$45.00 Gift Certificate Giveaway & Review: Outback Steakhouse - Gluten Free Menu!

I have made it my personal mission to find as many restaurants with gluten free menu options as possible, and share my findings with you.  I am always pleased when I find a well rounded gluten free dining experience, such as the one my family recently experienced at the Outback Steakhouse in Kirkland Washington.

The first thing that struck me as a good sign was that our waiter handed us a "real" professionally printed, laminated gluten free menu, as opposed to a computer print out that I had to request upon arrival.  In my opinion, this indicates that gluten free diners are looked at as equals to non-gluten free diners, not as "after thoughts."  It makes me feel like the special dietary needs of the gluten free diner will be taken seriously, as they well should be.

The Outback Steakhouse in Kirkland Washington's Manager Jesse Duncan, and our waiter Jeff Ellis definitely took the gluten free needs of my family seriously, and made sure that everyone had a safe and delicious meal.  We felt that both Jesse and Jeff went above and beyond our expectations to ensure that my family had a fabulous gluten free dining experience.

The Outback Steakhouse has completed the GIG (Gluten Intolerance Group) Gluten Free Restaurant Awareness Program (GFRAP); "Through this comprehensive program, participating restaurants have been provided with specifically designed gluten-free diet reference materials, meal preparation guidelines, employee awareness posters, and sources for gluten-free foods; further, there is on-going liaison between the restaurant and the Program. The restaurants have agreed to prepare meals that they believe to be gluten-free --- although this cannot be guaranteed."


Because of Outback Steakhouse's participation in the Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program, I felt confident confidence that the staff had an awareness of how to offer gluten free diners a worry-free meal!  I wish every restaurant would follow in Outback Steakhouse's footsteps and complete the GIG Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program (GFRAP)!

I am completely impressed with the versatility of Outback Steakhouse's Gluten Free Menu; they were able to cater to the varying taste of my family, which includes not only gluten free, but also dairy free, pescetarian and omnivore family members!  Thank you Outback, for creating a menu that even families with diverse tastes like mine can all enjoy together!

But What About the Food?

Ah yes, the food!  The gloriously gluten free, mouth-watering food. I would like to share the scrumptious gluten free meal that my family ordered from the Outback Steakhouse's Gluten Free Menu (keep in mind this is just what we ordered... their are many more selections on Outback Steakhouse's Gluten Free Menu which are not listed here!):

Appetizer:

Grilled Shrimp on the Barbie GF; Sprinkled with seasonings and delicately grilled. Served with remoulade sauce.  We devoured this in mere seconds... Outback's secret seasoning blend on the shrimp was almost addictive, and the sauce was insanely delicious!

Salads:

Filet Wedge Salad GF; Tender sliced filet with a cool, crisp wedge of fresh Iceberg lettuce, Blue Cheese dressing, grape tomatoes, red onions, bacon and Blue Cheese crumbles, drizzled with a sweet balsamic glaze. Avoid Blue Cheese dressing.  All of us but one ordered this fabulous wedge salad; the Balsamic glaze drizzled on top really hit a home run with us... it took this salad from great to amazing!  Note:  We decided to eat the Blue Cheese dressing even though the menu says to avoid it, because I feel that recent studies have shown that blue cheese is indeed safe on a gluten free diet.  Please make this choice for yourself, based on your own beliefs.


Caesar Salad GF;

Crisp romaine with freshly made croutons and a choice of Grilled Chicken or Shrimp on the Barbie. Request no croutons.  My son ordered the Caeser and said that this was the best Caeser Dressing he had ever had!  Upon talking to Jeff, our waiter, he informed us that Outback Steakhouse makes all of their salad dressings from scratch, in house!  No wonder they tasted so good! 

Entrees: 

King Crab (limited markets) GF; 1-1/4 lb. of mouth watering King Crab legs served with one of our Signature Side Salads and a choice of one side. Order veggies without seasonings or substitute with baked potato.  My daughter and I both ordered the King Crab, and let me tell you I felt like I was the "Queen of Crab" eating this... it-was-superb!  Cooked perfectly, sweet, tender and heavenly.  The Garlic Mashed Potatoes on the side were truly a comfort food and complemented the crab wonderfully.

Baby Back Ribs GF; These fall-off-the-bone ribs are exactly the way ribs should be. Succulent and saucy, each rack is smoked, grilled to perfection and brushed in a tangy BBQ sauce. Served with Aussie Fries. Aussie Fries are not GF. Order veggies without seasonings or substitute with baked potato.  My son is a rib fanatic, and ordered a full stack of these ribs.  He couldn't believe the HUGE portions, and said the ribs were extremely tender.  Good thing our waiter Jeff brought him plenty of napkins, he loved these ribs, and his face showed it!

Joey Sirloin GF; Includes a beverage and choice of side. Aussie Fries are not GF. Order veggies without seasonings or substitute with baked potato.  My young daughter who has Celiac disease ordered the sirloin from the "Joey" menu, which is designed for kids under 10 years old.  Kudos to Outback Steakhouse, for actually having a gluten free kids menu!  This is the first time I have ever seen a restaurant do this; usually I have to negotiate a gluten free kids size serving at kid sized prices with the management, because their gluten free offerings are tailored for adult diners.  My daughter's steak was tender, and was served with a baked potato and steamed veggies.  Even the Joey sized meal was sizable, and she had plenty of yummy left-overs to bring home for the next day.  My daughter gives Outback Steakhouses Gluten Free Joey Menu "two thumbs up!"

Dessert:


My young daughter with Celiac Disease is also dairy free, so my family did not want to hurt her feelings buy eating the gluten free dessert option in front of her (dessert is called Chocolate Thunder From Down Under® GF;  An extra generous pecan brownie is crowned with rich vanilla ice cream, drizzled with our classic warm chocolate sauce and finished with chocolate shavings and whipped cream). Because Chocolate Thunder From Down Under contains dairy ingredients in the brownie itself, not just in the ice cream & whipped cream, we could not order this delicious treat for her.  Something good came from this though!  Outback Steakhouse Manager Jesse Duncan felt badly that my daughter could not have the dessert, which led to a conversation where he and I discussed how many folks on a gluten free diet must also avoid dairy products, and he decided to look into offering a gluten free/dairy free dessert option on their menu, in addition to the gluten free option!  The best part?  Jesse actually followed through on this!  He e-mailed me and said he had approval from the franchise owner to go forward with the idea at the Kirkland Washington location!  It looks like this will take place in the very near future.  I encourage you to request your local Outback Steakhouse Manager to look into providing a gluten free/dairy free dessert option on their gluten free menus as well!

I feel that Outback Steakhouse's Gluten Free Menu truly has something for everyone!  They are trained to offer you a safe, delicious gluten free dining experience, which I truly appreciate.  The staff listens to feedback from their gluten free customers, and go the extra mile to accommodate them.  I look forward to enjoying the gluten free offerings from the Outback Steakhouse again in the near future.  I hope you will visit them soon as well... I know you will love the gluten free menu at the Outback Steakhouse!

Outback Steakhouse Locations:

Click here to find an Outback Steakhouse near you.

WIN A $45.00 OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE GIFT CERTIFICATE!


Here's how...

TO ENTER GIVEAWAY (mandatory entry):

1) Become a Freebie Fairy follower (must follow PUBLICLY via Google Friend Connect in the side bar of this website) AND visit the Outback Steakhouse website; LEAVE ME A COMMENT telling me you now follow me PUBLICLY, AND tell me what item you want to try from Outback Steakhouse's Gluten Free Menu. (1 entry)

BONUS ENTRIES (each entry comment must be entered separately to be a valid entry):

2) Follow Outback Steakhouse on Twitter. (1 entry)

3) Blog about this giveaway linking it back to my Gluten Free Taste of Home blog AND the Gluten Free Menu page on the Outback Steakhouse website. Please LEAVE ME A COMMENT with THE LINK TO YOUR POST or it will not count. (3 entries)

4) Follow me on Twitter AND tweet the giveaway; LEAVE ME A COMMENT (with your twitter link) telling me you did it. (one entry per tweet/RT; DO NOT EXCEED (1) TWEET/RT PER HOUR!)

5) Sign up for the Outback Steakhouse newsletter, for notifications on exciting news, celebrations and special events. (1 entry)

6) Grab my Gluten Free Taste of Home button and display it on your website/blog (copy the html code for my button from the sidebar of this website and paste the code into your website), and LEAVE ME A COMMENT with a LINK to where you pasted my button. (1 entry)

7) Follow my Freebie Fairy blog PUBLICLY via Google Friend Connect and LEAVE ME A COMMENT telling me you did it. (1 entry)

8) Follow my Freebie Fairy blog on Twitter. (1 entry)
*GIVEAWAY OPEN TO US ONLY*

Giveaway ends on Friday, November 5 at 7:00 p.m. PST (entries received after this time will not be posted). Winner will be selected by random.org. Winner will be notified by e-mail and will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected.

*REMEMBER... please leave your e-mail address with EACH entry so I can contact you if you win.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was not compensated for this post; My family received a complimentary gluten free menu tasting for review purposes courtesy of Outback Steakhouse. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”


Best of luck!