The Best Outback Steakhouse Appetizer According To 49% Of People

While you go to the Outback Steakhouse for the juicy ribeyes – and maybe the cheesy-but-fun Crocodile Dundee-esque décor — we dare you to visit the restaurant without once succumbing to the lure of the appetizer menu. Sure, you can fill up on their delicious bread and butter alone, and the dinners all come with sides, too, but those appetizers are just too darn tempting.

Assuming you're going to have the self-control to limit yourself to just one Outback app, though, which one should you choose? The appetizers, or Aussie-tizers, as Outback's menu would have it, all sound so good! If you're struggling with your decision, why not crowdsource your pick? Mashed solicited the opinion of 609 people and the decision was, well, not exactly unanimous, but pretty darn definitive. Nearly half of the respondents all agreed that there's one Outback appetizer that's at the head of the pack — as long as you're up for eating something that's just about the size of your head, that is.

Of course, we're talking about the one and only Bloomin' Onion, an appetizer that was, if not invented by, then basically introduced to the world by Outback (via Mel), and has gone on to inspire countless copycat recipes and a Facebook fan page, as well as serving as the mascot for college football's Outback Bowl. Needless to say, you don't achieve iconic status without being pretty darn delicious, albeit in an over-the-top way. As LA Weekly described it, the Bloomin' Onion is "an almost perfect example of the gluttony and fun inherent in the tradition of American fair food." All it needs is a stick.

The other Aussie-tizers had their fans, too. Coming in 2^nd and 3^rd with nearly 12% of the vote apiece were the Aussie cheese fries and the Gold Coast Coconut Shrimp, while the Steakhouse Mac & Cheese Bites took 4^th place with over 11%. The seared pepper ahi, something that sounds more like a main dish than an appetizer (and isn't currently available on all Outback menus, at any rate), only earned about 7% of the vote to take 5^th place, while the Three Cheese Steak Dip, with 5%, came in 6^th. The lowest-rated appetizer, with less than 4% of the votes, was the Sydney Shrooms. While the Kookaburra Wings and Grilled Shrimp on the Barbie were not included on our poll, we're fairly sure the Bloomin' Onion would have still come out ahead by a mile (or Aussie kilometer).