Cracker Barrel Restaurant Diners Always

Cracker Barrel Restaurant Diners always seem to have something for everyone to eat -- from eggs and bacon to prime rib. The food is not gourmet; neither is greasy spoon. Put a Southern "small town, country-store" spin on the diner format and add a large gift shop and you have Cracker Barrel. First opened in Lebanon, Tennessee, off of I-40 by Dan Evins, Cracker Barrels are not for fine dining, but for the down-to-earth folk that inhabit the earth.

In the late 1960s when the Interstate was just starting to significantly expand, Evins began thinking of how to better meet the needs of travelers. He also saw that the fast-food restaurants were taking over many of the older established restaurants that served up traditional American food and provided a relaxed atmosphere for friends and family with a home-cooking-type menu. To make the atmosphere more homey, he added big jars of candy and homemade jellies.

The store was a hit with tourists and locals and there are now about 520 of them in 41 states. The meals include pancakes and waffles with real butter, pure maple syrup blueberry syrup with Wild Maine Blueberries. The company says the "best of the breast" is used in the Chicken N' Dumplins, Chicken Salad and our Chicken Tenderloin Dinner. The retail store contains items such as rocking chairs, cast iron cookware, clothing, collectible dolls, and classic children's toys.

Restaurant critics who have been to several Cracker Barrels, such as Colleen Coffield from the Emerald Coast Dining Guide in Florida, say, "have visited many Cracker Barrel restaurants and always appreciated them for being a reliable place to stop when traveling. They have the same menu, the same decor, and the same merchandise in their shops.

The setting is generally secure, and the food is homey and comforting." Although appreciating the food, a restaurant reviewer from Toledo, Ohio, writes that the places with their nostalgia items can reach "the point of kitschiness." The difficulty in parking and waiting in lines, he says, are deterrents. The restaurants are normally very busy, especially at prime season, but it does not take long to get a table. The waiters hustle and bustle and come back to the table often to see if the diners need anything.

The kitchen seems to be able to handle the crowds well, too, since the food is hot and fresh when served. The portions are large, and take-home boxes are ample. A restaurant critic from a Toledo paper explains about the meals: "During two recent visits, it became obvious to us that calling the food home-cooked is a stretch. One afternoon we opted for the breakfast and dinner samplers from the oversized menus ($7.99), which brought a mix of good and mediocre food to the table.

A lunch of somewhat salty turkey noodle soup ($2.59 a cup) and a well-stacked reuben sandwich ($4.99) hit the spot, as did the breakfast sampler: eggs done perfectly over easy accompanied by decent buttermilk pancakes, hash browns, country ham, grits, and a helping of sweet fried apples." The food critics are not the only ones who rate the Cracker Barrels highly. On Epinions.com, online visitors rated the restaurant 4 1/4 out of 5 stars. "One thing I did notice about this place is that it caters to all the senses.

First walking in you get the aromas of fresh cooking mixed in with the scent of a wood burning fireplace and also cinnamon and other spices that are from the candles and potpourri they sell," recalls a gentleman from Massachusetts. Adds another pleased diner who says he's never had a bad meal at Cracker Barrel: "Cracker Barrel seems to go out of its way to make sure that you're never bored while you wait. When you get to your table, after placing your order, you can play peg.