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RESTAURANTS OF THE US
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Showing posts with label market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label market. Show all posts

Saturday, October 7, 2017

Omaha, Nebraska: Le Bouillon Translates To "Salty Food" ... BOOAH!

Le Bouillon
1017 Howard Street
Omaha, NE 68102
Old Market, Downtown
Phone number: (402) 502-6816
Prices: $$$$

Not good. How this place averages four stars with 170+ reviews on Yelp is beyond me.
As I always say before a review of a French restaurant, "I love French food", but I did not even like Le Bouillon.
We came with a party of 12 from a conference at UNO as well as 2 last minute add-ons, but staff refused to add an extra table at first, making us squeeze into four small tables pushed together with just two small baskets of bread for 14 very cramped people. They told us that they were "fully booked", but less than half the tables were occupied all evening and a glass walled room with two giant tables sat empty next to the entrance. They finally got a clue and brought an extra table jusr before the first course arrived.
The server asked immediately what we wanted to drink, but there was just one, very extensive (at least 20 pages of small print - hundreds of options), wine/drink list for 14 people on the table. There were only a couple of wine options offered by the glass starting in the $9-$10 range and most bottles were well over $100 a pop with several approaching $1000. Feeling perplexed by the poor start, we stuck with water.
The server then dropped a rather heavy butter knife on my arm as she was setting the table for the first course. Things were spiraling downhill fast. They had no moules (mussels) or escargots (snails), focusing their menu on the Raw Bar instead (no thanks - I do not eat un/undercooked animal flesh), so we passed on appetizers. 

"Where's the beef?"
Beside a couple of $9-$13 soups and salads, everything had meat/fish (my wife prefers to eat vegetarian whenever possible), so the only options to her liking were the Le Bouillon Burger ($14) and the Croques Monsieur ($16). The only things that peaked my interest were the Wagyu Hangar Steak ($26) and the Cassoulet ($21), so she went with the croques monsieur and I the cassoulet. Hers came with a bit of salad and mine with nothing, so we both, unfortunately, ordered a side of Frites (fries) with Aioli ($6).
The croques monsieur had two huge, thick slices of egg battered toast, but barely a hint of ham and cheese. It was so salty that my wife could barely finish half. My cassoulet came out with the top burnt, so I mixed it up only to find mostly white beans and a couple of small pieces of ham and bacon. There were no noticeable "garlic sausage" or "duck" as advertized on the menu and it was also very salty, so I gave up after trying to eat half of my $21 white bean casserole. The fries looked very nice, but were very thin and crispy (almost burnt), hard to eat with fork or fingers, and EXTREMELY SALTY. All other attendees had similar complaints of salty food and fries.
When they cleared the table, nobody wondered why so much food remained on all of our plates, so I mentioned to the server how salty the food was, especially the fries, so they removed them (just the fries) from the checks. At $42+ for water, half of a salty sandwich, and half a bowl of salty bean soup (minus the soup), this was one of the poorest values in recent memory.

CombatCritic Gives Le Bouillon 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My WALL OF SHAME ... BOOAH LE BOUILLON!







One Bomb Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17 - 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over  1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

View my food journey on Zomato!


... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Le Bouillon Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Read Chris S.'s review of Le Bouillon on Yelp

Tabelog Reviewer CombatCriticView my food journey on Zomato!


Title: Omaha, Nebraska: Le Bouillon Translates To "Salty Food" ... BOOAH!

Key Words: Le Bouillon, le, bouillon, French, restaurant, Old Market, old, market, menu, Omaha, NE, Nebraska, Portland, Yelp, YouTube, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value

Translation for Civilians: FUBAR = "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

"CombatCritic", "TravelValue" and "BOOAH" Are Protected Under U.S. Copyright Laws And Are Exclusive Property Of 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC and CombatCritic

Copyright 2018 - 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC and CombatCritic - All Rights Reserved

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Omaha, NE: Cold French Fries Left Me With Cold Feet About A Decent Recommendation

Jackson Street Tavern

1125 Jackson Street
Omaha, NE 68102
Old Market, Downtown
Phone number: (402) 991-5637
Prices: $$$$

Located just south of Omaha's Old Market area, Jackson Street Tavern was selected for us by the coordinator of a conference we attended, otherwise we likely would not have chosen it ourselves. 
No IPA on tap and no Wi-Fi? Unheard of, but that was the case. Off to a bad start, particularly because the Dodgers were playing in the first game of the NLDS against the Nationals and I wanted to see the rest of the game.

The draft beers they had were $7 or listed "Market Price", slang for "too expensive to list on our menu", so I went with a local bottle of Zipline IPA for $4.50, the least expensive beer on the menu.  I also tried Zipline's Porter and both were cold and good.
"French Dip" ($16)
Also cold were the fries that came with my "French Dip" ($16). The sandwich was about the size of half a Subway footlong with about as much meat (the real thing, not the ones they show you in their commercials). The sandwich was OK, but for $16 a few more ounces of beef and warm fries would have been nice.
"Local Wagyu Burger" ($15)
My wife had the "Local Wagyu Burger", coming with caramelized onion, cheddar cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce, and "aioli" on a brioche bun as well as more cold fries. The burger was decent, but not worth $15. A similar burger at Dempsey's or The Burger Stand at The Casbah back in Lawrence would top out at $10 for example.
Long and narrow, the space has brick walls (in an old building) and tall ceilings, making the obnoxiously loud patrons even louder and impossible to carry on a conversation with the person next to you. The short blonde hostess who failed to even greet us on arrival was impersonal and unfriendly, showing us to our table with barely a word. Our server was semi-friendly and fairly efficient, the highlight of the night and that is not saying much. Our server did manage to have the nearest TV changed to FS1 so I could watch the end of the Dodgers vs Nationals game, which the Dodgers won 4-3 by the way ... one down and ten to go to the 2016 World Championship ... HOOAH!
"Chloe" - Joe's Collectibles (Behind Jackson Street Tavern)
CombatCritic And Chloe Give Jackson Street Tavern A Measly 3 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!


Three Bombs Equates To:
Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - #1 Ranked Foodie

View my food journey on Zomato!



... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Read Chris S.'s review of Jackson Street Tavern on Yelp


Tabelog Reviewer CombatCritic
View my food journey on Zomato!


Jackson Street Tavern Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


Jackson Street TavernJackson Street Tavern
Title: Omaha, NE: Cold French Fries Left Me With Cold Feet About A Decent Recommendation

Key Words: Jackson Street Tavern, Chloe, jackson, street, tavern, Omaha, Nebraska, Old Market, old, market, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog

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

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Lawrence, KS: Shop Or Dine-In If Craving Mediterranean Specialties

Mediterranean Market & Cafe

3300 Bob Billings Pkwy
Lawrence, KS 66049
Phone: (785) 842-9383
Website: mediterraneancafelw.com
Prices: $$$$

A very nice little market with plenty of choices and reasonable prices. Their selection of products from all around the Mediterranean is impressive considering the store is not all that big.

They also serve food for take-out or you can sit at one of the small tables and enjoy your meal. They serve gyros with tzatziki sauce ($5.99), falafel with Tahini ($.5.99), hummus, baba ghannooj, shawarma, and many salads, sides, and traditional entrees such as moussaka and spinach pie.

The service is always efficient and friendly, so drop in if you are looking for a quick meal or a special ingredient for that special Mediterranean dish.


CombatCritic Gives Mediterranean Market & Cafe 8 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!





Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "Elite '14/'15"

TripAdvisor - "Top Contributor" 

Tabelog - "Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - "#2 Ranked Foodie"

View my food journey on Zomato!

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Tabelog Reviewer CombatCriticView my food journey on Zomato!

Mediterranean Market & Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


Title: Lawrence, KS: Shop Or Dine-In If Craving Mediterranean Specialties

Key Words: Mediterranean Market & Cafe, Mediterranean, market, cafe, 15th, Bob Billings, gyro, pita, falafel, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Tabelog, Zomato

Translation For You Civilians: "WTFO" - What the F&#@ ... Over!