Outback Steakhouse

Founded in February 1988 in Tampa, Florida, by Bob Basham, Chris T. Sullivan, and Tim Gannon, it is owned and operated in the United States by OSI Restaurant Partners, and by franchise and venture agreements internationally. In 1997, it entered the South Korean market through the franchise agreement with Aussie Chung Inc. Currently, there are nearly 70 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.

Theme

The Outback Steakhouse has a strong "Australian" outback theme, exemplified by Boomerangs, stuffed crocodiles, maps of Australia, a reproduction of Ned Kelly's helmet, whips, didgeridoos, and paintings by Aboriginal artists. Although new locations are featuring a more subdued, streamlined decor, which is also being implemented in remodels of existing stores. Menu items are largely named after places in Australia, including the Ayers Rock Strip, Alice Springs Chicken, and Rockhampton Ribeye. Others are named after animals, like Kookaburra Wings, or Wallaby Darned. Some items are named after agricultural professions, such as the Jackaroo Chops or Drover's Platter. Others still take their names from pop-cultural references, such as the Mad Max Burger (which has since lost the "Aussie" nickname, and is now known as the bacon cheese burger) and Grilled Shrimp On The Barbie. In early 2007 Outback removed some of its Australian flair from the menu. The New York Strip Steak, Ribeye, and Pork Chops are some of the more popular menu items to lose their "Aussie" nicknames.

Despite its theme, Outback Steakhouse serves American cuisine, with Creole influences. All meat is heavily seasoned, including a 17 spice blend for the steaks themselves. Most seafood items are served with a Creole remoulade sauce. 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. Menus are highly regionalized. Crawfish appear in some dishes in Southern American locations, as do sweet potatoes. Eastern locations often feature Maine Lobster tails, while western locations frequently serve Alaskan King Crab legs and cakes.

Although a number of menu items are grilled, steaks are prepared on a griddle using butter as a heat transfer medium. Because they are cooked solely by conduction, their surfaces are cooked much more rapidly than their centers, and so Outback has a non-standard meat temperature (rarity) scale.

The use of fats in such liberal quantities has brought the chain under fire from health advocates: Men's Health magazine recently condemned Outback's Aussie Cheese Fries as "The Worst Food in America," with 182 grams of fat and nearly 3,000 calories per order.^[1]

The Bloomin' Onion is a signature Outback item. It is a one pound onion cut to 'bloom' open, breaded, deep-fried and served with horseradish-mustard aïoli. Other restaurants offer items similar to the Bloomin' Onion, as in Chili's Awesome Blossom 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 largely sold outside of Australia. Other Australian beers include Coopers Premium Lager, Coopers Sparkling Ale, Coopers Pale Ale 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.

One menu item that appears on American menus 'Chocolate Thunder from Down Under' will never be listed in Australia^{citation needed} as it has a very different meaning.^clarify It is offered simply as 'Chocolate Thunder'

Dietary Restrictions

The lamb served at Outback is sourced from New Zealand and is certified halal by the Islamic Council of New Zealand^{citation needed}.

Outback also offers a gluten free menu including most of its normal menu items with slight variations.

Community involvement

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Outback was one of the first groups to deliver food services on-site to rescue workers and emergency personnel.^[2]

Political involvement

The company and its founders are major contributors, via the Outback Steakhouse PAC, to the Republican Party, contributing $303,015 and $334,197 for the 2000 and 2004 election cycles, respectively.^[5]^[6]. 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.^[7]

OSI Restaurant Partners is a boycott target by Life Decisions International for funding associated with Planned Parenthood. ^[8]

Advertising

References

^ "The 20 Worst Foods in America". Men's Health. Retrieved on 2008-05-04.
^ "How appropriate that we pause and remember...". Office of the Secretary of Air Force. Retrieved on 2006-12-29.
^ "Mission Outback: Feeding Our Troops". Outback Steakhouse, INC.. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
^ "What's New - Mission Outback: Feeding Our Troops". Outback Steakhouse, INC.. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
^ "Soft Money Donations: Outback Steakhouse (2000)". The Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved on 2006-08-26.
^ "Soft Money Donations: Outback Steakhouse (2004)". The Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved on 2006-08-26.
^ "Food & Beverage PAC Contributions to Federal Candidates, 2003-2004". The Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved on 2006-12-29.
^ "Life Decisions International Home Page". Life Decisions International. Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
^ "Outback Steakhouse Bloomin' Onion I Airship". Outback Steakhouse, INC.. Retrieved on 2006-08-26.
^ "Inside The Company". OSI Restaurant Partners, INC.. Retrieved on 2006-08-30.

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