Outback Steakhouse

[dougery]

And they drove colorfully painted Hum-V's

[mrbigjas]

Am I supposed to believe that Aborigines enjoy blooming onions?

Yes.

Or at least they would if they could get 'em! Who wouldn't love 1200 nutritionally void fried calories? The height of deliciousness.

I was at an Outback once. The steak was OK, although it tasted like it had been doused in Lawry's seasoned salt. The weird thing was when the server asked if we had been there before and we said no, said, "this is our menu... appetizers are over here, steaks in the middle..." and so on, as if we couldn't read. It was weird. In retrospect I should have said, "no, but I have been in a restaurant before."

Or not, whichever. It was a relief with giant cold beers on a hot night in an unfamiliar place.

[wilewil]

Both Outback and the above mentioned Lone Star have two things going for them. They serve reasonably good, resonably priced food with resonable variety; and they are very consistent.

Outbacks other two main places, Carrabas and Bonefish are also very popular. My experience is that Bonefish is perhaps a little more upscale.

Outback is not your best local steakhouse, its not Mortons or Ruth's Chris or The Palm - but is a lot cheaper and more accessable. It ain't Sizzler or Golden Corral either.

[irodguy]

Sorry but for middle of the road steak houses Saltgrass stands head and antlers above Ouback.

Now when you talk about the other "white bread" chains such as OG, I find certain things ok about them. For instance OG is fine for a lite lunch of their generic Salad & breadsticks if I am in a hurry.

[Chef Shogun]

From what I can tell, Outback makes no claims to being authentic Australian cuisine, simply a campy Australian themed steakhouse.  As chain steakhouses go it isn't bad, not wonderful either (I prefer Lonestar as my massive chain steakhouse of choice) but not bad. 

FWIW there is an Australlian themed place around here that serves, amongst other things, Kangaroo and other indigenous species of Australia.  I should go sometime...

Actually as I understand it, the organization that owns Outback owns several other steakhouse and restaurant chains.

http://www.outback.com/pressroom/NewRestau...ncepts/main.asp

For some reason it's always fun to see who owns which other places. An exerpt from that page (bolding mine):

Cheeseburger In Paradise

Jimmy Buffett’s famous song comes to life with Cheeseburger in Paradise. As soon as you step in the door, you're reminded of swaying palm trees, sea adventures, and beautiful beaches. From the Key West style structure to the surfboard benches, every visit’s an island getaway. And then there's the food. Beyond our famed signature cheeseburger, there's an incredible selection of island fare and other fun foods, with the Tiki Bar serving up frozen favorites and cold draft beer until late in the night. Wave goodbye to the real world, and pull up a chair in paradise.

Manager 1: So we're going to have Tiki torches, surfboards, "I-Cee machine Daquiris and Rumrunners like you remember from spring break", and...what...

Manager 2: Palm trees and crap!

Manager 1: Yeah! Alright, I think we've about covered everything. Normally, it takes six months to open a restaurant, but we have to do it in six weeks!

Manager 2: Wait, what about the food?

Manager 1: Oh, right..food...

And...scene! Alright, the quotation and skit had nothing to do with being amused by chain interrelationships (Chipotle/McDonalds is priceless!), but I loved the "And then there's the food".