Today I'm talking about Cracker Barrel...
In my travels, I ate lunch at the Cracker Barrel right off of I-95 in Elkton, MD. It had been a long time since I had visited one of these restaurants, so I had somewhat forgotten what the menu was like. Breakfast is served all day and some of their breakfast items are quite affordable. The egg sandwich served on sourdough bread with a side of hashbrown casserole was only $4. The price was good, but when everyone at the table ordered these $4 breakfasts, the waitress got kind of nasty. I guess she did the math and figured the tip on a table of three worth $12 rather than a table spending $30 wasn't worth her time. Whenever she did return to the table, the waitress kept on making awkward religious statements. Thought it was a bit inappropriate in a chain restaurant and overall was just weird. Decent egg sandwich though!
During another recent visit to Cracker Barrel, this time closer to home, I had dinner at the restaurant in Sanford, FL. The restaurant had a half hour wait which is totally not worth it, but it allowed time to browse the attached gift shop and see the surprisingly large inventory of Sarah Palin audiobooks and overpriced junk covered in bible verses. Perhaps the religious comments made at the Cracker Barrel in Elkton make more sense after taking a look at what they sell. Eventually, we were seated and I ordered the Rainbow Trout. It came with biscuits and two sides. I picked the hashbrown casserole and turnip greens.
I really had no complaints about the food itself. Everything I tried during this meal was tasty, although the presentation of the trout could have been vastly improved. It's a big plate. There's no reason to put the side on top of the fish, leaving the rest of the plate empty.
On another visit to a Cracker Barrel somewhere, I tried their Chicken and Dumplings.
The
southern version of dumplings served with chicken and dumplings is
interesting to me. When I think of dumplings, I think of them being
filled with something, while these are just thick noodles. Is this
typical of chicken and dumplings, or is this just how Cracker Barrel
does it?
Cracker Barrel has better food than I remember. I still would consider it travel food, not only because all of the Cracker Barrels that I know of are located along an interstate, but also because it seems that's almost always when I end up at one. For travel food though, it's definitely a better choice than a Denny's or Waffle House!
I agree on them being travel food..but on your next visit try the pancakes!! Their pancakes are the best! I had blueberry pancakes after a recent 8K and they were magical - their coffee is actually yummy too.
ReplyDeleteI've been to the one off of 95 plenty of times and I've never encountered a surly bible quoting waitress. There are some bible/angel items in the gift shop but it's not overrun. Sorry you're experience was weird. This CB is actually one of the better ones. I go there with my wife (We're both women) and no one is ever rude or judgmental.
ReplyDeletehahaha strange! i love cracker barrel, but would definitely be put off by religion popping its way into any part of my meals there. although last time i went to one i was regaled with tales of my server's imminent divorce and her recently deceased child, which was pretty off putting as well. i mean i felt bad for her, but uh... eh. no thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou have got to try the egg sandwich this way!...grilled sourdough, over easy eggs, cheddar cheese and tomato! Mayo makes it better but still the best egg sandwich ever without it!
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