Outback Steakhouse
3454 W 86th St
Indianapolis, IN 46268
http://www.outbacksteakhouse.com

I usually stay away from places like Outback Steakhouse just because reviewing them is so boring.   Everyone knows what the place is about, Bloomin’ Onion, etc.   However, I got an e-mail from the manager from my closest Outback and said that he loves the blog and that he would like to be reviewed.  He went on talking about how the vast majority of what they serve is made in house, etc.  This is my first e-mail from a manager of a chain asking me to come in, so I was suspicious.

I actually had Outback twice in the last month and I will just push them together in one review.

What I Ate: First visit, Prime Rib, 12 0z $18.95.  Second visit, Ribeye 12 oz $18.00.  You get a choice of two sides so I decided to vary my salads.

House Salad with Ranch Dressing: 

This was a pretty big starter salad.  I liked the ranch dressing, the croutons were pretty good, tomatoes were ripe…nothing to complain about here.

Bleu Cheese Wedge:

Sorry about the bogus picture, it was really dark.   Ripe tomatoes, red onion, bacon and bleu cheese crumbles.  I liked this quite a bit as well.  This would easily rival a $6.00 salad that you would get at the prime steakhouses in town.  It was huge too.  Hmm…

Ribeye Steak:

It was a little past medium rare, but not enough to send it back.  The ribeye was a very lean for a ribeye and I liked the flavor quite a bit.  Outback uses Choice grade (the same as Sullivan’s), so it is a good quality steak.  The sweet potato is always a favorite of mine and this did not disappoint.

The prime rib (not pictured) was actually my favorite.  It was a little bland as I like a salty crusty edge to it, but it was pretty good.  There is not a lot that I can say here, it is a standard cut of meat done really well.

Would I Buy It Again?  A very enthaustic YES!  You really don’t know how bad I wanted to slam them after the manager e-mailed telling me how great it is.  I say that only because my last five visits to other Outbacks were pretty bad.  This particular location is worth trying though.  

The service is exceptional, I mean really top notch (Mandy was particularly awesome.  We were greeted quickly with well paced meals and very friendly service.  Plus, I sent back the kid’s chicken and the manager was over in about thirty seconds making sure everything is okay and then we were comped a free app for that.  Totally unnecessary, but a nice touch.

This location really has their ducks in a row.  I figured out why the manager e-mailed me…because he gives a damn and is proud of his restaurant…and he should be.

-wibia

Ted’s Montana Grill
5910 W 86th St
Indianapolis, IN 46278
http://www.tedsmontanagrill.com

Ted Turner’s place is known for their Bison heavy menu and American classics.  I think that Ted is the number one bison rancher in the country, but don’t quote me on that.

The interior of the restaurant is entirely wood that has hints of old west saloons.   There are notes about the tablecloth being 100% recycled, straws, etc.

They start you off with a small bowl of pickles.  Pretty tasty actually.  They lean more towards the taste of a Claussen than a Vlasic.

The menu is prominently burgers where you can choose beef, chicken or bison for a few dollars more.   They also have some entrees as well.  Having a gift certificate, we needed to spend $50 for two people so I choose from this side of the menu.

We started off with a crab cake ($11) and a wedge salad with blue cheese ($4).     The crab cake was pretty bad.  Very little flavor and the crab didn’t taste very fresh.  The guac on the plate was more brown than green, it was basically inedible.  However, I didn’t want guac with a crab cake anyway.

The salad wedge didn’t offer any surprises, but I found the blue cheese to be pretty tasteless.   The bacon bits seemed a little stale and cooked a little too much for my liking.

I ordered the Bison Ribeye ($24) and chose onion rings and creamed spinach.  Obviously it wasn’t diet night.   The bison ribeye was a little under the requested medium rare, but that was okay.  I didn’t feel that this steak was really fresh as something was a little off here and I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

The onion rings were horrible.  The breading reminded me of dry cornbread.  It didn’t keep on the ring and they were not freshly made.   The creamed spinach was the worst item of the night.  It tasted exactly like spinach artichoke dip that you can get frozen from TGI Friday’s at the grocery store.  I couldn’t eat it…dreadful.

Would I Buy It Again?   No. I am finished with Ted’s.  Their burgers do not substantiate their price and I would rather go to Outback if I am buying a steak at that price point.  The apps and the sides were pretty bad as well.   I just can’t find anything that they do better than their competition.

-wibia

Grille 39
11925 N. Meridian Street
Carmel, Indiana

Restaurants at hotels usually are good or really bad, most are bad.  We had a short window to go to dinner so I decided to go to Grille 39 based on a lunch recommendation from a co-worker, proximity to our house and I had a coupon for $20 off.

The meal started with an amuse-buoche of a sliced pork tenderloin on a spoon.  It was an odd presentation and the piece was a little big for one bite.  The pork seemed a little dry and I wasn’t all that impressed.  We should’ve left at that point.

I then ordered the Thai Seared Ahi Tuna.  3 tiny pieces placed on a papaya salad and a sweet chili lime sauce.  The sauce was extremely sweet and it took away the little flavor that the tuna had.  This was not sashimi grade tuna as well, low grade.  $11 was a total rip off.

Since I had a $20 off coupon, I ordered the $30 14 oz. Ribeye.  So far the meal was pretty bad and I am not sure why I thought that ordering the most expensive thing on the menu was a good idea.  Then again, I rarely get up from playing blackjack on a bad table until I run out of cash.

The ribeye was cooked to my spec (rare+ is how I roll), however this once again lacked quality.  If I had to guess the grade, it was low level Choice or even select.  Regardless, definitely not a $30 steak.  You can choose a side with the steak and I went with the parmesan-onion hash brown.  They were okay at best.  The problem is, they sat my steak on top of the crispy potatoes and the juice from my steak made the hash browns soggy.  Sautéed veggies were included, buy they were covered in oil and I decided to pass.

My wife ordered the Rigatoni with Fennel $20 and that was dog shit as well.

Would I Buy It Again?  No. This is the reason I started the blog, to tell everyone about places that suck. The menu sounded great, the hotel is pretty nice and the restaurant is as well.  The person next to us tried to order a bottle of Cab and they were out.   Out of Cab?!?!?  I will admit, our server was attentive and she did a great job.  I would recommend that she looks for a new gig.

-WIBIA