[UPDATE: Out Back Kitchen is now closed.]
Out Back Kitchen (Facebook)
41934 NC Highway 12
Avon, NC 27915
(252) 305-2452
Open 8 am – 2 pm daily
Accepts cash & credit/debit
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? N/N/N
Kid-friendly? Y
Date of Visit: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 9:00 a.m.
IMPRESSIONS: The Outer Banks is our annual family vacation spot, and over the years I’ve scoured up and down Hatteras Island for good breakfast spots (see the List of Reviews for more). The nature of the islands means that businesses come and go, so every year brings new surprises. This year we discovered, within walking distance of our house, the Out Back Kitchen. Out Back (not to be confused with the steakhouse, of course) is situated in a small shopping plaza with the giant Food Lion grocery store. When we visited, their sign wasn’t even up yet – just a banner – but the day we left, we saw them installing one.
Out Back (so named because the owner is Australian) is a little more focused on being a bakery and a caterer than it is being a restaurant, so sometimes the breakfast food takes a back seat to the pastries, donuts, and cheesecake.
The upside is that you get to ogle (nay, even purchase) said pastries for your breakfast.
Scones, muffins, strudel, croissants, it’s all yours.
All yours.
ATMOSPHERE: The cafe is small, hosting about seven tables, so expect to cozy up with your fellow patrons. The colors are very autumnal oranges and yellows; semi-indie music played through a Pandora channel.
FOOD: The breakfast menu itself is fairly simple – only four or five dishes total – and it features your basic morning meal items. Above is a simple dish of scrambled eggs, toast, sausage, and hash browns.
This is the Island Breakfast Burrito, loaded with eggs, cheese, and the like. Here you can see the problem with the hash browns: not enough brown.
The breakfast sandwiches are big on the menu, too. Here’s an egg and sausage on a croissant.
Here’s one with bacon and eggs. Again, notice the underdone hash browns.
A bite of a cinnamon roll. Lots of raisins. Good icing, but a little doughy and underdone.
We also tried a couple miscellaneous bakery goods, all of which were very nice. I think Out Back’s strength lies in their baked goods. We ordered a key lime pie to take home later, and it was exceptional.
SERVICE: Only two people were working the entire restaurant. The owner (I believe) bustled in the kitchen, while one server worked the counter and delivered food. They use the system of ordering at the counter, then having your food brought out. Overall, the server was very nice, but seemed hurried in keeping up with everything.
OVERALL: There’s some hit or miss at Out Back Kitchen. The breakfast is decent, but we had to wait a while for our food, and some of the items (especially the hash browns) were underdone. The simple sandwiches and burritos were good, but there are more reliable and filling breakfasts on the island. That being said, Out Back is worth at least one visit, at the very least to try their baked goods. They have a lot going for them in that department.
