Cracker Barrel [split] traveling for food

[crofter]

My first trip to Cracker Barrel and celebration of dining out after a year and a half of restrictions. Not a huge distance but finding the place was a little victory over strange ways to name streets in this bizarre town. The street changes its name and you need to know all the alias' or just be lucky.

Once we arrived, the place had an old west ambiance with collectibles all over the place, and cool stuff in their store. There was a bit of a wait to be seated, even after signing the waiting list: a sign of good food. 

The food was great, I had steak and it was cooked just right. There was enough food for several meals so, doggie bag for me! I especially enjoyed the biscuits and the fried apples (apple pie without the crust). 

For anyone interested in that, the menu also lists the calorie count of your meal.
-crofter

 

[user 30781]

Guess I'm going to have to go visit my middle daughter in Oregon to be able to experience Cracker Barrel. And now I know I have a place to park for a night or two!

edit: omg country fried steak breakfast with fried apples and hashbrown casserole. My mouth is watering so bad right now!

 

[nature lover]

Crafter - I love cracker barrel but I don’t have a budget to eat out often. I love the things they have hanging on the walls and want the job of being the guy who buys that stuff and decorates all their 500+ Restaurants. Somebody told me they have a big warehouse Full of these things. What a job going to auctions, antique malls, flea market, yard sales spending somebody else’s money and getting paid to do it. And the person who does that probably gets to eat at Cracker Barrel a lot.

 

[Cammalu]

I saw this article about the guy who is in charge of the Cracker Barrel buying

https://www.countryliving.com/shopping/antiques/a19662508/larry-singleton-cracker-barrel/

 

[highdesertranger]

You know what I just saw a you tube video on that subject. Highdesertranger

 

[vanbrat]

I am going to have to find me a Cracker Barrel to check out.

I love old kitchen tools. I have a few that are older then me. And that is old! they work just as good now as when they were new so way would I not. I won't be putting them in my van though. I would worry that I would lose them. My cast iron skillet that hubby's Grandma gave me when we where first setting up house, she said she had used it all her married life but she was done with it now. My food mill I found almost 40 yrs ago at a thrift store. I thought I lost it to a borrowing friend last year and was really sad when I could not find it, my mom bought me a new one and it just didn't work the same. Thankfully I found my old one when I cleaned out a closet... it was returned to hubby who put it where it didn't go. I have a tea kettle that has been in the family from a friend who, again found it at a thrift store, my kitchen just would not be the same with out it. My canning pot bought new 45 yrs. ago. I would not even want to try to do any canning with out that thing.
My oldest son asked me if when I get ready to give it up if he could get the old green plastic pitcher. I laugh as hubby was going to give it to him right now. I laughed and told him I would leave it to him in my will. It was the first thing I bought for my self when I got my first apt. 45 years ago.
My other son was a mantiker(SP) for a few years and he did the same with tools that I do with kitchen tools, the ones that men usually had way back when. The old stuff was meant to be used for ever. He has a few tools that his Grandpa used, but those never got to the store to sell.
I know I don't have much room to collect in my van, but I will always be looking for really old kitchen stuff. Always room for one more cook book right.

 

[nature lover]

Cammalou- thank you for so much for sharing that article. It looks like cracker barrel plans on expanding more and more with all those antiques in a warehouse. I literally love those things and the culture of going around and finding them at public sales etc. especially love our custom in Pennsylvania of churches and community organizations setting up the food stands at these local auctions. You can’t beat some of the auction food around here.

My parents built a three car garage set up a kitchen in the one section and covered the walls with antiques and also hanging from the ceiling. When family events were held they would pull up pull cars and roll out a carpet set up tables and we spent many holidays visiting, laughing, and eating great homemade food in our own little Cracker Barrel. I never really connected what they did to Cracker Barrel but it’s the same idea. The neat thing about our dining room/garage was that many of the antiques that were hanging were family stuff. Grandpas butcher table that was a slab of wood about 4 inches thick and 8 feet long became our buffet table. My grandmother’s wedding dress was displayed on a manikin. Wasn’t a white wedding dress like they have today it was just nice dress. To insulate from the draft coming in the garage doors they hung quilts over them. Quilts made by my grandmother and great grandmother. My dad’s Lincoln logs With the original box mounted displayed on the shelf next to my dads house truck collection. A nice big flat stone was laid in front of the door to the garag kitchen, It had in front of my grandparents hog pen for years and dad used to play marbles on it. Of course they collected other things to put up. But 90%of were family stuff. Every piece with a memory and a story.My contribution to that room was two beautiful oval frames I made from reclaimed wood. I framed pictures of my mom and dad in that beautiful Old wood and if anyone commented about those portraits and the beautiful frames the family would tell tell the story of the outhouse we tore down and what happened to the board with two seats in it. I often threaten my dad that when he died we were going to stuff him and put him in the corner like Roy Rogers did with trigger maybe that’s why he donated his body to a medical school That stuff is all gone now and we don’t even have those family times together and of course my brothers and my sister got most of the stuff. That’s all right they can have it I have the memories and I don’t have room for that stuff in my van. I never made the connection of why I like cracker barrel and my families holidays in the garage. I guess I’m too slow thinking.

I hope I didn’t bore you with that long dissertation but this discussion of Cracker Barrel brought it back to me. Now I live in a van and the family is scattered throughout the country like I said I have the memories, Although some of them are leaving me too. I just got an inspiration. I’m going to expand on what I wrote here add some pictures that I’ve taken over the years and make copies for all my nieces and nephews and children. Thanks for sending my thinking in this direction.

 

[vanbrat]

Naturelover,
That sounds great. I personally love old family stories like that. I was hoping to maybe start something like that for traveling as I go from family place to family places. How fun would it be if we went to Alabama and had a big ol' family picnic there. Then on to calif. and maybe on to Portland ... we could start seeing folks that have moved around to other parts. Everyone bring something to start a conversation with or something to remind us of who we as a family are. An old toy a few photos to hang from the string and poles across the table. or just a few written down stories. Maybe I would bring my OLD cast iron skillet for that one.

Ok now I have to call the kinfolk!