Outback Steakhouse

Outback is another restaurant I haven’t been to in a while.  Initially I was a little surprised to see business just as kicking as I remember.  Newer steakhouses have opened in Lafayette in the recent years, so it was time to give an old standby a visit.

1600 West Pinkhook
http://www.outback.com/index.aspx



Char-grilled 10 oz Ribeye, medium rare

1.  Price - $15.99.  Steak plus two sides.

2.  Look

3.  Cooked to Doneness

The steak wasn’t drastically overdone, but it wasn’t a clean medium rare.  Medium rare with pockets of medium is a fair assessment .  Even the parts that were on the medium rare spectrum were definitely on the north end of the medium rare threshold.  Another one of my favorite aspects of the ribeye, it’s fat content will keep it juicy even if it’s not cooked perfectly.  Other steaks don’t quite have that leeway.  Having said that, the ribeye wasn’t as juicy or tender as it could have been, but it wasn’t a total desert either.  Definitely should have been better though.

4.  Taste

If you order the ribeye at Outback now, apparently you have the option of getting it char-grilled.  Char-grilling would bring out the familiar flavors of a backyard, charcoal grilling session, so I decided to give it a try.  There was no disappointment in that concern, the char flavor was there and it was good.  A ribeye will have enough fat to catch a nice, crispy char and lend some good flavor to the meat.  So I assume that’s why the option seems to be only available with the ribeye.  Even with that aspect, it might be an attribute of why the steak wasn’t quite cooked exactly to medium rare.  If you’ve ever fired up the coals in the backyard, you know the fire can be more unpredictable than a gas grill.  I’m not exactly sure as to what setup Outback has for their char-grilling, but any use of actual fire is going to add another variable to cooking a steak.  The charred flavor was a bonus, and if it was cooked better, would have yielded a pretty good steak.  Though it’s hard to make up for the mis-cooked steak.

5.  Seasoning

I’d say one of the best thing the seasoning accomplished, was staying out of the way of the charred flavor while slightly enhancing it with a little pepperiness.  There’s no reason to overpower the char with any fancy seasonings.

6.  Bang for the Buck

I’ve established the steak wasn’t cooked to the doneness I prefer, but Outback does offer the char-grilled option for free.  At least they didn’t feel the need to charge a buck or two on top for it.  If the steak was cooked correctly, I’d say the 15.99 is fair.  Even though there are better options out there, this is a steak I’d say is priced about where you’d expect.  Not an exceptional deal, but not a rip off either.  You could do better, but you could do worse.  In the end, I’m expecting better out of a restaurant with “steakhouse” in the name.  That’s just the standard I tend to hold steakhouses to.

-Aaron A. Aaronson