One of the best parts of being a travel writer is nobody has any idea you’re a travel writer until you tell them. Outback Steakhouse in Gainesville, Georgia, won’t have any idea that I was there until they read this online. All I want to say is, “Thank you!”
My dear friend Bob Foster isn’t as old as dirt but he is certainly as old as some hills. For his birthday celebration I sprang for steaks for us both at Outback, one of many fine restaurants in the vicinity of Lake Lanier. (A big investment for a starving artist.)
Not all meals served by Outback are perfect, no doubt, but today’s lunch with Bob was worthy of our little birthday party.
When the manager, Chris Winter, stopped by our table to ask how everything was, Bob said, “When I put the fried shrimp in my mouth it was really hot!” At first, I thought that was a complaint. Then Bob said, “That’s the way I like it and hardly any restaurants serve hot food anymore.”
Perhaps you will be as fortunate as Bob and I were to have Lola as a server. While Bob and I told each other lies (as men do over food), Lola took care of everything. We walked in, ordered, chatted, ate exactly what we ordered exactly as we ordered it and we both went home with leftovers, after paying for the meal and leaving a deserving tip.
That’s the way it should be done.
Thank you, Chris and Lola, for helping me honor the birthday of a man I admire and appreciate. We’re glad we chose Outback Steakhouse.
If we both survive another year, we’ll be back.
