So the widely anticipated roadside pitstop known as Cracker Barrel has finally opened in Rockwall, Texas. I was not one of the ones swooning.
The restaurant founded by an American entrepreneur Dan Evins who had the inspiration of barrels full of soda crackers that were for sale in country stores. The reputation of the restaurant is for a place for travelers to stop in that is another dining option instead of fast food. And it offers a general store bursting with novelty items.
The front entrance was aligned with the southern charm of rocking chairs waiting to be rocked by a patron awaiting a table. Fortunately, while we waited for our table we browsed around the country store and had reminisced seeing old toys that we used to play with available to purchase. Along the side walls were rows of jams, artisan bottled sodas, candies and snack cakes. There was a good selection of items to collect and decorate inside or outside a home. Lovely housewares, women and children’s clothing, hats and accessories. If there was men’s attire there I must have missed it. The price points were reasonable and a good place to pick up gifts if one should need something for a birthday, anniversary or even Christmas for any age.
The ambiance I would sum it up as uniquely staged from all the old junk that you may find at Canton or an abandoned farm. The look and feel was definitely inviting and clean and it all just worked well in achieving their country feel.
The host station seemed to be very well organized. We gave our name to the front door host which we were logged into the iPad system. About 20 minutes later, over the PA system a pleasant voice invited the Jason Balkum party to the front desk. As we made our way there we were greeted by another smiling hostess who guided us to our table for four right next to the window to view interstate 30.
The table had an oil lamp fixture that was somewhat of an issue with our 3 year old twin daughters who are very curious. They kept dropping the pegs and pulling the glass off. There were some folding wood frame promotions that got opened and closed a lot. We didn’t bother with high chairs and the girls did great sitting in the chairs.
Our waitress came with a sweet hospitable spirit and offered menu suggestions to help us a bit in navigating the Crackle Barrel menu. Right off the bat we ordered coffee, water and chocolate milk for the girls. The chocolate milk arrived in cartons, which we poured the chocolate milk into plastic cups.
The food we ordered arrived hot, fresh and the service was excellent! I have no complaints of the service we received. The food is completely a different story. I can not believe this has been such a big talk about how great this place is when it comes to the food. I had high expectations of quality with southern tastes of homestyle cooking.
The Old Timer
Fun titles on the menu such as the Old Timer is a gag. Seriously, when the company advertises that the restaurant is a homestyle favorite –it is only to drive people to come into the restaurant. My homestyle cooking is delicious than this dish served to my husband.
Two farm fresh eggs and Grits I did find very good. From our choice of Thick-Sliced Bacon, Smoked Sausage Patties or Turkey Sausage, the Turkey Sausage was not something that I expected. It was way too salty! The Hashbrown Casserole was not appealing at all. It was mushy hash browns drowned in an overly cheesy and heavy dripping sauce. It was like the ingredients were not mixed well at all. Or is it possible that was their intent? I hope not. This dish came with homemade Buttermilk Biscuits and a side bowl of Sawmill Gravy. I ate a piece of the biscuit and it tasted like raw dough. Not sure where the buttermilk comes in to play. There was no butteriness to it. And the gravy had no flavor or seasonings–It was just goop! I had biscuits out of a can that tasted better baked in my oven.
Grandma’s Sampler
I was looking for a waffle with blueberries and I ended up choosing Grandma’s Sampler. No waffles are served at Cracker Barrel. On this item, we requested blueberries to be added to the 3 Buttermilk Pancakes. After adding some butter it was a perfect taste of salty and blueberry tartness. Very nice crispy edges on the flat pancake overwhelming won me over as a delight. Not sure if it was an accident or intentional. But our waiter left us a couple of mini bottles of Wild Maine Blueberry Syrup by Dickinson’s. I poured this over one blueberry pancake and oh it just added more to savoring the salty and sweet warm buttery combination. The syrup dropped little blueberries with each swirly pour. And it was not in a jam clumpy way.
The eggs were scrambled and tasted okay. I would argue that the bacon was not thick sliced as it was listed in the menu description. The Country Ham was not something I would probably consider ordering again. The meat just wasn’t season well or it was just overcooked. The Fried Apples was a chunky sweetness of real apples with the skin that easily unwrapped with your tongue as you savor the seasonings. If you are not a fan of apple skins or texture this is probably not a side dish you will enjoy.
We ordered for our girls another dish that included blueberry pancakes, eggs and turkey sausage. Afterwards, we concluded that we should have just let them have the 2 of the 3 blueberry pancakes from my order and just add an extra of scrambled eggs to our orders.
Finally, I do see that the location for Cracker Barrel is going to do well. There is a culture following and it is off a major highway. If you are local and you plan to make this a weekly outing. Probably should consider splitting the meals with another patron. The portions are very big and may not be so heart-friendly. Even if it sounds like it is health conscience –they absolutely are not.
Paying our bill was done in the back of the country store. I admit that was a very clever way of placement to add another chance for a customer to pick up additional items to purchase.
Crackle Barrel will forever be remembered where I ate raw dough and gravy goop.
