Campus U-Tote-Em — Restaurant in Ellensburg

Wow. It was a super embarrassing and scary experience!

First, before I get into the story, two facts: Ellensburg is a university town and it has a rodeo. It's rodeo weekend.

I picked up my daughter from work for a mother-daughter lunch. We went inside to order. I ordered a Wildcat Burger basket (including fries), substitute the beef patty for a grilled chicken patty. This is not an uncommon request. I do this a lot as a non-beef eater. Instead of charging me the difference between the cost of the burger and chicken, they charged me for the chicken sandwich and added on individually all the elements (i.e., bacon, onion ring, cheese and bbq sauce) that make it a wildcat. So, it brought the total for the basket to just under $20.00 instead of $13.50.

When I asked the young woman ringing me up why it cost so much more, her only response was the manager told her to ring it up that way. I protested explaining that I'm happy to pay $1.00-2.00 more for the chicken, but it doesn't seem fair. Then, an older woman came over and explained that the chicken sandwich costs $4.00 and a beef burger costs $5.50. I said that if that were the case I would be paying less for chicken. She then said that the manager told them to ring it up like this and there was nothing she could do. I began to pay with my card, but said I wouldn't be back because they were not accommodating dietary restrictions.

There were two people behind us in line, and one of them walked around me to my right toward the counter. She was about 1 foot taller than me and I'm average height. She said, "I'll pay for her food, because she's having such a problem with paying. I run a small business, too, and this drives me nuts." I was embarrassed and humiliated. When I had a chance to get a look at this interloper I saw she was one of the visitors in town for the rodeo.

I completed paying, and the young woman gave me my number. My daughter and I sat down. I'm an older woman with health concerns. The interloper scared me. I was afraid that she would hurt me, my daughter, or our car. The whole time they were in this small business, I was worried.

I would like an apology from the business for overcharging me. I would like them to revisit their policy for charging for chicken breasts or veggie patties...

I am a food blogger, trying out different eats around Ellensburg’s finest every Friday. It’s our first time here. After seeing good reviews, we had to try the burgers. We ordered the Hot Coyote burgers, Hawaiian burger and large onion rings. Service was good, fast and friendly. Coyote burgers- Not spicy at all, couldn’t taste the meat, there was no seasoning, hot pepper jack cheese was not on the burger but rather disappeared with soggy, drenched mayo, in which drowned the buns as well. Hawaiian burger- Same beef Patty , absolutely no flavor, soggy, runny burger that drenched the buns. Only ingredients that helped the balance the patty were the saltiness from the ham and sweetness from the pineapple. Overall- SOGGY TASTELESS AND NOT SO INVENTED OR PERFECTED as they claim. It’s another version of school lunch that went wrong. Yuck!!! We give one star because the onion rings were perfectly fried and crispy and service was great. We spent $34 and will not come back again! I will not feed this to anyone, but onion rings. How...

Summarized: fast service, good food, caring employees. The one pitfall is the size of the building limits its ability to handle larger groups; thus putting a strain on the foods quality.

I used to work here for almost two years. This establishment has a rich history. This small, little building is full of hard working students and everyday people. I recommend coming when its slower and really taking the time to enjoy your food. They really do care about the service they provide. This building is so old and small its impressing that they’ve been able to keep up with fast food chains. Sitting outside in the sun at those tables carved with initials is charming. Or at night in the neon lights with some friends a shake and fry's! Its a life experience, personalized to Ellensburg. Locals love this place and there is a reason why. Find out for yourself how great...