Monday, July 17, 2006

Outback Steakhouse and Summer Update 4.0


Sigh ... back in Washington ... must get out and just have plain ol' fun ... go out to dinner with you? watch a movie in the park? Love to, Julie!

(Ha ... gotcha ... you thought it was going to be a date! You ought to know better than that.)

So, in honor of all my Aussie friends ... last night, Julie and I went to Outback Steakhouse ... lol!

THAT was an experience! Don't worry, I don't imagine Oz to be anything like the restaurant ... but our server, Matthew! What a trip!

Is it normal for a waiter to slide into the seat next to you just to "chat" in between waiting on his tables?

Whatever it takes to get tips, I suppose.

But ... I will have to say that the Mango-Lemonade is well ...

Let's just say that Julie burst into giggles when she caught my expression after my first sip.

Did my eyes light up like that of Saul's men after tasting the honey?

"Here, give it a go, Julie."

I passed the frosted mug over to her ... and HA! She had the SAME reaction!

Lovely stuff, mango-lemonade.

(that's my buck fifty dress I'm wearing)

Saturday, July 15
can you touch your elbow with your tongue?

Friday, July 14
smalltown, USA

Bible club and bouncy castles

Thursday, July 13
bellybutton falls

Sunday, July 9
complaints of a tall person

Friday, July 7
tired in Seattle

23 comments:

ckjolly said...

disclaimer: Matthew didn't sit next to me ... it was adorable little Julie he was after ... even though my grilled chicken DID come out served in the shape of a heart ... HA!

Craig Schwarze said...

Did the waiter speak with a genuine fake aussie accent?

ckjolly said...

nah ... i don't believe that's something they attempt to do ... that doesn't stop them from being what we call "Schmeichlers" in Germany.

byron smith said...

When I was in the States, in-laws took us to an Outback Steakhouse. It was truly laughably bad. Giant plastic sharks, boomerangs and American dishes with Ocker names. I wish I'd taken a photo of the menu.

Justin said...

I went to one in Chicago in 1997. Their slogan is "No rules" or something. I took in a bottle of Australian Red to wash down what they called "Bloomin' Onions" [Who uses the word Bloomin', and how can it be an adjective for Onions? And which Australian eats Onions anyways?]

Needless to say that I couldn't BYO. I thought that the "no rules" was a ruse.

Experience: Dud.

I swapped my outback for regular visits to:

1. Chick Fil'A in the South
2. ‘In-n-out’ in Southern Cal.
3. Houston’s. [Love their Hickory Burger].

Americans? What have I missed in my list?

The Borg said...

Chick Fil'A closes on Sundays, so that "every employee...has the oppurtunity to worship..."

'In-n-out' Burger gets a mention in my favourite movie The Big Lebowski.

Craig Schwarze said...

The Waffle House. Drool.

Justin said...

The Borg -- Have you seen my website? And if so, did you recognise where the title comes from? Take a look at my very first post, and the comments.

Craig -- Waffle House. Low Brow stuff in every good and right way.

Chris said...

Frankly, like in Australia, the best places to eat in the states are often little hole-in-the-wall restaurants. My favorite is a little sushi place in Rochester, NY called "California Rollin'" that makes some of the best (if slightly odd) sushi that side of the pacific. Ruby Tuesday's and TGI Friday's are both pretty good too. And Olive Garden ... oh, the breadsticks!

sajini said...

Chain restaurants need to be burned down!! :)

ckjolly said...

Craig - Waffle House?!! Barf!

Sajini - here here!

The Borg said...

Justin - That is teh awes0me! I love The Stranger. And he is so the Patron Saint of Blogs.

"I like your style, Dude."

"I like yours too."

Chains - ewwwwwwww. I agree with the girls.

Rachel said...

The only time I went to Waffle House it was full, except for one table which was loaded with someone's dirty dishes. My family and I stood by the door, waiting for a clean table, when the waitress shouted to us, "You can seat yourselves!" We waited for the table to be cleared before we sat and then watched in horror as the waitress sloppily wiped the table with a totally gross rag. We left before ordering.

Craig Schwarze said...

When I was driving around Texas and Louisiana, Waffle House was a staple. I put on about 3kg in a week...

Justin said...

When I last went into Waffle House (maybe 98) one was still allowed to smoke inside. It was about 6am, and the room was full of people having breakfast and smoking heavily.

Needless to say, I did not return.

Lorie said...

Waffle House is my dad's favorite restaurant. It's kind of like a family thing---we always at least talk about going there when we're together. As you can imagine, we're not picky. :)

In-n-Out! I MISS that from my Mill Valley days!

What's good eatin' in Oz?

ckjolly said...

Lorie! I didn't know you were at Golden Gate!!! My family and I were there from '93-'95. Gotta love the view from the Academic building!

Jonny said...

In OZ the most popular Australian restaurants are McDonnalds, KFC, BurgerKing and Subway. I'm not sure if you've heard of these. They make good aussie tucker.

Jalopy Macfurrland said...

there are areas in the us that have distinctly good food, culturally, to the area. I'm from Chicago, and we happen to have, a great variety of, the best deep dish pizza in the world. No seriously, to you who have never been there, have no idea! :)

Rachel said...

We have Pizzeria Uno's here in Roch, NY. They have a variety of very good deep dish pizza.

The Borg said...

When I was in Chicago as a twelve-year-old I had the magical stuffed crust pizza - not just Domino's pathetic stuffed edges - this "pahh" had a full on another layer with fillings. It was incredible. But probably only something you can eat with the metabolism of a 12yo.

Priscilla said...

I absolutely agree with Chris. The best places are the little "hole-in-the-wall" restaurants as he put it. Then again...I also like the other restaurants he mentioned...but I am from Rochester, NY too! Here in the town I live in, I enjoy "El Rincon Mexicano 2"...which is authentic Mexican food. Not Taco Bell.

Never been to Chick Fil-A, In-n-out, Outback or Waffle House! I know...I need to get out more!

Bethany said...

The only time I went ti Chick Fil-A was in Texas... We don't have those up here in NY... Or Sonic (real cool drive up service... really "wow"ed me when I visited Texas back in April.)

I do like hole-in-the-wall quisine... Like Maria's Mexican Restaurant or The Original Candy Kitchen... Both great upstate NY places.