Three months ago, we had a $70 steak (a la carte) at a Michelin-recommended restaurant in Dallas that was terrible. It was cooked fine, but so devoid of seasoning or any sort of flavor, it was a real slap in the face to the poor cow that went to the great pasture in the sky for our dinner enjoyment.
Last month, by contrast, we had a delicious, immensely flavorful center-cut sirloin that came with a soup or salad, side dish, bread and a slice of cheesecake for dessert—all for only $21.99.
As you’ve guessed from the headline, it was at none other than Outback Steakhouse.
For years, we’ve trash-talked chain restaurants and if we did find ourselves at one, we lived out our best Anastasia Beaverhausen fantasies.
Somehow, we felt we deserved those $70 steaks and chef-curated accompaniments paired with the finest wines. Partly, it was a way to leave behind our middle-class upbringing. where a trip to Luby’s or Olive Garden was a high-falutin’ night on the town.
In reality, however, there’s a valid place for mass-market restaurants that emphasize value. Especially in today’s inflated economy.
We ended up down under (as we now refer to Mesquite, home to the closest Outback to us) because our husband received a gift card from work for the Australian-themed corporate restaurant. We invited a girlfriend, knowing it would probably take three of us to use the $100, and we planned to have a really good laugh over slumming it in Chainville.
By the time we left, not only were we exiting the building with bags full of leftovers, we had somehow become instant fans of a different kind of barbie. Not to mention items served with toy koalas, a menu packed with Aussie puns and the kind of nostalgic joy that can only come from dining out someplace where cocktails still only cost $8.
We aimed to stay under our gift card budget, so we ordered off the special three-course menu, which has four different entrée options for $14.99, three options for $18.99 and three premium options for $21.99. Each includes a choice of several soups or salads (with optional upgrades), a choice of eight different sides (a few at an upcharge), and a huge slab of cheesecake.
(By comparison, we got a chicken salad at a Four Seasons last week that was $28.)
The quality for the price at Outback Steakhouse simply blew us away. Plus, we had some of the best service we’ve had in any restaurant in Dallas-Fort Worth, something truly unexpected from an eatery in Mesquite.
Just when our euphoria couldn’t get any stronger, our server told us about a promotion “ending soon” where we could take home a full meal to enjoy the next day for only $10.
This take-home special includes a choice of shrimp, steak, salmon or grilled chicken, and a base of mac and cheese, fettuccine alfredo, seasoned rice, house salad, or caesar salad. If you opt for one of the pastas or grains, you can add on a side salad and bread for only $2 more.
What the what?
For the next several weeks, the three of us went out together to dinners ranging in price from $50 per person to $350 per person, but we kept reminiscing about our Outback meal.
So, Wednesday night, we returned with two additional friends and a $250 gift card that Outback’s publicist sent us after learning of our newfound passion for the restaurant. We were out to prove that our love of the steakhouse wasn’t a fluke.
And now, we can honestly say, a full-on Outback Gang movement is brewing among our friend group. We ate like kings and queens, and had the best time with the restaurant manager and our server, who was doing double-duty as the bartender. Most of all, we genuinely enjoyed the ability to order with abandon and not worry about taking out a loan. Even our bougie friends agreed.
A month after our first visit, the “limited-time” take-home special still exists, as does the $15 three-course menu.
Yet even without these insane deals, the regular menu prices also clock in way lower than we expected in a world where it’s tough to drive away from the McDonald’s drive-thru for less than $15.
So, we’ll be returning to Outback Steakhouse soon. We solemnly swear on all the Bloomin’ Onions in America.
Join us if you wish, but come out of the closet with us and leave your disguise at home.
Outback Steakhouse
outback.com
Food and beverage images courtesy of Outback Steakhouse; Main image courtesy of the AI minions deep under the Sydney Opera House.
