The Periphery of the Mind

We went to the Outback Steakhouse in Rogers last Friday. And we're adding it to our "Not Even if You Gave Us a Giftcard" category, up there with Ruby Tuesdays. Basically, the place was crowded, so I have to cut the service some slack. Granted, I don't know how fair that is since our waittress was only present to seat us and bring us the bill. Other tables had waitstaff, so I'm guessing ours saw her shadow and had to go into hiding for the better part of an hour. It's a union thing I'm guessing. Or maybe it had something to do with the complaints from the tables to either side of us (for future reference: if two tables are having problems, you'll likely have them too. And chances are, it isn't worth the chance of a free meal).

We had to flag down other staff to get things like water refills, ketchup for the fries, honey mustard for the Professor's chicken sandwich, silverware, etc. etc. and so forth. We thought about asking about the filling that was supposed to come with said sandwich (bacon, lettuce, tomato, everything but the chicken and the bread really), but why confuse them even more. My sandwich was really good for the first two bites, then okay, then overwhelming, and finally... boring. It did however get more interesting several hours later, as I woke sometime shortly after midnight wondering why my intestines were trying to escape. A year or two back the place was good. Busy and crowded, but good. And the rye bread they bring you is still yummy (although economics mean they cut back on the butter now), but the menu has shrunk, the service is chaotic at best, and the food is literally pain inducing.

Avoid the Outback in Rogers.

On the bright side, we recently broke down and bought some parmesan encrusted tilapia by Treaures of the Sea. Sam's Club sells it in their frozen fish section. The Professor baked it, and it was wonderful. Some of the best frozen fish I've ever had. Usually I have to douse frozen fish in tartar sauce to give it some flavor beyond breading, but this stuff was perfect. Highly, highly recommended, although pricey.

Labels: Monday Morning Munching Meditation

For a while now I'd been drooling over picking up a box of Betty Crocker Cinnabon Bakery Mix. Not because I cared for cinnamon rolls, I don't really, but because the box came with enough ingredients to make two different choices between rolls, coffee cake, cinnamon bread, or scones. Truth be told, I was just interested in making the cinammon scones.

The box is fairly complete. Each recipie requires extra, perishable, ingredients, like eggs or whipping cream, but otherwise complete. Each of the four recipies requires different "extra" ingredients and preparation, so each should taste similar but still distinctly different. Since I didn't have any cream, I made the coffee cake. It held in the refridgerator well enough, but I think it was at its best fresh from the oven. Soft center, chewy exterior, and a deliciously sweet glaze. I think for future cooking I'd probably not refridgerate the left overs. This weekend I'll try the scones and see how they do.

Labels: Monday Morning Munching Meditation

The Professor and I tried Ruby Tuesdays in Bentonville this past weekend, and we're underwhelmed to the point of never going back.

I ordered their best burger, with cheese, done medium-well. I got a medium burger with lots of pink in the center (roughly a third of the burger), that basically fell apart from juice and grease and butter. The waiter admitted it was cooked wrong, and said that if I hadn't eaten the uncooked parts he could have taken it back and thrown it on the grill. Their menu however said they'd cook it the way I wanted. But since the thing essentially fell apart, I really didn't care how they cooked it since I figured another burger would be another mess. Add a small order of fries and a glass of water, and it came to $9.99 for my meal.

The Professor ordered a couple of mini burgers (about comparable to McDonalds single patty burgers from the dollar menu), a small order of fries, and a visit to the salad bar. Her food at least looked cooked, and the salad bar seemed to have a bit of variety. Her price tag? $9.50. Tack on some iced tea for her, and even with a $10 off coupon we spent $13.40.

Much like the old joke "the food is awful and the portions too small", we were kind of underwhelmed. Menu options were sparse, the wait staff kept our drinks full but weren't any help with fixing their mistake, and the food was really overpriced. In the future if you want a burger I'd pick Sonic for flavor, McDonalds for price, and Red Robin for atmosphere.

Labels: Monday Morning Munching Meditation