[2] The more popular fried version of the dish was likely invented in 1985 at New Orleans restaurant Russell's Marina Grill, where future Outback Steakhouse founder Tim Gannon worked at the time.

[3] The dish was popularized in the United States when it appeared as the "Bloomin' Onion", a charter feature of the Outback Steakhouse when that national chain opened in 1988.

[4] Despite the name's familiarity and frequent use as a generic term, "Bloomin' Onion" is a registered trademark and Outback's owners have issued legal threats to numerous restaurants over their use of similar names.

[1][6] The egg wash and deep frying preparation process of the dish means it is high in calories; a single blooming onion with dressing contains approximately 1,660 calories and 87 grams of fat.

[8] When it existed, the similarly styled Awesome Blossom at Chili's was ranked "Worst Appetizer in America" by Men's Health magazine in 2008 for the unusually high totals of calories and fat, with 2,710 calories, 203 grams (1,827 calories) of fat, 194 grams of carbohydrates, and 6,360 milligrams of sodium, with as much fat as 67 strips of bacon.