Outback Steakhouse
Encyclopedia
Outback Steakhouse is an American
casual dining
restaurant chain based in Tampa, Florida
with over 1200 locations in 22 countries throughout North
and South America
, Europe
, Asia
, and Australia
. It was founded in February 1988 in Tampa by Bob Basham, Chris T. Sullivan
, Trudy Cooper and Tim Gannon, and is now owned and operated in the United States by OSI Restaurant Partners, and by other franchise and venture agreements internationally.
In 1997, Outback entered the South Korea
n market through the franchise agreement with Aussie Chung Inc. Currently, there are 101 Outback Steakhouse locations throughout South Korea. On June 14, 2007, OSI Restaurant Partners completed a stock repurchase plan, and the company is now privately held.
Canadian Outback restaurants began in 1996. In March 2009 Outback Steakhouse Canada abruptly closed all nine locations in the province of Ontario
, citing poor economic conditions. In June 2009, an Outback restaurant reopened in Niagara Falls
. Three Outback locations continue to operate in Edmonton
, Alberta
.
All meat is heavily seasoned; there is a 17 spice blend for the steaks themselves. Outback bills its food as "full flavor". It fries its food in vegetable shortening, and uses real butter and heavy cream in many dishes. Burgers
are ground from beef tenderloin
.
Although a number of menu items are grilled
, steaks are prepared on a griddle
using butter as a heat transfer medium.
Many Outback Restaurants now offer the option to have your steak grilled over an open oak wood flame. These steaks are seasoned with a lighter blend, and butter is not used. This provides a healthier option, while maintaining flavor because of the oak smoke.
The use of fats in such liberal quantities has brought the chain under scrutiny by Men's Health
magazine, which condemned Outback's Aussie Cheese Fries as "The Worst Food in America," with 182 grams (1,638 calories) of fat and nearly 3,000 calories per order.
The Bloomin' Onion
is a signature Outback item. It is a one pound onion cut to 'bloom' open, breaded, deep-fried and served with mayonnaise-horseradish sauce. Other restaurants offer items similar to the Bloomin' Onion, as in Chili's
Awesome Blossom (discontinued) and Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon
's Texas Rose.
Outback's bar selections are also highly regionalized. Most Outbacks serve Foster's Lager
, an Australian brand of beer
exported around the world. Other Australian beers served often include Coopers
Premium Lager, Coopers Sparkling Ale, Coopers Pale Ale, Toohey's New Draught, and Boag's. Wine selections also vary, but often include those from Australian wineries
like Yellow Tail
, and Foster's Group
holdings Lindemans
and Rosemount Estates
.
menu which includes most of its normal menu items with slight variations.
Outback did not display full nutritional data on their food until early 2010.
Outback has now added a "light style" option to the menu. This option is designed to prepare meals under 500 calories by carefully proportioning out sides and preparing the meals without butter and added fats.
, to the Republican Party
, contributing $303,015 and $334,197 for the 2000 and 2004 election cycles, respectively. The Outback Steakhouse PAC itself is one of the largest donors in the food and beverage sector, second only to the National Restaurant Association
, which itself represents 300,000 restaurants.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
casual dining
Casual dining
This is a list of casual dining restaurant chains around the world, arranged in alphabetical order. A casual dining restaurant is a restaurant that serves moderately-priced food in a casual atmosphere...
restaurant chain based in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
with over 1200 locations in 22 countries throughout North
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It was founded in February 1988 in Tampa by Bob Basham, Chris T. Sullivan
Chris T. Sullivan
Chris T. Sullivan is a founder, director and Chairman of the Board of Outback Steakhouse.From February 1991 to March 2005, Sullivan was Chief Executive Officer of OSI Restaurant Partners, INC.. From August 1987 to February 1991, he was President of the company...
, Trudy Cooper and Tim Gannon, and is now owned and operated in the United States by OSI Restaurant Partners, and by other franchise and venture agreements internationally.
In 1997, Outback entered the South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n market through the franchise agreement with Aussie Chung Inc. Currently, there are 101 Outback Steakhouse locations throughout South Korea. On June 14, 2007, OSI Restaurant Partners completed a stock repurchase plan, and the company is now privately held.
Canadian Outback restaurants began in 1996. In March 2009 Outback Steakhouse Canada abruptly closed all nine locations in the province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, citing poor economic conditions. In June 2009, an Outback restaurant reopened in Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
. Three Outback locations continue to operate in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
.
Menu
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
are ground from beef tenderloin
Beef tenderloin
A beef tenderloin, known as an eye fillet in New Zealand and Australia, filet in France and Germany and fillet in the United Kingdom, is cut from the loin of beef. As with all quadrupeds, the tenderloin refers to the psoas major muscle ventral to the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae,...
.
Although a number of menu items are grilled
Grilling
Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below.Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly and meat that has already been cut into slices...
, steaks are prepared on a griddle
Griddle
A griddle is a cooking device consisting of a broad flat surface that can be heated using a variety of means, and is used in both residential and commercial applications for a variety of cooking operations. Most commonly, the griddle consists of a flat metal plate, but in the non-industrialized...
using butter as a heat transfer medium.
Many Outback Restaurants now offer the option to have your steak grilled over an open oak wood flame. These steaks are seasoned with a lighter blend, and butter is not used. This provides a healthier option, while maintaining flavor because of the oak smoke.
The use of fats in such liberal quantities has brought the chain under scrutiny by Men's Health
Men's Health (magazine)
Men's Health , published by Rodale Inc. in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, United States, is the world’s largest men’s magazine brand, with 44 editions around the world. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. It covers fitness, nutrition, sexuality, lifestyle and other aspects of...
magazine, which condemned Outback's Aussie Cheese Fries as "The Worst Food in America," with 182 grams (1,638 calories) of fat and nearly 3,000 calories per order.
The Bloomin' Onion
Blooming onion
A blooming onion, onion bloom, onion blossom, or onion 'mum is a dish consisting of one large onion which is cut to resemble a flower, battered and deep fried. It is served as an appetizer at some restaurants....
is a signature Outback item. It is a one pound onion cut to 'bloom' open, breaded, deep-fried and served with mayonnaise-horseradish sauce. Other restaurants offer items similar to the Bloomin' Onion, as in Chili's
Chili's
Chili's Grill & Bar is a restaurant chain founded by Larry Lavine. The chain has more than 1400 casual dining restaurants, mostly located in the United States and Canada...
Awesome Blossom (discontinued) and Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon
Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon
Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon is a casual dining restaurant chain, serving steak, seafood, salad, and similar food items. Lone Star opened its first restaurant in 1987 in Tampa,Florida. In March 1992, Lone Star became a public company with eight restaurants opened. On February 18, 2008, Lone Star...
's Texas Rose.
Outback's bar selections are also highly regionalized. Most Outbacks serve Foster's Lager
Foster's Lager
Foster's Lager is an internationally distributed Australian brand of 5.0% abv pale lager, It is a product of Foster's Group brewed under licence in several countries, including the U.S. and Russia...
, an Australian brand of beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
exported around the world. Other Australian beers served often include Coopers
Coopers
Coopers may refer to:* Coopers, California, former name of Cooper, Monterey County, California* Coopers' Company and Coborn School in Upminster, UK* plural of cooper...
Premium Lager, Coopers Sparkling Ale, Coopers Pale Ale, Toohey's New Draught, and Boag's. Wine selections also vary, but often include those from Australian wineries
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
like Yellow Tail
Yellow tail (wine)
Yellow Tail is a brand of wine produced by Casella Wines Pty Ltd. Casella wines is based in Yenda, Australia, which has a population of approximately 1000 people. The Casella family has produced wines since the 1820s in Italy...
, and Foster's Group
Foster's Group
Foster's Group is a beer group with interests in brewing and soft drinks. Foster's Group is the brewer of the Foster's Lager. Foster's Group Limited is a publicly-listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange and is based in Melbourne, Victoria...
holdings Lindemans
Lindemans (wine)
Lindeman's is an Australian winery, owned by Treasury Wine Estates. It was founded in 1843 by Henry Lindeman who planted its first vines in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales. This original vineyard no longer exists, and the winery now has vineyards in South Australia , in Padthaway and at...
and Rosemount Estates
Rosemount (wine)
Rosemount is an Australian winery based in Hunter Valley and South Australia, owned by Treasury Wine Estates. At the turn of the 21st century, Rosemount was the second best selling Australian wine brand in the US.-History:...
.
Dietary considerations
Outback also offers a gluten freeGluten-free diet
A gluten-free diet is a diet that excludes foods containing gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat , barley, rye, malts and triticale. It is used as a food additive in the form of a flavoring, stabilizing or thickening agent, often as "dextrin"...
menu which includes most of its normal menu items with slight variations.
Outback did not display full nutritional data on their food until early 2010.
Outback has now added a "light style" option to the menu. This option is designed to prepare meals under 500 calories by carefully proportioning out sides and preparing the meals without butter and added fats.
Community involvement
Outback Steakhouse has a program to support the communities in which their restaurants are located. On a national level Outback partners with Heineken USA and their Heineken with a Heart program to raise funds for various organizations in these communities. Outback also sponsors the NCAA football Outback Bowl.Political involvement
The company and its founders are major contributors, via the Outback Steakhouse PACPolitical action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
, to the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, contributing $303,015 and $334,197 for the 2000 and 2004 election cycles, respectively. The Outback Steakhouse PAC itself is one of the largest donors in the food and beverage sector, second only to the National Restaurant Association
National Restaurant Association
thumb|National Restaurant Association logoThe National Restaurant Association is a restaurant industry business association in the United States, representing more than 380,000 restaurant locations. It also operates the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation...
, which itself represents 300,000 restaurants.
Advertising
- The company owns two blimpsNon-rigid airshipA blimp, or non-rigid airship, is a floating airship without an internal supporting framework or keel. A non-rigid airship differs from a semi-rigid airship and a rigid airship in that it does not have any rigid structure, neither a complete framework nor a partial keel, to help the airbag...
, the Bloomin' Onion I and Bloomin' Onion II, named after their appetizer. - Outback Steakhouse is the title sponsor of the Outback Champions SeriesOutback Champions SeriesThe Outback Champions Series is a series of tennis tournaments designed for former members of the ATP tour. The Outback Champions Series consists of tournaments played in select markets where legends of the sport compete in a highly competitive, fan friendly, round robin format with a champion...
tennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
events and NCAA football's Outback BowlOutback BowlThe Outback Bowl is an annual New Year's Day college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The event was originally called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1994 until being renamed in 1995 for its new title sponsor, Outback Steakhouse...
. - General (Ret) Tommy FranksTommy FranksTommy Ray Franks is a retired general in the United States Army. His last Army post was as the Commander of the United States Central Command, overseeing United States Armed Forces operations in a 25-country region, including the Middle East...
sits on the Board Of Directors for OSI Restaurant Partners, INC., which owns Outback Steakhouse. - Jemaine ClementJemaine ClementJemaine Clement is a New Zealand comedian, actor and musician, best known as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Bret McKenzie.-Early life:...
of the HBO comedy series Flight of the ConchordsFlight of the Conchords (TV series)Flight of the Conchords is an American television comedy series that debuted on HBO on June 17, 2007. The show follows the adventures of Flight of the Conchords, a two-man band from New Zealand, as its members seek fame and success in New York City. The show stars the real-life duo, Jemaine Clement...
has done several Outback commercials. He is from New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and uses a feigned Australian accent. The theme in the advertisements is of Australian sentiment - the company is actually based in Tampa, Florida. - In the commercials, the song is a version of "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games," composed by Kevin BarnesKevin BarnesKevin L. Barnes is the singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for the indie rock group Of Montreal, part of the Elephant 6 Collective. Barnes started the band on his own and, although providing several stories as to the origin of the name, is said to have named it after a failed romance...
and his band Of MontrealOf MontrealOf Montreal is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontman Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance with a woman "of Montreal." The band is one of the bands of the Elephant 6 collective...
. Barnes' has been noted to say he was "tricked" into letting Outback use the song. The jingle in the commercial is a little different from the song itself, with minor altered lyrics and a didgeridoo in the background.