I have been a long time fan of Outback ever since they opened in the USA I'm a huge fan of their layered cheesy fries and I used to love ordering the prime rib with horse radish. Their burgers at one time were the best anywhere too. Over the last few months there's been a major change in the Salisbury Outback though.
We get together with friends once a week and we're considered one of Outback's biggest regulars. I have always felt "you can't change something you're not aware of," so whenever I have an issue with what I've ordered I let them know as politely as I can so no one spits in my food. (LOL)
Well there comes a time when enough is enough. I don't know about all of you but recently every meal is coming out with either 1/2 the portions or everything is burned. I love my prime rib rare, (Pittsburgh Style). Tonight they delivered my steak very well done and our waitress knew immediately it wasn't right. She took it back and came out with the manager and this time the steak was cooked even more so than the first time and I guess the manager was there to convince me this time they had done a better job. I simply looked at her and said, show me one portion of this steak that is rare? It had fat everywhere and get this, it wasn't more than 1/4 inch thick to boot. It should be told that I had ordered their largest 16 oz. prime rib too!
So what happened to the old Outback we used to know? Remember the old Bloomin Onions that were HUGE? You watch one table get cheesy fries and they're flowing over the sides and dripping on the floor on the way to the table and then you see the next order come out with next to nothing on the plate. They try to tell you they're measured and all the same, NOT! So I made a decision tonight to simply say I've had enough. Our friends enjoy the Alice Spring Chicken and I found out why their chicken was always so moist. The chicken is bought locally every day and it's simply fresh. Lately each piece of chicken has again either been burned and or there's no more moisture. Considering we've been telling them things just aren't right for quite some time now and nothing is changing, it's time to stop going to Outback.
It's a real shame to see such a great place fall apart like that but they've taken my money for the last time and I'm sick of walking out of there feeling cheated rather than full. I bring this up because I'm curious if everyone else who frequents Outback has been experiencing the same problems?
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My wife and I went to outback Thursday evening and I had the two lobster tails with butter, a baked potato, and a side salad.... excellent. If anything maybe the tails were a bit small but they were so good I couldn't complain.
ReplyDeleteThe wife had some kind of shrimp thing-a-ma-bob and something else I don't remember and she also enjoyed hers. She asked for cocktail sauce and for some reason this is some kind of special order where the waitress has to go make it from scratch, weird, but my wife raved about it so I gave a little "extra" in the tip.
I don't frequent the place all that much but the few times I have been there have been good.
On a side note I went to the Greek festival in OC tonight and that food was fantastic!!! I highly recommend it, I believe the fest runs thru tomorrow.
Goin' Nuts is our all time favorite! Get the beefeater prime rib... excellent!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny you mention that accomack transplant. Forgive me if this sounds petty BUT, the salads at Outback used to be fantastic. Now they're 1/2 the size they used to be but still good. My wife likes to get the blue cheese chopped salad and get this. Each time she gets it they either forget to put the nuts in it. Then the next time they forget to put the dressing in it. I can't tell you how many times they've forgotten to put the blue cheese in it!
ReplyDeleteLast night we ordered "layered cheesy fries" and I mention layered because if you want it right, DON'T let them just spread cheese on the top of it, trust me on that one. The layered fries are GREAT! However, last night the first order cam out at least 1/2 the size. I immediately said something to the waitress and she immediately agreed and took it back. She returned some 10 minutes later with, get this, the same fries! I looked at her and said, this is ridiculous and she agreed. They also forgot to put the bacon on top of the fries.
Not 5 minutes later the table across from us were delivered their fries and their portions were over the top! So of course I pointed that out to the waitress who had claimed earlier that they are portioned and every order is the same, NOT!
Here's how bad things are there lately. Our friends ordered the Alice Spring Chicken MEDIUM RARE! The waitress said, that's chicken, not a steak. She replied, the last few times we've been in they burned the chicken and I just want to make sure it isn't burned this time. There were three orders of Alice Spring Chicken at our table last night, two of them were burned.
Outback happens to be a convenient location for all of us weekly and that's one reason they had our business. I've been to the Old West and the food is very good but I honestly don't like the atmosphere and some old guy coming to our table of adults acting like he knows us and we're really not interested. Please shot me if when I get older I take on his job!
Let me close with this. I have many friends that live in Ocean City and we're always heading that way whenever we get together because they always say, whenever Salisbury opens up a decent restaurant we'll come your way. Until then we're staying in Ocean City and I can't say as I blame them. We did enjoy the Green Hill Yacht Club Friday night for dinner! The food was fabulous but the company was even better!
Oh, as for Waterman's, if I wanted to CHEW sand I can go to the Beach and get as much of it as I want. However, getting it in your meal each and every time and feeling that on your teeth, NO THANKS! That has happened to me there three times and they'll never see me there again. I'm getting older and I NEED my teeth!
ReplyDeleteAmen Richard! the Market Street Inn "Casual Gourmet" Please don't insult my intelligence. The only redeeming feature of the old Royal Exchange Pub was the prime rib, everything else, fergit it. Of course all this is my own opinion, and we all know about opinions, don't we? I do have a couple of cardinal rules that I always adhere to. One is I never enter a resaurant when they're not busy. People that are busy are generally on their toes, and you can expect better service. I never dine out on a Sunday. many key kitchen people take Sunday off. I also agree with Iyeska, the best meal you get will likely be at home. the worst meal you get at home will usually be better than a bad restaurant meal. I've been married 31 years, and have cooked for 30 of them. At times I burn out on it. But then I dine out and have something to bitch about. I have nearly 150 cookbooks. I beleive I could channel up Julia Child on demand.
ReplyDeleteRichard...
ReplyDeleteThe *entire* Eastern Shore doesn't suck... the Narrows has the best Sunday brunch in the state (except for the Harbor Court in Baltimore), and their Cream of Crab is the *BEST* I've had in 32 states.