Outback Steakhouse — Restaurant in Harrisonburg

So, I started off at Texas Roadhouse, more or less around the corner from Outback, and found that they had an hour wait. On Friday around 6:00, that should have been no surprise, and it wasn't. However, I didn't feel like waiting for an hour and took a chance that maybe the wait at Outback would be shorter. Well, it was shorter. There was no wait. That probably should have been a tip-off that one was preferable to the other. All the same, I opted to eat there anyway.

The waiter was friendly enough, although obviously still fairly new at the job. I was willing to forgive him for overlooking a few things, and when I pointed anything out he remedied it quickly. No fault to the young man just trying to do his job.

But the meal. Let's talk about the meal. So, I ordered the 12 oz. ribeye, medium rare, with a sweet potato and the seasonal veggies. The order was delivered as that. No errors on the fact that it was a ribeye, that it was medium rare, or that it came with broccoli (the summer veggies selection) and something that resembled a sweet potato.

The broccoli was fine. In fact, it was obviously very fresh and had just enough crispiness to it to be enjoyable. Although I feel fairly certain that the salt quantity added is now coursing through my veins plotting a spike in blood pressure.

The real problems come with the rest of the meal. The steak was incredibly thin, not particularly juicy, and not seared in any way, unlike what is shown on the menu. It was cooked internally to order, but without searing it the juices were gone. The flavor of this piece of meat was not in what the steer offered upon its demise, but rather what the salt and other seasonings imparted to it. And considering it was obviously not seasoned before being thrown on the griddle, that wasn't particularly flavorful either.

And the sweet potato I could not finish. First of all, it was tiny, about the size of an average muffin in circumference and more or less round. But it was also mushy. Apparently the sweet potato got all the juiciness the steak lacked. It had a consistency that made me wonder if it had sat in a steamer since lunchtime. I do not believe you could have cut off a piece of it and stabbed it with a fork to convey it to your mouth without losing bits and pieces along the way. And I don't mean butter or any other topping because I asked for butter on the side and cinnamon only on the sweet potato. No, the fibers of the potato were nonexistent. It was mashed, without the mashing having taken place. The skin was also mushy.

Now, I suppose I can't get too angry about the sweet potato. After all, it's not shown on the menu in photo form. So I can't point to the one on the menu and complain that I didn't get it. What I do know is that a sweet potato is typically more substantial than what I got. These were obviously the last remnants at the bottom of the basket at Walmart. But a steakhouse needs to get a steak right. I'd have probably forgiven the sweet potato if the steak had been seared and juicy. It was tender for sure. No problem there. But it was lacking in flavor that a good ribeye would have offered and just not very good.

One final note, and I probably shouldn't try to pin this on Outback, but the Newcastle Brown Ale I had was not flavorful like I've come to know Newcastle. It was from a bottle, so again I don't think this is Outback's fault. It may have been old. I don't know. But I was looking forward to a brew and this left me less than satisfied compared to what I normally expect from that brew.

Now that I think about it, I should have taken a seat at the bar and waited an hour for Texas Roadhouse. I'd be eating my steak...

I give it 2 stars only because this time the steak was perfect, had the bone in ribeye. However, we were seated and shortly after got our drink order and food order taken, ordered a blooming onion as well as our entree which my wife and i split 22oz of steak was plenty for both of us, and we added an additional side. We received our app within about 10 minutes which was reasonable even though the place was about 30% to capacity. We enjoyed our appetizer, as well as conversation. Another table sat down behind us group of 4 when we were almost finished with our app. When we started to realize it seemed it was taking a little longer than it should for our entree that's when our waitress walked up and said, "can you tell me what your extra side was, I've misplaced the order ticket" i said it was the loaded baked potato. At this point we figured she must have some how for to ring our entree in. Next thing we know, the table of 4 behind us received their meals and we were still waiting. When my wife asked what happened with ours, the waitress tried to make the excuse about hold time because we ordered an app and ordered our steak medium well and that the table behind us didn't order an app and ordered rare steaks so theirs would be faster. However, i believe she just forgot to put in our order and if shewould have said that instead of trying to hide the truth, we would have been understandable about the situation. So we finally received our entree 36 minutes AFTER. finishing our appetizer. Not when we ordered it, when we finished eating it. My wife was pissed at this point and when the waitress came by and asked how it was i nodded things were fine, my wife didn't acknowledge her. At that point the waitress had another waiter check if we wanted tea and bring our check because she was busy. However, 5 minutes later shehad come and checked on the other 2 tables that were beside us, essentially giving us the impression she was just busy to not want to finish waiting on us. The check came it was $54.96 and a friend earlier that day had gave us $50 in gift cards so i put those in there along with $15 cash (a $10 bill and a $5 bill), $5 to cover the rest of the bill, and $10 for tip (about 18%) even if the experience was sub par. The other waiter picked the check up and i decided to wait in case there was an issue with the gift cards. When it came back it had a $4.96 balance and the $5 bill was there and the $10 was gone. I was confused on what happened or what was happening, i wanted to make sure the balance was paid and there was $10 that went to the tip. Our waitress said she split the $10 with the waiter and had him bring the half back that came out of his wallet. I'm still confused on what happen there. I told them i just wanted to make sure the balance was paid and the tip got paid. I've been here maybe 4 times in the last 20yrs and every time there has always been an issue. The only reason we ate there last night was because of the gift of a friend. We spoke to the manager after we left to let him know what the experience was like, he seemed to be concerned and wanted to send us coupons for a free meal, however, we declined coupons because we just don't want to come back anymore free or not and our call was not made to get something free just wanted to make sure management was aware of...

Dinner tonight was a terrible experience. After 12 hours of prepping a condo for new tenants and getting them checked in, we wanted a relaxing meal. My wife's burger came out very undercooked. She sent it back, and insisted I go ahead and eat while she waited. When it finally came back out, she got back the same burger that she had already cut in half. Now properly cooked, but with pickles, which she hates. Rather than just keep it and take them off herself, she let them take it back for a third try. The fried, meanwhile, had been sitting on the plate since originally served. They were cold, soggy and completely flavorless. She left more than half the fries and at least half the burger sitting on the plate when we left. My "porterehouse" looked pretty when it came, except for the fact that the tenderloin was so small it just barely met the definition and avoided being a mere T-bone. It, too, was undercooked at a medium rare rather than medium. What was worse was that when I turned it over at one point, while the top side was nice looking and cooked, the underside was grey as though it had been sitting in a saute pan.

But there were other indications of systemic problems. The wait staff all when about their business in a completely non-emotional way. None of the servers were smiling at all. They spoke pleasantly when they eventually came out, but it was like they really didn't want to be there on a Saturday night. When we arrived, we were seated at a table next to the end of a row of booths. One of their bread boards, with the knife blade facing up, was sitting on the top of the booth. It stayed there until i mentioned it to the manager near the end of our meal. A diner in one of the two end booths could have put a hand up there to stretch out and either cut himself or sent it flying into one of the other nearby diners. As I said, none of staff really wanted to do a good job.

Two positives. The staff always asked before taking anything off the table. Sometimes I'm not quite done (or I might eat some of my wife's fries) and I still want my plate, but suddenly the server has picked it up. Sorry...I wanted it bu go ahead and take it away now... But that didn't happen.

When the US flag is displayed from an angled staff from the front of the building, it should always be on the left as you face the door. They had it on the right, with a JMU flag on the left. I mentioned that. I went back in to discuss it with the staff, and they came outside and immediately reversed them.

But, if you are reading this, you are going there to dine, not salute a flag. So, they still get one star because you can't go lower. If you want a Harrisonburg steak, go to Texas Roadhouse on the next street over. Don't bother with Outback. They don't want to be there, and they really don't want you...