Cartwright's - Mukilteo, WA

What a steaming pile of crap.

We were very excited to find a restaurant near our house with decent decor. We started with some brews, of course.
Lisa had the Diamond Knot IPA, which was terrible . . . bitter, with no redeeming qualities. Caine tried the Pike Kilt Lifter. It seemed a bit malty for his tastes, though Lisa enjoyed it . . . flavorful, bright, and spicy.

For our appetizer we ordered the Calamari, which we were excited about, because it was advertised as "strip steaks" rather than the usual rings. Such is usually a sign of quality calamari. Unfortunately, this was horrible. It tasted like fish sticks, and was chewy and tough. Picture Denny's Cheese Sticks full of rubbery fish. This calamari is the reason lots of people think they don't like calamari.

Caine's French Onion Soup (which had a crust of Kraft Green Bottle-looking parmesean on top) was the only bland french onion soup he's ever had. Lisa tried the Cheddar Bacon Potato soup. It was super greasy and the bacon felt raw in my mouth. Gross.

It didn't get any better. We both ordered steak. Caine ordered his rare, while Lisa asked for medium. Caine's steak was medium and Lisa's was a charcoal brick. Nasty. We're pretty sure the "garlic mashed potatoes" that were served with my meal were rehydrated.

FUCK! Use some quality ingredients. We woulda been happier at Denny's; at least there you know the food is going to be crap before you order it.