Outback downhill slide?

Question

We used to enjoy Outback as little as 5 years ago. My wife would order prime rib and I'd usually get the babyback/bbq chicken combo. Haven't been back until the other night. Is it our memory or have things really changed?

They apparently no longer offer their bbq chicken combo'ed with ribs but now you get it with a chicken breast drowned in mushrooms and cheese? My wife ordered a rib-eye medium and found it almost inedible. Very small portion and more fat than most ribeyes we'd buy at our local market. The baked potatoes are still good, but now about half the size we remembered.

I'm assuming that portion size is an adjustment they've made to maintain reasonable pricing, and I don't disagree in principle. But I'd rather have just a bbq chicken breast (the original way) than the glop with the cheese all over it. And changing portion and quality at the same time has lost me as a customer.

Was this just an off visit or is Outback really only "a shadow of it's former self"? At least the draft beers were good.

I really CAN make a MUCH better meal for less than half the price at home. Except for the prep time, it's a no brainer.

Answer

I would say in general the quality has suffered a bit in correlation with the affordable menu. I must say I miss quite of few of the older items. (Shrimp on the Barbie comes to mind specifically). Unrelated- I don't enjoy the regionality of the menu. My absolute favorite item in MD was to add a lobster tail with drawn butter (their drawn butter is like crack, SO ADDICTIVE). In PA, they used to do crab cakes instead. 

We still go to the Outback occasionally but I am more apt to try other things on the menu. Kudos to them for adding nutrition facts to their web site!

Answer

They've definitely gone downhill. While I don't care for chain restaurants in general, Outback was one that I always loved because their food was so fresh. Now, the bread (my family's former crack-like addiction) seems stale, the vegetables are often overcooked, and the salads are skimpy. I also wish they trimmed their NY strips a bit more.

Now I only go when I must.

Answer

I'll usually do the curbside take away about once a month or so, & I order VERY carefully!!
I always say "pittsburgh style", medium, on the steak, so I get some good crust ...
or else it just looks like roasted steak...very BORING, yawn)

& lately I mostly just stick with their 6 ounce steak for $9.99....
(& occasionally, the porterhouse)......they seem to taste better than the others...
(I did'nt like dropping $25 for some of the others, & not liking them...
IMO, the prime rib is less than average!!!)

I've had better experiences with most of you regarding the salads, as the Egg Harbor Township, NJ (10 miles from Atlantic City) always has given me very nice sized salads, to go along with that $9.99 special...

& I do like their caesar salad with grilled chicken..

It's funny, cuz one time last year I was so disappointed after I got home with the stingy portion on the "Tassie buffalo chicken fingers", that I actually brought them back to the curbside takeaway booth.... apparently, it called for the manager to come out and explain to me, very nicely, that YES, this was actually supposed to be the proper serving size...
However, they did appease me by making me a much better new one...
Well, IRONICALLY (?), when I got the chicken fingers last month, I noticed a much bigger looking portion!! (maybe some others voiced their opinions, besides me?!?)

Outback fits in nicely for me, cuz it's only a mile away from my condo, and I can hit the take away on my way home from work.....it's a decent hometown spot, cuz I can't eat pizza and cheesteaks here in AC area every night!
I would'nt eat there while I'm out of town , or on vacation, though!!!
(too many other places to try!)

Answer

Yes, as little as 5 years ago we occasionally enjoyed Outback. Not now. I've been twice in the last year and can't see ever wanting to go back. When I noticed they no longer list Grilled Shrimp on the Barbie separately, but offer it with a steak option, I asked about ordering. The response was that they are not allowed by corporate to do that. Well, that's ridiculous. If they make it, they should be able to serve it separately. I don't eat beef so the shrimp were what I ordered if I went there. 

Chopped bleu cheese salad used to be good. Now it is mostly lettuce and to find any pecans or bleu cheese you need a magnifying glass.

Also agree that the potatoes are smaller - both the white potatoes and the sweet potatoes.

They took the Drover's Platter off the menu quite some time back, but would still make it if you ordered it. The last time my spouse tried to do that it was another, "Corporate won't let us do that." Perhaps that's the cop-out local management is using, but it doesn't make us ever want to go back. 

If Outback had not been so ready and willing in the past to sell things not "on the menu" perhaps it wouldn't be as disappointing now.

Answer

Another vote that it's gone downhill. I'm not generally a chain fan like most of us here, blah blah blah, but Outback used to be one of my few chains of choice when stuck in suburbia and mall-ville. On my last few visits I found myself wondering if it was me or if the food had really started to suffer. Smaller portions of worse-quality meals. A number of my favorites gone from the menu like the coconut shrimp and the one steak salad with the nuts and crumbled blue cheese (the new one with an iceberg wedge is just "meh.") Definitely a case where downsizing economics has ruined the experience.

Answer

I used to really like Outback -- the food seemed reasonably fresh and I could get it to go. Since I am sensitive to preservatives, sticking to their "hand cut" meat without seasoning seemed safe. Prime rib was a favorite at our house -- however -- starting late last year the prime rib changed. From large, rare tender slices to pre-cut, highly seasoned, done-to-death identical slices. You expect to find the plastic wrap it comes in still on the meat. I swear all they do is heat it in the microwave or throw it on a grill for two minutes and serve it to you. To make it worse, they touted this as a "positive change", telling you to pick "classic" or "wood fired" -- both are the same. Yuck. We don't go here anymore, though the hamburgers are still pretty good I've heard.

Answer

I've been to two Outback restaurants recently, one in northern NJ and the other near West Chester Pa --- both experiences were not all that great. The Bloomin' Onion, their signature appitizer, as disappointing at best. The prime rib was dry (ordered just a bit more than medium, not medium well). The half rack of ribs was tasteless. Need I say more? Sorry, but 2 for 2 in quite different places pretty much seals the deal.

Answer

No, I wouldn't say at all that it's "gone downhill" as a chain. Like any restaurant, there's good days and bad days depending on who's working there and what location you're at. I've had awful Outback experiences and really good ones, too. Just went last night, had great & prompt service, some surprisingly excellent drinks, a nicely rare but seared Outback Special with a garlic-parmesan crust, a blue cheese pecan chopped salad, and a side of grilled asparagus. Can't complain about a single thing I ate.

Answer

Got a $25 card at Christmas, and bought a bloomin onion at my local in Palm Bay. Very off flavor from old grease. It has since shut down. 

Maybe on my next trip to Orlando, I can use it on something else.

Answer

The last time we went, I ordered the mahi mahi and it was salted to death--- and I like salty foods!

Answer

Outback just keeps getting worse and worse.

I haven't been back since last year -- I needed a quick lunch one day and was tempted to try the Chicken Artichoke Flatbread. It looked decent enough on the menu:

http://www.outback.com/menu/chicken-artichoke-flatbread#.U1aPRscdTRo

The photo attached above is what it actually looked like when it came to my table - and yes, it tasted as vile as it looked.

Answer

I think they've gone downhill too. I love prime rib and Outback is only one of the very few places that offer it mid-week. The last couple times I've had it there it was tough & tasteless maybe a sign that they're using a lower grade of beef with less marbling (AKA: Flavor)? I know at one time they used USDC Choice grade. And their shrimp. My wife & I used to split an order of Shrimp on the Barbie as a starter. They used to buy wild caught domestic white shrimp but now I think they're using some farm raised tasteless product.

Answer

I haven't been to Outback in awhile, but I've always liked it for what it was. Their steaks have never been the draw for me, though. I go for the cheese fries, Caesar salad, bloomin onion and grilled shrimp on the barbie. It's an occasional trashy indulgent for me. Obviously not even close to the best food I've ever had, or anything i'd ever want to eat more than occasionally, but it hits the spot when I have it. But as I said, I haven't been in awhile so maybe it really is shit now.

Answer

Outback has totally gone down hill. My wife and I used to love it sooooo much. Then, they spent millions to change the look of the welcoming area and some other upgrades. But, the food suffered. We went recently to give it another try since we have found better food/service at Longhorns. Well, we were right...Outback is done for us. I got a Ribeye that was completely flavorless and thin. The server certainly seemed ready to get us in and out as the food came out within 5 minutes of our salads being brought to us. Then she put the bill on the end of the table before we were half through with dinner. I guess she didn't care if we wanted dessert. So, we paid the bill and in an act of solidarity, I told her, "Can you please pack up the rest of our meal togo. I guess you can't wait for us to leave so we will...." 

Longhorn has more choices, friendly staff, and never rushes us...ever. But, the best part...their steaks are GREAT!

Answer

I finally used a gift card I got two Christmases ago today at a Houston Outback. I haven't been in many years but today's meal was awful. The NY Strip was cooked to the requested medium rare, but the meat itself was of no better quality than what I can get at Kroger on sale for $2.99 a pound. And it was tough.

The garlic mashed potatoes were instant, watery, and had no discernible garlic flavor. The wedge salad was largely inedible core, and the blue cheese dressing had little cheese and was SWEET. I mean sweeter than coleslaw dressing!

Service was fine and my Blue Moon was ice cold, but I'm glad the gift card covered most of the cost of this misadventure.

Answer

I have eaten at Outback three or four times over the years. Other than their Bloomin' Onion, I have no idea how Outback Steakhouse could possibly have a 'downhill slide'.

Answer

I still remember a lamb dish I had at the Outback on Long Island, NY about 20 or 22 years ago. It was the best ever. I've tried a couple of Outbacks in recent years, and gone downhill is too true. Way downhill. I don't bother with it any more, but years ago it was very excellent.

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Outback downhill slide?

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