Bites Nearby: Outback Steakhouse

Each week, Patch picks a great restaurant either in town or nearby that is worth checking out. Here's this week's choice:

Outback Steakhouse

Overview: It feels like you’re right in Australia when you come to Outback. 

Decor: The décor is very manly, and sort of foreign. There are pictures on the walls of different parts of Australia as well as animal horns that are screwed in. The lights aren’t bright but they aren’t really low, either.

The Drinks: There are soda’s and beer. They also have mixed drinks like Pina Colada’s and Strawberry Daiquiri’s.

Appetizers: They have many different appetizers but the best ones there are the bloomin’ onion and the Aussie cheese fries.

• The bloomin’ onion is an onion pulled apart and then breaded and deep fried to crispy perfection. It is served with their spicy signature bloom sauce.
• The Aussie cheese fries are French fries covered in cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses, which are melted. They also put bits of bacon on it and it is served with spicy ranch sauce.

 Entrees:

• No Rules Parmesan Pasta: This is basically Fettuccine Alfredo but a little spicier. They have the creamy white sauce that is the Alfredo sauce but they put in crushed red pepper to give it a little zing. You can add in shrimp, chicken, or scallops or you can pick two. If you don’t know that it has crushed red pepper in it, the food tastes spicy and you are surprised by it. It can also be a bit of a turn off because of the surprise factor.
• The Bloomin’ Burger: It is a burger topped with cheese, and pieces of the bloomin’ onion as well as the bloomin’ onion sauce. It also comes with tomato and lettuce. If you order this, before you eat, make sure that they cooked it correctly. Since the burger is so large it might take longer to cook and so just be aware and cut it to make sure it’s the way you like it.

 For The Kids:

• Grilled Cheese-A-Roo
• Kookaburra Chicken Fingers
• Boomerang Cheese Burger
• Mac-A-Roo 'N Cheese
• Joey Sirloin
• Grilled Chicken on the Barbie
• Junior Ribs

 These are all served with a choice of sides, a drink, and a dessert.

Sides

Salads: They have Caesar salad made with romaine lettuce, fresh Caesar dressing and croutons are thrown into it. There is a Queensland Salad which consists of fresh grilled chicken on mixed greens with Monterey Jack and Cheddar, bacon, diced egg, tomatoes, toasted almonds and croutons.

Soups: They have a freshly made soup of the day which changes. They also have French Onion soup as well as clam chowder, which are both excellent. 

Desserts:

• Sweet Adventure Sampler Trio: Chocolate Thunder from Down Under® with pecan brownie, Carrot Cake with coconut and pecans and Classic Cheesecake. Or choose one individual dessert sample portion.
• Chocolate Thunder From Down Under: An extra generous pecan brownie is crowned with rich vanilla ice cream, drizzled with warm chocolate sauce and finished with chocolate shavings and whipped cream. A chocolate lover's dream.
• Sydney's Sinful Sundae: Creamy vanilla ice cream rolled in toasted coconut and topped with chocolate sauce, whipped cream and a fresh strawberry.
• Carrot Cake: Deliciously moist layers of carrot cake with coconut and pecans topped with a sweet vanilla cream cheese icing.
• Classic Cheesecake: New York-style cheesecake served with a choice of raspberry or chocolate sauce.

Service: The wait was long. Even with a call ahead there was a 30 minute wait. The servers, although helpful and with a smile on their faces, didn’t always get the orders completely correct like how the burger should be made (medium well came out medium rare). They are willing to take it back and get a new one no problem. They are also very on top of bringing out drinks when refills are needed and are accommodating if the order changed just a bit.

Signature Dish: Outback Special

Outback Steakhouse

Address: 1067 Old Country Road, Westbury

Cost: $$