Outback - Daytona Beach/Intl Speedway

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
long story short, wound up at Outback for dinner while visiting our son in FL this year.

OMG - just don't.

I've been to a couple Outback Steakhouses, not a big fan - the meats all seem to be chemically tenderized, and you can taste it... the Bloomin' Onion was always on my treats list tho.

well, the Bloomin Onion batter was way too thick - then deep fried not to crispy but to hard crunchy. it was difficult to find a piece where one could recognize there was onion inside - the onion had shriveled up from the over cooking.

DW got cole slaw as a side - one bite and she pushed it away as "inedible"

I got baby back ribs - well, 'dems were tenderized to the fall off the bone state - actually more like mush meat texture. then covered up the chemical tasted with a sickingly sweet sauce. just awful.

my side of french fries was equally fried to a hard dark brown crunch. inedible.

I mentioned the over frying to our waitperson - his reaction was "yeah, sometimes they get a little heavy handed"

the meat is not a prep fault - pretty sure it comes in a bucket all "pre-portioned" / etc. - but the fry station needs a new face!
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I got baby back ribs - well, 'dems were tenderized to the fall off the bone state - actually more like mush meat texture.

TV and radio commercials in my area have glorified "the meat falls off the bone" ribs. But as a BBQ competitor, I learned that the most winning ribs need a slight tug to separate the tender and juicy meat from the bone. That's what I always strive for (not always successfully). Fall off the bone ribs are usually the result of steaming or braising. :yuk:

I've only been to an Outback once, years ago, and liked it. I ordered the Bloomin' Onion and it was spectacular - I ate so much of it that I didn't have much room for the steak.

But your waiter should have taken your onion off of the bill, CF.

Lee
 

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
I put Outback right up there with Ruby Tuesday.
Depends on what you choose off the menu.

The ribeyes are always good and cooked the way I've liked.
The bleu cheese pecan salad was great.
 

Johnny West

Well-known member
I've not been to our Outback in years but when we went it wasn't that bad.

Ruby Tuesday is now a Buffalo Wild Wings and TGIF is an Olive Garden. I've never been to a BWW and don't mind Olive Garden.
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
I am another "minor pull off the bone" fan - this stuff I could actually grab the end of the bone and slide them right out, no effort, no stick.... the meat was just pap - no structure, no grain - which is why I surmise they're into chemically tenderizing the stuff. I've braised and double-braised stuff many many times and the meat never turns to mush like the ribs at Outback. if you've ever used pineapple juice and time-wise over marinated meat, you can get a similar mush-meat-result.

I've also had the Bloomin' Onion done right - it's actually the only reason I even considered going to the place.
 

Luckytrim

Grill Master
Gold Site Supporter
We gave up on Outback long, long ago !

But we own an Onion Bloomer ! And we use it often.

And the recipe that came with it, for the dipping sauce, is spot on........:eat1:
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
We gave up on Outback long, long ago !

But we own an Onion Bloomer ! And we use it often.

And the recipe that came with it, for the dipping sauce, is spot on........:eat1:

Well, geez, Lucky! Now I want one!

How about posting pictures of the Bloomer gadget and the sauce recipe?!

If you happen to have a photo or two of the onions themselves, even better!

Lee
 

Dogboa

Active member
long story short, wound up at Outback for dinner while visiting our son in FL this year.

OMG - just don't.

I've been to a couple Outback Steakhouses, not a big fan - the meats all seem to be chemically tenderized, and you can taste it... the Bloomin' Onion was always on my treats list tho.

well, the Bloomin Onion batter was way too thick - then deep fried not to crispy but to hard crunchy. it was difficult to find a piece where one could recognize there was onion inside - the onion had shriveled up from the over cooking.

DW got cole slaw as a side - one bite and she pushed it away as "inedible"

I got baby back ribs - well, 'dems were tenderized to the fall off the bone state - actually more like mush meat texture. then covered up the chemical tasted with a sickingly sweet sauce. just awful.

my side of french fries was equally fried to a hard dark brown crunch. inedible.

I mentioned the over frying to our waitperson - his reaction was "yeah, sometimes they get a little heavy handed"

the meat is not a prep fault - pretty sure it comes in a bucket all "pre-portioned" / etc. - but the fry station needs a new face!

If you ever get back to Daytona, this is one of the finest Italian restaurants we have ever been to! The Cellar.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/cellar-restaurant-daytona-beach-3

We no longer go out to dinner at chain restaurants. We would rather save our money and go to upscale places a few times a year than eat at places with multiple locations. Sometimes we go out for breakfast and have found that one location of a chain (4 locations) is excellent, while the others are sub par. We now only go to the first location we tried. If we had tried any of the other locations first, we would never have given the first one a try.
 
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ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
thanks for the tip! we will indeed be back there at some point.

there's absolutely no question that "who's in the kitchen" is _the_ major factor for chains. I've experienced that many many times.

unfortunately, with chains the "who" seems to change all too often....they can be very unpredictable.
 
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