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My family and I have been there a few times, and I've gotta say; I'm not a fan. I like that country style of cooking, just not -their- style. Everything's so dry, and bland, at least at the few locations I've been to. The little store each one seems to have is novel, I suppose, but nothing really noteworthy; just some reasonably priced candies, and some fancy rocking chairs. I'll throw 'em a bone for having checker boards for those who are waiting to be seated though.
My sister used to work at one as a waitress. They were required to know how to play the little peg game at each of the tables, and had to play it if a customer asked. They HATE customers who ask.
As for the food... eh. It's not bad. Not great. I think their breakfast selection is better than their lunch and dinner menus... but even then, it's nothing spectacular. You get a lot of food for the price, which is nice... but frankly, I'd rather just cook my own at home. It'll be a hell of a lot less bland, that's for sure. It's pretty hard to fuck up scrambled eggs, but they sure do give it their best shot.
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As for the food... eh. It's not bad. Not great. I think their breakfast selection is better than their lunch and dinner menus... but even then, it's nothing spectacular. You get a lot of food for the price, which is nice... but frankly, I'd rather just cook my own at home. It'll be a hell of a lot less bland, that's for sure. It's pretty hard to fuck up scrambled eggs, but they sure do give it their best shot.
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Crackle Barrel is a neat place. Good food, good prices, and an interesting gift store. When you first enter you're in a big gift store. The store has lots of classic candies and sodas which can be hard to find, and some gifty/homemade stuff. You put your name in for a table and if you can't be seated immediately you look around. Around the corner is the dining area with all the restaurant tables. The food is your typical southern comfort food: chicken and dumplings, chicken fried steak, biscuits and gravy, pancakes and sausage, etc. Nothing healthy but all tasty, usually served with extra biscuits and cornbread. It's decorated with lots of antique-looking things everywhere, like vintage signs and photos, license plates, farm tools, etc. Also, the tables have those triangular peg jump games to help pass the time.President Bagel said:
Since it's sort of a mainstream chain the food isn't quite as good as if you went to a true small-town restaurant, you can tell things are made from pre-measured mixes and are bland compared to true down-home cooking, but for the price I think it's decent.
Cracker Barrel is for old people. Back when I was still making cross-state hospital trips (6-8 hour drives) years ago, my family stopped by them fairly often. Food is pretty damn forgettable. Peg game is not. The 'country store' part isn't that bad.
I'm still probably never going to set foot in one of my own accord again. Not averse to them, just...I can get anything they offer somewhere else that's better.
I'm still probably never going to set foot in one of my own accord again. Not averse to them, just...I can get anything they offer somewhere else that's better.
I'm a European who visited America's south almost 3 years ago. My friends there took me to Cracker Barrel and I really enjoyed it. It's tasty food and a nice ambience. I found the waiting staff very friendly, tho my accent may have helped ;-)
I like Cracker Barrel. I think you can have gravy added to everything, which I support 100%.
They're hard to find around here, but I'm sure they're doing fine in other parts of the country. At least I hope they are. I guess it makes sense that the Cracker Barrel locations down here are all near highways. Something for the out-of-towners to enjoy while they're vacationing. Oddly enough, I go there for the same reason, kind of.
They're hard to find around here, but I'm sure they're doing fine in other parts of the country. At least I hope they are. I guess it makes sense that the Cracker Barrel locations down here are all near highways. Something for the out-of-towners to enjoy while they're vacationing. Oddly enough, I go there for the same reason, kind of.
I remember way back, when I was in high school, one of the hosts on Attack of the Show would frequently bring up Cracker Barrel, so I decided that should I ever find one, I had to eat there. My older brother decided the same as well. So, when we drove down to Kentucky, we were so pumped because we kept seeing signs for Cracker Barrel (to my knowledge, there isn't any in New York). We just had to go to one before we left, so we went down to the one that was nearest to the motel we were staying at, but we were confused at what we saw. It just looked like a store. "Maybe... this one is just a store?" Bummed, we drove away, not knowing that Cracker Barrels are a combination store/restaurant.
Years later we ate at one in Pennsylvania, and I can't remember what it tasted like. I think I may have thought a bit negatively about it, but I may have been feeling under the weather, so I dunno.
Years later we ate at one in Pennsylvania, and I can't remember what it tasted like. I think I may have thought a bit negatively about it, but I may have been feeling under the weather, so I dunno.
The food is pretty mediocre. Not bad, but not worth going out of your way to visit -- which, unfortunately, many Cracker Barrels are out of the way of most people. Really not that different from most standalone stores you'll run into on the drive there.
It has the benefit that you probably won't be bored while you wait for food. Checkers, that peg game, and a side of store items for you to mess around with while other restaurants simply don't have anything for you to entertain yourself with. Maybe you'll buy a scented candle for your grandma's birthday or for a white elephant gift later on, but more likely you'll mess with useless knickknacks and look at sports shirts.
It has the benefit that you probably won't be bored while you wait for food. Checkers, that peg game, and a side of store items for you to mess around with while other restaurants simply don't have anything for you to entertain yourself with. Maybe you'll buy a scented candle for your grandma's birthday or for a white elephant gift later on, but more likely you'll mess with useless knickknacks and look at sports shirts.
I know it's a favorite among Professional Wrestlers.
Ate there once. I don't recall any strong opinions about it. I'm more of a Shoney's breakfast buffet guy when traveling through the south.
Ate there once. I don't recall any strong opinions about it. I'm more of a Shoney's breakfast buffet guy when traveling through the south.
The chicken biscuits were great.
They also had like a ton of candy on sale before you enter the restaurant too.
Was kind of expensive, but I liked it overall.
They also had like a ton of candy on sale before you enter the restaurant too.
Was kind of expensive, but I liked it overall.
Its a commercialization of an aesthetic and cooking style that takes the heart out of all of what it tries to sell you. Maybe 20 years ago when my grandparents and I would stop there yearly on our road trips did it capture the essence of southern grace and cooking but today's versions are but echoes of that.
I won't defend the South on some things, but I will say that southern cooking, while artery clogging in its own right, is downright awesome. I grew up on it, I make a lot of dishes the "Southern" way, and I find it great. But Cracker Barrel makes me want to vomit, not because its bad, but because its passionless. Its like taking works of art and Xeroxing them and putting them up in every museum in a sense. It just doesn't feel right to me.
Its funny though, people say southern cooking is bad for you but I've known quite a few people in their 80s who grew up on and lived on that type of cooking alone (not to mention I know some who are still alive and well into their 90s). I don't know what that says to others but it says to me that medical science isn't exact, and makes a hell of a lot of mistakes when it comes to "what is and is not good" for you.
I won't defend the South on some things, but I will say that southern cooking, while artery clogging in its own right, is downright awesome. I grew up on it, I make a lot of dishes the "Southern" way, and I find it great. But Cracker Barrel makes me want to vomit, not because its bad, but because its passionless. Its like taking works of art and Xeroxing them and putting them up in every museum in a sense. It just doesn't feel right to me.
Its funny though, people say southern cooking is bad for you but I've known quite a few people in their 80s who grew up on and lived on that type of cooking alone (not to mention I know some who are still alive and well into their 90s). I don't know what that says to others but it says to me that medical science isn't exact, and makes a hell of a lot of mistakes when it comes to "what is and is not good" for you.
The best way to describe it is that Cracker Barrel is a cafeteria for old people. Everything is precooked besides certain breakfast meats, eggs and pancakes, and then those are so thin that they take only about a minute to cook. Everything is made from scratch, though. In a factory. Then frozen.