11/12/10
2.5 stars.
First meal in Charlotte, straight from CLT's Douglas Airport. This location is my BIL's fave location. Replete w/ Cracker Barrel's large dining room capacity, its signature shop filled w/ old-time memorabilia and wrapped candies, goat's milk lotions and car scents, and a large selection of rocking chairs for sale in the front, this Cracker Barrel does stand out as having better customer service than what I've experienced elsewhere. (We used to visit CBs on childhood road trips, but I could probably count on one hand the number of visits I've made in the past decade or two.)
Mom and I shared the Country Boy Breakfast (well, she had the eggs, a little slice of the steak, and some of the biscuits and hash brown casserole. I tried to enjoy the rest, but the only item I appreciated was the dish of fried apples. While the steak was flavorful (it was actually over-seasoned- this dish haunted me all day!), I didn't enjoy its processed texture, which came across to me as a chopped steak and not a nice piece of USDA choice. The casserole was gummy, thus inedible, and the biscuits were dry, dry, dry. I overcame my wariness to try the fried apples (which glistened from the cornstarch that thickened the sauce) just so that I could consume a part of a dry biscuit. Ironic, then that out of the entire entree ensemble, all I can recommend are the apples. (I believe Mom enjoyed the eggs...)
I did get to try my BIL's French toast special, which is your traditional French toast, but w/ more cheesecake frosting and maple-syrup goodness. I found its sweetness a little cloying in the end, but I'd take this over the disaster that was the Country Boy.