A couple of weeks after my birthday this month - see a previous post - we visited with Mary-Lou's sister, Bev, and they were kind enough to treat this ol' "Kiwi" to a meal at one of my all-time favorite restaurants - the
'Outback Steakhouse'.
Except for "some Australia-themed paraphernalia on the walls" there is little to associate this eatery with the food familiar to our mate Crocodile Dundee. Evidently the founders chose the Aussie theme because "most Australians are fun-loving and gregarious people and also very casual people, and we thought that's
exactly the kind of friendliness and atmosphere we wanted to have in our restaurants."
The food was created by one of the eatery founders, in the kitchen of his home in Florida, and it's strongly influenced by the Cajun cuisine made famous in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Whatever, in just a few years
this chain of restaurants has become extremely popular, and maybe it's at least partly because of the signature
appetizer - the 'Bloomin Onion':
Photo: Courtesy 'chefDruck'
It's a large, deep-fried onion (probably a vidalia). Besides the appearance this appetizer is so appealing because of the crispy, heavily spiced, coating and a superb dipping sauce.
But the reason for us being at this particular eatery was the bonafide
rack of lamb in from New Zealand.
The lamb is not prepared as I fondly remember it as a youngster, but when ordered as medium-rare it was really delicious!
It's roasted with a spicy Cajun seasoning and is served with an exceptional Cabernet sauce, along with garlic mashed potatoes and mixed fresh vegetables.
Aaah, truly a special treat...
Oh, for those of you interested in the
full menu ...