Cracker Barrel (yes, again)
May 13, 2011 by Feisty Foodie
Filed under American, Americas, Breakfast, By Name, Cheap Eats, Cuisine, Restaurants, Travels
On our way home, we decided to stop by Cracker Barrel for some cheap and delicious eats. About half of us had never been to Cracker Barrel before and interested, and the other half were very gung-ho about it. The closest one turned out to be Binghamton.
StB ordered toads-in-the-hole (or is it eggs-in-a-basket?). You know, toast with the center cut out, and you drop a raw egg into it then cook? I know she liked it because she said that’s what she almost always orders here.
I actually didn’t remember often ordering breakfast here (though a quick check says I have), so I gave myself the best of both worlds: my Cracker Barrel go-to, chicken fried chicken smothered in country gravy (omg I love that stuff), along with two fried eggs, hash brown casserole… (and if you clicked that link earlier, I mentioned this platter and not getting it because I didn’t want to be fat… hahahahahah!)
which came with grits, a small bowl of gravy and two biscuits. Oh my god. No, I didn’t finish this, but damn it was good. I might start ordering this instead – it’s a smaller portion of chicken fried chicken, which suits my purposes (and waistline) just fine… and the price is under $8. So good. As usual, my chicken was fried perfectly right – crisp exterior, juicy interior, and smothered in country gravy is awesome. So good. The eggs were cooked fine, the hash brown casserole was great as always, and the grits were okay – once I added butter and salt, ha.
Dr.Y got whole wheat pancakes, which everyone was trying and passing around, and everyone seemed to like it. I had so much food in front of me, there was no way I was going to try someone else’s dish at that point. Yum!
Yvo says: There’s a reason I plan road trip routes around Cracker Barrel stops. It’s not gourmet, but it’s homemade and yet consistent from location to location, it’s excellent, cheap, filling food. It almost makes me understand why people travel all over the country and eat at TGI Friday’s in every single city they visit – almost (for familiarity’s sake). Our breakfasts, with coffee, came out to less than $10 a person, and look at how much freaking food we all got (I didn’t take pictures of everyone’s dishes, but trust me, there was a LOT of food). It’s just… good, comforting, solid, consistent food. Love.
recommended on road trips, though I don’t usually go more than a few miles out of my way
Check the website for locations because they are all over the country, though a bit sparse up this far north
i’d be very interested to see the menu once they implement the calorie disclosure law across the country. hahaha
/shudder
Honestly, I don’t think it will deter me. Just like calorie counts don’t deter people from going into McDonald’s or any chain restaurant… I walk into Cracker Barrel wanting Cracker Barrel. However, I have occasionally wandered towards a fast food restaurant (when they first started the calorie counts) and quickly wandered back out. (I think it was a pretzel place in the mall… it smelled good and I was tired from shopping.)
like the 3,000 calorie bags of popcorn at Yankee Stadium? I was definitely deterred by that.
Those aren’t technically chains… curious they have to post counts. Well, if you’re like our friend the Beer Boor, he used the calories counts to determine value of popcorn at one stand vs. at another. True story. Nathan’s was selling a 450 calorie box of popcorn for $6.50 and the popcorn stand was selling 900 calories for $6.75. Hahaha
Hey, why pay extra?
If you went to the Crack Barrel on Front St (US-11), I pass that every trip to Sam the Beer Man, like today, and contemplated a visit.
More bang for your buck.
No cracker barrel crossed off my list. Oh well. Maybe eventually.
Looks good! Forget about being fat. Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
Binghamton! We used to go to that Cracker Barrel!
Love the Cracker Barrel in Hamburg PA !!
we always go into “carb-comma” after eating there! lol!
I have never been but my friend swears by it. He has actually woken up early with a hangover just so that he can go have breakfast there.
But… breakfast is served all day!!!
I had no idea they made submarine eggs [eggs in a basket] AWESOME – we try to stop at CB when we road trip because the family loves it and you CAN actually find healthy food on the menu. The grilled fish is good.
Not that I am eating it. I am a dumplings and greens kind of gal – LOVE – and throw me a corn muffin and an iced tea and I am in heaven. They have the best tea.
I always ate grits with pepper and butter [my sister taught me that - love again] I wonder if salt is a regional thing.
I doubt it – grits is a regional thing though (it isn’t commonly served in NYC). I added salt because there wasn’t enough flavor without it.
I live very close to a Cracker Barrel and stop in every few months. I definitely understand your love it.
toad-in-the-hole is yorkshire pudding with sausages in.
Never heard of the egg thing but it sounds so fun.
Hi Jay! Actually, toads in the hole can be used to describe both eggs-in-a-basket and Yorkshire Pudding with sausages baked in it. Not sure why it can describe both, but Google says it’s so (if you Google toads in the hole, you get pictures of both dishes, along with recipes for both as well). Funny, huh?
I love Cracker Barrel and the Country Store part usually takes a lot of my money! As I’m from Scotland I don’t get to visit very often but when I’m Stateside I do like to visit and pick up something in the store and then we eat there, of course. It’s true that not everything on the menu is low in calories but if you choose well you can pick up something that doesn’t make you put on extra lbs. It’s cheaper than a lot of chains and it just feels right!