INSERT: Outback Steakhouse

As if you needed it from me, I hereby give you permission to order fish or shrimp at a steakhouse Outback Steakhouse does a very good job with grilled salmon and shrimp. I had a heads up on the grilled salmon, so I cant take credit for being daring by ordering fish at a steakhouse (your suggestions are welcome; contact info is at the bottom of the column).The Outback adventure starts with getting to the parking lot. You can see it from Scottsville Road, though getting there takes a little effort. There is a frontage road that ends in its parking lot, but to get on the frontage road, you turn into what looks like a motel parking lot. Hey, its Outback, not Outfront. The restaurant brags about its fresh, midwestern grain-fed beef and fresh not frozen chicken and fish. It also makes its salad dressings, croutons and onion soup fresh daily. We took advantage of call-ahead seating. Give them a ring, let them know how many are in your party and they will put you on their waiting list. Upon your arrival, they will seat on a next available basis. When we arrived, we were seated immediately a rare pleasure on a Friday night. Outback is supposed to be suggestive of the Australian Outback, but theres only so much you can do to give a building that appearance. So they have focused their efforts on naming menu items with Crocodile Dundee-like names, such as Aussie-tizers, Bonzer Salads (bonzer is Australian slang for outstanding) and Grilled on the Barbie (Australian for barbecue).To start things off, our server brought us a loaf of dark bread Bushman Bread which was bonzer! Its a dark, honey wheat bread that is served hot and is simply delicious. After we polished that off in quick order, we ordered an appetizer of Bushman Shrooms fried mushrooms. The only appetizer we ordered, it served the two of us nicely with just a few stems left on our plate. The batter used to fry the mushrooms is Outbacks own special recipe and we especially enjoyed the lack of grease. We dipped them in a spicy ranch dressing, which was good. Following the shrooms, we enjoyed our salads. I had the Caesars and my companion had the house. The Caesar dressing was very good, and the imported parmesan cheese is grated fresh daily, adding a nice touch. The house salad was dressed with a fat-free tangy tomato that is also made fresh daily. You wont go wrong with either dressing. Having had a high recommendation on the grilled salmon, it didnt take me long to decide from among the offering of land rovers (steaks) barbie and down under favorites (chicken, chops, and pasta). My companion chose the Shrimp and Veggie Griller meal, completing our rebellion against beef (at least for this evening.)We were both very pleased with our entres. My salmon filet, 10 to 12 ounces, was served with a remoulade sauce and was a delight to eat. The fish was so flaky it was impossible to dip in it the sauce, so I spooned some sauce on the fish and enjoyed the taste treat. There are many variations of remoulade sauce, and I found Outbacks to be quite pleasing. The basis for its sauce is mayonnaise and mustard. Steamed vegetables completed my healthy and delicious meal. My companions Shrimp and Veggie Grille was equally delightful. There were eight, nice-sized, grilled shrimp served on a bed of rice with grilled vegetables and two big chunks perhaps 4-6 ounces total of grilled pineapple. Everything was done to perfection and served in a most attractive manner. So grab a dinkum mate and give it a burl, youll be grinning like a shot fox. (Take a genuine friend and give it a try, youll be very pleased.) The reviewer is employed at the Daily News. He/she pays for his/her meals and his/her gym fees to maintain his/her figure. New restaurants are given an eight-week grace period before being reviewed. To comment, contact managing editor Mike Alexieff at 783-3235.