A Review of Outback Steakhouse in Centerville, Ohio

Adorned with photos of Australia, koalas, kangaroos, and Aboriginal art, the inside of Outback Steakhouse does set the scene for an Aussie-style meal, but the food doesn't really follow through.

While my family and I didn't go for the famous 'Bloomin' onion' appetizer (I figured I could inhale 1,000+ calories on a more nutritious food), we did all order steaks. I had the medium-sized Prime Rib and was a bid sad to find my mom's Ribeye even more juicy and tender. The Prime Rib was well marbled, but had a lot of excess fat around the outside, so I felt I had to cut off about 2 of the ordered 12 ounces to enjoy my steak. All the steaks at Outback Steakhouse come with two side dishes. I chose the Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes and the Fresh Steamed Broccoli. The sides were quite delicious. The mashed potatoes were hot, had a nice garlic flavor, and didn't require me to add any extra butter (and I'm a butter lover!). The broccoli was cooked to just the right temperature where it didn't have a crunch, but wasn't overcooked, and also had just the right amount of butter and seasoning added to it. My meal was decent, but I didn't think it warranted the nearly eighteen dollar price attached to it.

In celebration of Mother's Day, I decided to also get a fancy drink to go with my Prime Rib, and so I ordered a Pomegranate Press-a mixed drink including Red Apple Liquor, Pomegranate juice, vodka, and a few other ingredients. The taste of the drink was pretty good, but didn't taste like much more than straight Pomegranate juice. The alcohol content was very low, which was disappointing considering it cost over seven dollars.

My granddad ordered the ribs with the baked apples and side salad. He ended up with enough to take home for lunch the next day and said the ribs were delicious. Apparantly he made the best choice, choosing one of the house specialties. The apples looked and smelled wonderful. He said they were well cooked and nice and soft, with just the right amount of cinnamon and spice added.