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| - I had my first Cracker Barrel experience today.
My friend's birthday is tomorrow, so I took her out for the afternoon. I asked her where she wanted to eat and she said Cracker Barrel. They don't have Cracker Barrels on the west coast (where I'm originally from), so this was a thrill for me.
I don't know about you, but whenever I hear something about southern food, I immediately recall every Paula Deen episode I've ever watched on the Food Network. Bring on the butter and collared greens!
Amanda warned me about the gift shop, so I wasn't too overwhelmed when we walked in looking for the dining room entrance. It seemed we interrupted a conversation between three employees, so it took a minute for them to greet us. When they did, we were promptly seated and I was transfixed by their menu of southern eats.
I loved all of the vintage farm items hanging from the walls and the games. Our waiter (Nick) was super friendly, but he kept forgetting about us and the items we requested, so that was sad. At one point, I had to ask a different server to find him. When my friend ordered her salad and asked about dressing, he couldn't remember what kind of dressing it came with, but he did give us his personal recommendations, which I appreciated.
The food was yummm-my! I decided to throw my diet out the window and order a plate of BBQ pork with mac-n-cheese and hashbrown casserole on the side, accompanied by a buttermilk biscuit and corn muffin. The muffin was dry, but the biscuit was heavenly. Amanda had the Grilled Chicken & Strawberry Salad and could barely finish it. I ordered a side salad and was convinced it could've been my meal (it was big!), well until Nick brought out my entree.. no words, just mmmm.
The prices were reasonable and I didn't even mind that I could hear the noise and chatter from the kitchen while we ate. The staff sounds like a happy bunch. The gift shop was a fun place to browse, too. We found an abundance of Americana to cheese over, chocolate covered jelly beans, DVDs and toys that took me back to my youth, and lots of scented candles to stick our noses in to. I was tempted to buy the picnic-themed pajama pants and a copy of Kenny Rogers' CD of hymns (oh Kenny, why did you ever get that facelift?).
Overall, I give "The Cracker Barrel Experience" a 3.5.
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