I love Southern food; not the idli-dosa-wada-kind (I love that too) but more the fried chicken- corn on the cob-sweet tea kind. Cracker Barrel serves just that – old fashioned southern food. You can’t miss the brown and yellow Cracker Barrel sign every few exits on the highway. It’s a chain that’s half store, half restaurant and all country.Every restaurant has a quaint retail store upfront; one that sells an odd assortment of wares like fishing rods, oven mitts, Elvis Presley records, scented candles and caramel apples. You have to make your way through the store before you reach the restaurant behind and if you’re like me, you will succumb to temptation and wind up buying something from the store, even if it’s just a bit of home-made fudge. The restaurant really does transport you back to small-town Georgia, probably back in the 1970s. The juke-box that belts out one country number after the other, the walls that boast Marilyn Monroe memorabilia and the staff are all quintessentially Southern. The menu conjures up every possible traditional recipe from the peach cobbler to the meat loaf.
I have tried a lot of different things on the menu and have always enjoyed my food here. I’ve only been to the one on Windward Parkway; it’s an occasional week-day lunch spot. Every time we visit, I wish I could stay on and idle like the other patrons. So my only tip is that if you ever visit Cracker Barrel, make sure you have time on your hands; to fully enjoy this southern home style store and restaurant at leisure!
