Poll of the Day > I went to outback steakhouse the other day.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Somebody got me a gift card, and I can't turn down free food.

Even if it is bland and at best "better than i expected"

Outback for me is THE epitome of chain restaurant hell. Nothing even remotely Australian about it, food is "good" at best.

i don't know what the point of this topic is...

I really like their bacon cheese fries, but my girlfriend really likes the bloomin onion so its always a debate on which one to get lol.

I took a menu back home to Australia, many laughs were had

Outback is pretty much the reason I never trust restaurants with steak. It is one of the easiest things to cook, yet somehow they either screw it up horribly or charge twice what they should for it. I would rather just spend the 10-15 minutes it takes to cook it at home.

But yea, I am pretty much always down for a bloomin onion if someone drags me there.

Idk the point either but I went there a couple years back and it was so underwhelming. God I miss Sizzlers.

I love the sirloin steak and the bloomin' onion. The shrimp is good too.

Im at a chilis now what the fuck.

I hadn't eaten there in years, but I remember the food being good for what it is. As for whether or not it's Australian, how would anybody know?

argonautweakend posted...

Im at a chilis now what the fuck.

I love Chili's. That I miss.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

I agree that LongHorn is better quality, but I also do love Outbacks prime rib. Its expensive and its best to get the biggest one, but dang is it not really really good.

so at chilis i got a pick 3 meal

ribs - were pretty good actually, bbq sauce was meh
chicken tenders - meh and bbq sauce on them was gross
corn - decent
garlic bread - pretty good
brisket quesadillas or whatever they were - meh

overall slightly above meh

Outback has sucked every time I have gone, so I don't go anymore.

Black Angus used to be great but have not gone in decades.

Sizzler has both good steaks and burgers for an affordable price if there is one near you.

I BBQ a mean steak though so I rarely get steak out (even pre-covid). Hard to justify spending $30 for a steak meal, when you can get a ribeye on sale for $7 or even not on sale for $10-12.

My potatoes are better as well, and I always cook my brocolli just the way I like it (and/or mushrooms).

Basically making a steak meal at home is half the price or less and I always get a 9-10 taste/quality out of it, with less effort (no driving) than if I went out to eat. That isn't even factoring in tax/tips etc.

Ive had great steak at higher end places. No steak at a generic chain has ever wowed me.

But yeah cheaper to make your own. I can make a decent steal. Better than an outback but not 9-10 every time though.

argonautweakend posted...

Ive had great steak at higher end places. No steak at a generic chain has ever wowed me.

But yeah cheaper to make your own. I can make a decent steal. Better than an outback but not 9-10 every time though.

Prime Rib I feel is the one exception. All the other cuts are definitely cheaper to buy from a grocer and make your own, but with Prime Rib you need to buy a whole rib roast to make it properly which can easily cost around $100.

argonautweakend posted...

Ive had great steak at higher end places. No steak at a generic chain has ever wowed me.

But yeah cheaper to make your own. I can make a decent steal. Better than an outback but not 9-10 every time though.

Alot of it comes down to where you get your steak, the quality of the steak is key to a good one. After that it has a bit to do with the cut/thickness of the steak, if it's too thick it can be alot harder to get perfect.

I don't like my steak thicker than an inch because of this, and when making my own I can control the thickness. That allows you to get a nice sear on both sides quickly, while still having pleanty of pink/juice inside. A good medium-rare (which is my preferred doneness.

If I ask for medium-rare even at good restraunts they will often give me a medium (and rarely a rare) steak. If there is no pink inside I won't eat the steak. I have had steaks that I ordered medium rare with no JUICE at all, stone dry, and very over done (I always send them back like that, at least if there is juice it's edible).

Years of making steaks though let me at least approach perfect every time I make them. Everyone once in a blue moon I might let it cook a tab bit too long, but I never once have gotten to the dry stage with my own steaks.

That is the biggest problem with eating steaks out, not the cost, but the extreme variability of chefs to determeine what medium is, and how much they pay attention to the rare part (IE lean on the side of under-done when making it medium).

A medium steak should NEVER have no pink at all. A medium rare steak should just be cooked a bit longer than it takes to sear both sides.

I can eat a rare steak, I won't like it as much but as long as it's seared, it's edible. I can't eat a well-done dry steak, it's a waste of meat and a chore to eat. Why would I pay for something like that.

DeSantis2024 posted...

Prime Rib I feel is the one exception. All the other cuts are definitely cheaper to buy from a grocer and make your own, but with Prime Rib you need to buy a whole rib roast to make it properly which can easily cost around $100.

Nah, prime rib is just a ribeye roast, and you can often get whole roasts fairly cheap (was 6.99 recently at safeway a pound). A 4 pound Rib eye roast is generally $30 or less, you often can't even get 1 steak for that price most places.

Even at full price (no sale) they are about $10-11 a pound, and you can get 3-4 pound roasts...so yeah, even if you wanted 2 pounds for yourself and 2 pounds for a friend, it would be WAY cheaper to buy and make yourself even at full price.

I personally usually cut up a roast and bbq individual steaks. A 4 pound roast for $28 for instance, cuts up into 4 very nice ribeye steaks, all costing about $7 each. That is 4 very yummy meals for me and even adding in potatoes/brocolli etc...it's under $10 a meal. Similar price today out would be $30 and it wouldn't be nearly as good (and I'd have to drive into town etc).

wolfy42 posted...

Nah, prime rib is just a ribeye roast, and you can often get whole roasts fairly cheap (was 6.99 recently at safeway a pound). A 4 pound Rib eye roast is generally $30 or less, you often can't even get 1 steak for that price most places.

Even at full price (no sale) they are about $10-11 a pound, and you can get 3-4 pound roasts...so yeah, even if you wanted 2 pounds for yourself and 2 pounds for a friend, it would be WAY cheaper to buy and make yourself even at full price.

I personally usually cut up a roast and bbq individual steaks. A 4 pound roast for $28 for instance, cuts up into 4 very nice ribeye steaks, all costing about $7 each. That is 4 very yummy meals for me and even adding in potatoes/brocolli etc...it's under $10 a meal. Similar price today out would be $30 and it wouldn't be nearly as good (and I'd have to drive into town etc).

Thats awesome youre able to find those type of deals. The cheapest Ive found a quality rib roast was this last Christmas at $9.99 a pound and that was nearly half off the usual $18.99. Good deals are definitely out there but prime rib is the one steak I get someone else to make.

DeSantis2024 posted...

I really like their bacon cheese fries, but my girlfriend really likes the bloomin onion so its always a debate on which one to get lol.

Why not both?

The_Viscount posted...

I hadn't eaten there in years, but I remember the food being good for what it is. As for whether or not it's Australian, how would anybody know?

I love Chili's. That I miss.

If they're Australian.

Revelation34 posted...

Why not both?

Because its a lot of food on top of dinner lol. I guess we could go just for appetizers and a salad or something.

I kinda just imagine there is nothing really australian about a US chain restaurant that has nothing australian about it aside from being called outback and the commercials saying barbie.

I wonder how lok, PotDs resident Australian, feels about Outback Steakhouse.

Sarcasthma posted...

I wonder how lok, PotDs resident Australian, feels about Outback Steakhouse.

It's his favorite.

There's an outback steakhouse near me next to pancakes on the rocks. idk why you'd ever go there when you could go to pancakes on the rocks.

Joshs Name posted...

There's an outback steakhouse near me next to pancakes on the rocks. idk why you'd ever go there when you could go to pancakes on the rocks.

You would get more food at Outback for about the same prices.

argonautweakend posted...

so at chilis i got a pick 3 meal

ribs - were pretty good actually, bbq sauce was meh
chicken tenders - meh and bbq sauce on them was gross
corn - decent
garlic bread - pretty good
brisket quesadillas or whatever they were - meh

overall slightly above meh

I usually just get a burger. Their tenders are okay, but nothing special.

wolfy42 posted...

Outback has sucked every time I have gone, so I don't go anymore.

I've been to a lot, and while the service can be slow, the food has been alright.

wolfy42 posted...

Black Angus used to be great but have not gone in decades.

What chain is this?

wolfy42 posted...

Sizzler has both good steaks and burgers for an affordable price if there is one near you.

I've never been impressed by Sizzler's, but I used to have it a lot maybe 30 years ago so it probably wore thin.

argonautweakend posted...

Ive had great steak at higher end places. No steak at a generic chain has ever wowed me.

Yeah, I don't do steak at chain restaurants (except maybe hibachi steak at an Asian place). That just seems a little silly.

The_Viscount posted...

What chain is this?

I have a funny story about Black Angus.

https://www.blackangus.com/

So it's a good steak house, there were plenty in CA at least when I was younger.

The story is about their delicious steak and mushroom soup (which I loved).

We would drive like 40 mins to go to Black Angus in the bay area, me, my wife and my best friend.
I loved that soup so much. Anyway the steak was good, but I went for the soup and I was very food oriented in my youth. So every few months we we go out there just so I could get the soup.

One month, many many years ago, we drove out there and......they discountinued the soup!! Supposedly my face fell and I looked so sad that my wife and friend cracked up and talked about it for years after that. I loved that soup so much.

So I will always remember Black Angus for their delicious soup and the unbearable dissapointment when it went away.

wolfy42 posted...

I have a funny story about Black Angus.

https://www.blackangus.com/

So it's a good steak house, there were plenty in CA at least when I was younger.

The story is about their delicious steak and mushroom soup (which I loved).

We would drive like 40 mins to go to Black Angus in the bay area, me, my wife and my best friend.
I loved that soup so much. Anyway the steak was good, but I went for the soup and I was very food oriented in my youth. So every few months we we go out there just so I could get the soup.

One month, many many years ago, we drove out there and......they discountinued the soup!! Supposedly my face fell and I looked so sad that my wife and friend cracked up and talked about it for years after that. I loved that soup so much.

So I will always remember Black Angus for their delicious soup and the unbearable dissapointment when it went away.

https://thecozyapron.com/steak-and-ale-soup-with-mushrooms/

Something like that?

You went there alone?

Revelation34 posted...

https://thecozyapron.com/steak-and-ale-soup-with-mushrooms/

Something like that?

I book marked it I'm gonna try it!!!

Btw Sizzler was mentioned earlier. It's the only place that I know of that seriously improved over the years or at least the sizzler in Tacoma WA is miles ahead of the one I used to eat at in Fremont CA.

In Fremont I was in my early 20's and would go there for the buffet (especially the steak soup which was one of the few ways to get all you can eat steak at the time). The food was .....ok, but nothing special, and it was for the mass quantaties I would go. I would get the hamburger with the buffet as it was cheaper than just getting the buffet by itself (and came with french fries and well a burger.

But right before covid I would go to the sizzler in tacoma and I swear it had the best freaking burger in town, hands down. I don't eat nearly as much so just the burger + fries was enough and the price wasn't bad either.

If Red Robin was a 5-6 in burger quality, Sizzler was a 9-10, and I so didn't expect that. I would drive 30 mins out of my way for their burger.

I enjoy their bread and butter and their so-called Alice Springs Chicken, despite it being so meat-heavy. I don't like their veggie sides, sadly.

wolfy42 posted...

I book marked it I'm gonna try it!!!

Btw Sizzler was mentioned earlier. It's the only place that I know of that seriously improved over the years or at least the sizzler in Tacoma WA is miles ahead of the one I used to eat at in Fremont CA.

In Fremont I was in my early 20's and would go there for the buffet (especially the steak soup which was one of the few ways to get all you can eat steak at the time). The food was .....ok, but nothing special, and it was for the mass quantaties I would go. I would get the hamburger with the buffet as it was cheaper than just getting the buffet by itself (and came with french fries and well a burger.

But right before covid I would go to the sizzler in tacoma and I swear it had the best freaking burger in town, hands down. I don't eat nearly as much so just the burger + fries was enough and the price wasn't bad either.

If Red Robin was a 5-6 in burger quality, Sizzler was a 9-10, and I so didn't expect that. I would drive 30 mins out of my way for their burger.

I tried to find the Black Angus one but it didn't pop up. There was a different one that had ground beef in it though. I figured it was more like the one I linked.

That was nice of them. Outback isn't one of my favorite restaurants. I prefer Sizzler's and Roadhouse, Cattleman's is good for steaks too.

wolfy42 posted...

https://www.blackangus.com/

Oh, wow, that's very regional...

wolfy42 posted...

We would drive like 40 mins to go to Black Angus in the bay area, me, my wife and my best friend.
I loved that soup so much. Anyway the steak was good, but I went for the soup and I was very food oriented in my youth. So every few months we we go out there just so I could get the soup.

One month, many many years ago, we drove out there and......they discountinued the soup!! Supposedly my face fell and I looked so sad that my wife and friend cracked up and talked about it for years after that. I loved that soup so much.

So I will always remember Black Angus for their delicious soup and the unbearable dissapointment when it went away.

I know the feeling.

Lil_Bit83 posted...

I prefer Sizzler's and Roadhouse,

If it's the same Roadhouse I'm thinking of, I love that place... but I don't go there very often.