs to work out), 30-minute wait, empty tables, inattentive bartender, decent service, great empanadas, overcooked meat, incomplete order ... Oh My! 

In the end, feeling overly liberal - with our pending move to the Left Coast - I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt , adding an additional BOMB or two (1-star on a 5-star scale - rounding up). Normally, a somewhat lackluster performance such as this would result in 4-5 Bombs, but I decided to increase their "middle of the road" yelp* average by just a tad because I see some potential ... You're Welcome!

CombatCritic Gives Blue Moose Bar And Grill 6 Bombs Out Of 10 ... Ore Bombs Are Better ... SHAZAAM!

Six Bombs Equates To:

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Read Chris S.'s review of Blue Moose Bar And Grill on Yelp

Title: Lawrence, KS: You Can Get Anything You Want At "Alces" Restaurant ... "Moooooooose"

Key Words: Blue Moose Bar and Grill, Blue Moose, blue, moose, bar, grill, Lawrence, Kansas, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, American, new, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog

Translation for Civilians: G2G = "Good To Go"

Fairview, OR: Good Food, Small Portions, And Moderate Prices Left Me Fendering For More

Bumpers Grill and Bar

21935 NE Halsey Street, Suite 100

Fairview, OR 97024

Phone: (503) 618-1855

Website: bumpersgrill.com

Prices: $$$$

Stopped for lunch with some friends because they had their cute little doggie with them and Bumpers has a patio where our furry little companion was welcome.

The patio was nice on that sunny Portland day with little wind and our server was friendly and efficient. I had the French Dip ($12.99), my friend had the Baja Tacos ($13.99), and his better half had a Classic Caesar Salad ($10.99) and the Parmesan Encrusted Chicken Medallions ($9.99) appetizer.

The food was good, but I was not overly impressed with the quality to portion to price ratio. The roll my French dip came on was rather small, one of the smallest sandwich rolls I have seen, especially for a $13 French dip, and the crinkle cut fries were sparse and a tad greasy. My friend's Baja tacos looked good, but for $14 all he got were two flour tortillas with some small battered cod pieces, a slew of cole slaw, some pico de gallo, and a couple avocado slices with some tortilla chips and a thimble of salsa. His wife's Caesar salad was not impressive at all for the $11 price and the $10 chicken was tasty, but there were only four small medallions, a few carrot sticks and some ranch dressing.

Don't get me wrong, what food we got was pretty good, but there was not all that much bang for the buck and at $60 for lunch for three with only ice tea and water to drink, it was not an exceedingly great value.

CombatCritic Gives Bumpers Bar And Grill A Very Average 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Five Bombs Equates To:

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Title: Fairview, OR: Good Food, Small Portions, And Moderate Prices Left Me Fendering For More

Key Words: Bumpers Grill and Bar, Bumpers, bar, grill, Fairview, Gresham, OR, Oregon, Halsey, 503-618-1855, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog

Brooklyn, NY: It's The Little Things That Leave A Bad Taste In Your Mouth

Hamilton’s

2826 Fort Hamilton Pkwy

Brooklyn, NY 11218

Between 5th Street 4th Street

Windsor Terrace, Kensington, Flatbush

Phone: (718) 438-0488

Website: hamiltonsbrooklyn.com

Prices: $$$$

As Roseanne Roseannadanna always said, "It's always something, if it's not one thing, it's another" ....

It is the little things that stand out in your mind, good or bad, that shade your opinion of a place. In Hamilton's case, it was a mere 50¢. More on that later.

We sat outside after being seated for 10 minutes before a server arrived to greet us, but when she did, I ordered a Bell's Two Hearted IPA , but all the drafts are $6-$7, MUCH LESS than most places in the NYC metro and they have a GREAT SELECTION. I had to hunt down another server because ours was nowhere to be found, ordering a Smuttynose Old Brown Dog (also $6 on the menu), but after another 10 minutes our food had arrived and still no Smuttynose, so I reminded our server. It arrived 5 minutes later while my dinner cooled whether it needed to or not.

My wife ordered the large Salty Pretzel ($4) and a Mac and Cheese appetizer ($8). The Mac and Cheese arrived with my sandwich, but we had to remind the server about her pretzel which took an additional 5 minutes to arrive. The pretzel was good, but it was hot from the oven and too crunchy, not warm, soft, and chewy as a good pretzel should be. The mac and cheese was tasty and a decent size portion for an appetizer.

My Reuben Sandwich ($15) was piled high with "house made corned beef", sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing. It was very good overall, but the house made corned beef had a slightly strange aftertaste which I could not quite put my finger on, or my tongue in this case. The accompanying potato wedges were scarce, but decent, nothing special.

When the check arrived, I have to admit that it was one of the smallest totals we have seen since arriving in NYC, but the Smuttynose was listed at $7 instead of the $6 stated on the menu. I called our server over, showed her the menu and the check, and asked her to make the correction to the $1 error. Those things happen. But when she came back, she had NOT deducted the $1 error, but had discounted the check by a mere 50¢! Rather than argue about the 50¢, I simply deducted it from her 20% tip along with a tad more for her inattention during our meal. After all, it is always the small things folks.

CombatCritic Gives Hamilton's 5 Bombs Out Of 10 After A 2 Bomb Service and Check Error Deduction ... More Bombs Are Better!

Five Bombs Equates To:

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Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

TripAdvisor - Top Contributor

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

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Title: Brooklyn, NY: It's The Little Things That Leave A Bad Taste In Your Mouth

Key Words: Hamilton's, Hamilton, bar, grill, pub, beer, Brooklyn, NYC, New York City, New York, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: Charlie-Mike = "Continue Mission"

Lawrence, KS: Not "America's Best Philly", But A Contender For "Lawrence's Best Sandwich"

PepperJax Grill

919 Massachusetts Street

Lawrence, KS 66044

Phone: (785) 856-4529

Website: pepperjaxgrill.com

Prices: $$$$

Trying to find a decent sandwich in Lawrence is like trying to find the veal cordon bleu in an MRE box, ain't gonna happen, not until I tried PepperJax Grill.

While far from the best sandwich, in general, or cheesesteak, in particular, I have ever had, PepperJax' cheesesteak was the best sandwich I have eaten in Lawrence. Their menu is very limited with cheesesteaks, rice bowls, burritos, nachos and salads, all in the $7.29 to $7.99 range, as well as several sides including fries, chips and salsa/queso, and mandarin oranges. The combination of cheesesteaks and Mexican fare is a bit odd, but the cheesesteaks are decent.

Having eaten "real" cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, PepperJax claims theirs' is "America's Best Philly", but I do not concur. There is ample diced beef sauteed with peppers and onions and the 10-12 inch roll was soft and fresh. The cheese was a nondescript American variety, not the traditional Cheese Whiz found on Philadelphia cheesesteaks and mushrooms, not green bell peppers, would be a more Philly-like addition. The sandwich was tasty and filling.

I also ordered two sides of fries ($2.50 each) , but the guy behind the counter talked me out of one, telling me "they're really big, so you may want just one", so I followed his advice. Turns out they were not as big as he had said and were just barely enough for two of us, but they were fresh, hot and crispy, a nice accompaniment to the cheesesteaks.

There is also a condiment bar with four sauces (au jus, chili sauce, and two others as well as the usual catsup, mustard, napkins, and plasticware. 

Overall, I have to say that PepperJax was worth the visit and a decent value. If in the mood for a Kansas cheesesteak, we will definitely return.

CombatCritic Gives PepperJax Grill 6 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Six Bombs Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

TripAdvisor - Top Contributor

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

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Title: Lawrence, KS: Not "America's Best Philly", But A Contender For "Lawrence's Best Sandwich"

Key Words: PepperJax Grill, PepperJax, grill, sandwich, Philadelphia, Philly, cheesesteak, Cheese Whiz, cheese, steak, Lawrence, Kansas, CombatCritic, travel, value, restaurant, menu review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: G2G = "Good To Go"