Dare I ask if Olive Garden has a franchise in Rome or Milan??
I’ve enjoyed the few meals I’ve had at Outback, but not enough to wait for 2 hours, as so many around here will do. (Come to think of it, I can’t think of any restaurant worth a 2 hour wait.)
I weep for the decline of the little local joints - the homogenation of dining out is so sad…
As an American, all I can say about Starbuck’s is were sorry. We tried using penicillin when we first got it, but it seems it didn’t work.
As for Outback Steak House, didn’t they use “We come from the land down under” as a motto/ add campaign at one time?
Maybe replace it with the “I’m coming home” song from Rocky Horror. I think that might fit well.
Any way, if it means less Outback’s in the US, then send them all to Australia. Sorry, mates. 
Bhudda
[Food snob hat on]
First, Fenris says, referring to Outback: “doesn’t mind their leathery, flavorless steaks [as much as their commercials]” which is fine. Outback doesn’t have the best steaks in the world. Wouldn’t call them leathery and flavorless, but different strokes and all. However, he then goes on the refer to Monterey Jack as “great cheese.”
Does not compute.
[/FSH off]
Pshaw. You also think Elmo has a nice ass. Next!
Grr…
At least I don’t drive a Pugeot
Wait a minute – you say that Outback Steakhouse isn’t real Australian food? Next you’ll be telling me that John Madden doesn’t cruise the Aussie beaches in his bus while half-naked men and women do suggestive things in the background with a Bloomin’ Onion[sup]TM[/sup].
Not in Rome or Milan, but in Tuscany.
At least Olive Garden actually has Italian-style food. I’ve never been to an Outback, but it’s main influences seem to be Chili’s and TGI Friday’s, not anything remotely Australian.
OK, so it’s bad enough “Outback” has come to Australia. But, it could be worse.
It could be a Pommy-themed restaurant.
Roger that, Scylla. Let’s let the poseurs 'dis it all they want, that’s just more for us. Now, about MGD, well, now that’s pee-pee water… 
Must be the Budweiser talking…
P.S. Scylla, I like Bud myself.
If you’re ever in Paris, check out those “Indiana Cafes,” a chain who apparently believes that cowboys and indians inhabit Indiana. A more bizarre representation of Mexican food does not exist than at this chain; check out their tacos with Italian ragu sauce in place of salsa. And I believe the menu translation into French of their “chilil ‘n’ beans” was “cassoulet du cowboy”. Pfffftthh! I can’t believe that sophisticated Parisians think this is an accurate representation of American tex-mex.
The most amazing thing about that menu is . . .
THERE’S NO FRIKKIN’ MUTTON ON IT!
Not even a lamb chop!
And how can they not have meat pies?
Actually, I’ve never been to one. There is one here in Panama City though - now I’ll have to go check it out. I wonder if it has an identical menu.
(On a tangent, TGIFriday’s is the only place in Panama where you can get anything resembling decent BBQ Ribs - not great ribs, mind you, but at least a reasonable facsimile. We also have a Bennigan’s here, but I’ve never been there.)
I’m guessing the only Outback Steakhouse here to date isn’t doing too well - they haven’t uploaded their website to the local domain yet and the only ad I’ve seem for them to date is in our free local paper. No big splashy opening or anything.
They also chose a very strange location to open the first store - very much a “boondock” area.
US chains tend to regionalise their menus somewhat here, so hopefully we’ll see some lamb/mutton on the local menu (ribs sure as hell aren’t Aussie cuisine and no self respecting drover would be dining on pork chops let alone cinnamon apples).
I liked Sizzler for much the same reasons as Scylla. The food was affordable, the quality consistent, and the service excellent. One of the major attractions for us was that everyone in the family could find something on the menu they actually enjoyed. Now we have Denny’s, and many service clubs are offering unlimited access to soup and salad bars, so Sizzler has pretty much died out in NSW.
There’s an email address for the local store on the Outback Steakhouse website, so I might email them to find out whether the local menu varies from the US one at all (I suspect that the store is actually owned by the chain itself and not franchised). At the very least, we can petitiion them to add damper to the menu.
Any Sydneysiders want to take a trip out to Parklea to investigate just how awful this place is? I’m having nightmares about how a US food chain will interpret Aussie decor.
“Sophisticated Parisians” seem to have a lot of trouble rating food which isn’t from a European cuisine. My ex-wife and I really liked Indian food (OK, I know the food served in UK Indian restaurants is usually Bangladeshi or Kashmiri). When we were visiting her folks in Paris, some of the natives told us about this “great Indian restaurant” that some of them had been to. We went and the food was so bad we were laughing at it. Also, I had gastroenteritis for the next three days.
Hey!
I feel the same way about MGD! You just keep drinking your pee and I’ll drink mine.
Wait a minute…:eek:
Relax, reprise, here in America we have dozens of crappy American-themed restaurants. In a way, you’re getting a more authentic experience by going to an Outback Steakhouse in Australia. It’s just an American experience, not an Australian one… because you’re not really getting the full American dining thrill unless you’re glorifying your own country with stupid crap on the walls, bad food and worse puns. And to do that in Australia, you need an Australian-themed restaurant run by Americans.
-fh
I think you’re ALL missing the point here.
To quote from the menu one more time.
Bloomin’ Onion®
An Outback Ab-original
D’ya see that?? They’re EATING PEOPLE IN THIS RESTAURANT!!!
I think the world should be told…
Red Ta muchly. I may not be all that new, but you can still say hi.
True. It’s weird though, McDonalds and Coke are both unashamedly American, and don’t pretend to be anything else, yet ask the average Aussie his or her opinion of McDonalds, and they’ll probably tell you (after they’ve hastily swallowed their Big Mac), “Bloody US cultural imperialism… Big multi-nationals brainwashing our kids, destroying our culture… etc .etc…” Then ask them what they think about Coca Cola, and they’ll be much more forgiving: “Yeah, it’s not a bad drink”. Coke has penetrated our country much more than Mcdonalds, yet it doesn’t get the same “evil empire” tag. Maybe it’s because we don’t have immediate face to face contact with underpaid fourteen year-olds when buying Coke (except at McD’s 
), or maybe it’s because they don’t have their own stores. However they’ve done it, the Coca Cola Corporation has gained an acceptance other US multinationals don’t have. And for a smaller outfit like Jack Daniels, the reception is positively friendly (hic).
But I can’t see the Outback Steakhouse being a well-loved institution. My advice to their Australian operations would be to change the name to New York Steakhouse. They could probably even sell the same stuff.
So come on then, which of you Aussies insist on asking McDonalds employees for chips?
Guilty!
And Filet o Fish is pronounced with a ‘T’. A very pronounced ‘T’.
And ‘Nestle’ is NESSLES! by-all-that’s-holy-not-that-I’d-buy-any-of-their-products-in-a-pink-fit-so-there
Oh that feels so good!
Nessles! Nessles! Ha! In your face!!
Thanks, Aspidistra. I don’t even remember making the change from saying Nessles to saying Nestles, it seemed to happen on a subconcious level.
Now I’ve got the sense of anarchy running through my veins, and I want to run out and order a fileT of fish with a side order of chips, and munch on a bar of (gross) Nessles chocolate. Mmmmm… mispronounced goodnesss…