Is It Even Worth Going Out To Eat Any More?

Over the weekend I asked my Wife, where would you like to eat tonight. She opened the phone book and started searching for a restaurant we hadn't been to yet and nothing seemed satisfying. To my amazement she said, how about Outback.

Some of our loyal readers will recall, the last time we went to Outback it was a complete disaster. I thought, well, it's been at least two years, why not. Talk about a huge mistake!

I wasn't that hungry so I decided to order a cheeseburger. I mean, how bad can you screw that up, right?

We were conveniently seated right next to the kitchen. You know, the seats where you walk out of a restaurant and your clothes not only stink, you can feel the grease in your clothes. I didn't complain about the seating because I thought I'd give them a fair chance. Yes, there was seating available elsewhere and I made sure NOT to wear clothing that had Salisbury News advertised all over it.

We were trying to hold a conversation but found it very difficult as a group of intoxicated people sat at the next booth talking Nascar. I can deal with that but the screaming infant that just wouldn't stop crying was starting to get on our nerves. Just as it got to the point of no return, our food finally arrived.

My Wife ordered the Alice's Spring Chicken, which is usually fail proof. Fortunately it was very good but I have to say, this is a meal that used to cost $7.49 in Outback and is now over $14.00 and the portion is about 1/2 of what they used to serve.

Then there was my burger. What used to come in an over sized bun and a 1/2 pound was clearly smaller, (bun wise) and about 1/3 of a pound of meat. I went to lift the top bun to see if they did in fact put mayo on it and the bun was as hard as a rock, seriously. I looked at the waitress and said, this bun is as hard as a rock. She replied, oh, you didn't want it toasted? My reply, did I ask for it toasted.

She then said, let me go get you another bun and left. While she was away I felt the bottom bun and it too was hard as a rock. When she returned with the top bun I told her the bottom one was hard as well and she said, let me get you another one. She returned with a small plate with the bun on it, expecting ME to use my hands to remove and replace the burger onto the new buns and scrape the lettuce and mayo from the other bun onto the new buns.

I'm sure many of you have had experiences whereas you weren't satisfied and they took the entire thing back to the kitchen and fixed it to your liking but this just wasn't the case at Outback. The burger had an unusual flavor to it and I had asked that they not put any seasoning on it. I can't exactly explain what it was but as I enjoy a good burger on the grill, this meat tasted nothing like the ground beef I'm used to.

We couldn't get the bill quick enough to b-line it out of there and quite frankly that will be the very last time I ever go back to Outback. Every one has bad experiences once in a while but Outback continues to fail to deliver, especially at the prices they're charging. My burger was around $10.00 and it sucked. We got home and immediately changed out of the greasy clothes we had on and agreed we'd never return.