What is Cracker Barrel like?

Years ago they served typical farm style food such as chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and green beans etc. The food was fairly good quality, real potatoes instead of instant. That was over 20 years ago.

They have the best Mac and cheese and the worst corn bread and biscuits.

When I'm on a road trip, Cracker Barrel is an occasional welcome respite from the usual fast food. Certainly not gourmet or anything to impress a foodie, but home-style food (Meat Loaf, Ham, Chicken and dumplings). Being based in Tennessee and having an 'traditional American' feel to it, it has a history of racist and homophobic incidents, but it also has a history of trying to rectify this.

Imagine one of the themed eateries in Frontierland at Disney World, but with Christian music.

[quote]Imagine one of the themed eateries in Frontierland at Disney World, but with Christian music.

I've never heard Christian music at Cracker Barrel.

When on the road, my family likes to stop here.

At least Cracker Barrel finally got around to putting a lot more healthy vegetables on the menu.

Easy to have a piece of fish(I usually get the trout) and some veggies or just beans and veggies.

It's like hell with saltwater taffy and buttermilk biscuits.

Their music is pretty much all country, though it may trend to the gospel side on occasion. (Country gospel, definitely not black gospel.)

The front of all their restaurants is a big gift shop full of a wide range of useless crap. They do sell some "classic" candy and soda pop - stuff that used to be mainstream but now can only be found at Vermont Country Store.

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

Where else can one get Sugar Daddies?

I loved those as a kid.

I always find one or two in Palm Springs.

It is old, white-people food.

Like a Republican gathering of Saltines, Cheez-its, the 1% Ritz and a sugary Graham.

Last I heard, blacks also like chicken and dumplings, turnip greens, and pinto beans.

I'm a health nut, but succumb to the allure of Cracker Barrel every once in a while. I live in Nashville, and there are tons of them around me. The food is definitely unhealthy comfort food, but it's all very well done. Their pecan pancakes are the best I've ever had.

I've never seen a shortage of black People at Cracker Barrel.

It's kind of like going to visit your southern relatives.

I think their biscuits are good...I don't like corn bread.

I never heard Christian music but I don't doubt it in some states.

I always get the chicken and it's always good.

so R16, black People?? WTF is intended by that quirk of capitalization?

Same here, R16.

I have been desperate enough to stop there on a particularly desolate patch of freeway. Haven't had anything you would call memorable cuisine but it's still better than what you can get at a fast food drive through because at least it is something resembling actual food. Often after eating something purporting to be a hamburger or something similar at a chain I wonder if there was any actual FOOD in what I ate because even though I know I just ate an insane amount of salt, fat, and calories, I'm starving, and I am not a big eater.

The actual eating experience is as glum and tacky as you would expect, particularly if you are in some off-the-freeway town where it is clearly the only place for teens to get a job and the wait staff are the LUCKY ONES (imagine the teens who didn't make the cut!).

i liked the fried okra.

The pancakes, they gooood.

Watch your step.

I'm with r15 - it's really well done comfort food. My favorite is the chicken friend chicken with the white gravy and, yes, the pecan pancakes. Also, from what I remember, their desserts were really good too.

The only thing I remember not caring for was the Mac n cheese - no crust, veleveeta type cheese, very instant tasting.

I remember liking the biscuits and cornbread very much.

Also, their grilled cheese is made with sour dough bread and Colby cheese.

Unbelievably slow service. Be ready to wait 45 minutes for scrambled eggs.

What is chicken fried chicken or chicken fried steak?

R28 I forgot to add that - definitely true and it's probably worse then when I was last there about 20 years ago. Also usually a long wait to get a table.

The one major drawback.

Chicken fried steak is beef, coated with fried chicken-type crust (usually seasoned flour) and deep-fried.

Chicken fried chicken is the same thing, but usually with a boneless chicken breast fillet.

Chicken friend steak or chicken foe steak?

I like their cheese logs.

LOG.

Pecan pancakes are the best!

My family loves this place. I usually get a veggie plate: fried okra, boiled cabbage, beets, maybe fried apples. oh, and sweet tea, of course.

They've offered some seasonal "tropical" grilled chicken or otherwise not-southern specials that were fairly good.

I haven't ventured into their desserts: Coca-Cola-infused chocolate cake, blondies with ice cream and caramel, etc., which seem over-priced.

I do remember them being in the news in the 90s for accusations of racist and homophobic hiring practices, but I can say first-hand that they now have URRYBODY up in there, and at least from a customer's perspective it looks like all the employees respect one another and work as a team.

Chicken friend steak = Neighbor lad who likes to drop over with his meaty schlong for nice visits.

Imagine lunch with the Palins, only with more tasteful decor.

It's Disneyland for fat people. The most unhealthy food consumed by obese, uneducated rednecks.

A very depressing place filled with sad, sad souls.

Most any places that are off an interstate exit are.

delicious fried okra

R39 only if you eat it every day for all three meals.

Native NYer here and my family used to stop here all the time on road trips - sometimes it WAS our favorite part of the trip. Usually we did dinner but sometimes breakfast (those pecan pancakes yum) or lunch.

This was right before the whole upscale comfort food trend began, so it was a welcome change from the whole roasted monkfish over micro greens finished off with a Parmesan foam.

And if God forbid I ate too much I'd just workout extra hard once we got to our destination and I could use the gym. It's not rocket science.

Back in the day (20 years ago) the desserts were 1.99 and were definitely splitable (and delicious) - even then that was dirt cheap.

Is it as good as it was 20 years ago is the only question? I'd go back in a flash.

I don't like their fried okra, R41. My grandmother makes the best, fried on the stove and then finished off in the oven, it's amazing. But Cracker Barrel's Sunday Homestyle Chicken is damned good. 2 pieces of fried chicken breast with a fantastic crust.

Does Cracker Barrel still hate gays and blacks?

No longer hate gays

Just bought a mug in their gift shop the other day but didn't eat there.

Yes it was better 20 years ago R1. I've only been to them while on vacation with my family.

What has changed/why is it worse r47.

Only ate there once, on a road trip (there was nothing, and I mean nothing else open outside Alexandria, Louisiana on a Sunday night).

You walk up on a fakey front porch, which has wooden rockers built for ample asses for those who are waiting. The restaurant itself is reached past a Ye Olde General Store & Mercantile shop, which is filled with more fakey old-time Grandma's parlor stuff like dildo-sized peppermint sticks, potpourri, and "Gay Nineties" signs.

The food was a LOT better than I expected, but I can't remember what we had. What I do remember is the waiter, who was about 6'3", looked like a handsome college football player stud, and was very polite and friendly to what was obviously a gay couple in his station. I don't mean he was closeted -- he was just very polite and seemed like he was probably the big catch at his high school in the day.

lots of crackers

not so many barrels

The story going around at one time was that they would never expand to California because they couldn't enforce their "we never hire gays - EVER!" policy there due to liberal state laws prohibiting such practices.

I've heard their policies have changed, but they've never come to California. Maybe it's too expensive, or there are other restrictions. Or maybe they're just not as popular as they once were.

Does anyone remember Po' Folks? Similar concept and food, even lower class and cheaper. They went under.

I don't care what their current practices are, I've never forgiven them for hating blacks and gays.

I was lucky a big gorilla was chasing me and my princess girlfriend when I ran into one and got a bunch of ammunition.

[quote]I don't care what their current practices are, I've never forgiven them for hating blacks and gays.

So you pretty much don't go anywhere in the US, I take it.

Before Paula Deen's scandal, I went to her Lady and Son's restaurant in Savannah. My mom wanted to go. You had to wait in a line down the block early in the morning to get your lunch or dinner reservations.. It was just basic southern food that was way oversalted but was about half as good as a Cracker Barrell and cost twice as much. Not that Cracker Barrell is amazing but it's pretty decent. Paula Deen's food sucked.

If ever a business was aptly named!

The chicken and dumplings are good, and there are often cute boys in jeans waitressing.

It USED to be fantastic (in the 70's), but now - it's just chain grub like any other chain dump.

Stick to breakfast - my fave is uncle Herschel 's I do bring my own coffe because their coffee is terrible

I like their lunch/dinner menu, but the breakfast is horrible. So bland.

Bump