The Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel chain, newly located in Utah, attempts to introduce a measure of time-honored Southern hospitality.
If there's any doubt, a perky hostess escorts you to a barnwood-paneled dining room, accented with spinning wheels, worn saddles, hurricane lamps and oak trestle tables.As a starter, Cracker Barrel serves country-style breakfast all day long. Uncle Herschel's Favorite ($5.99) includes Sawmill Gravy, a ham-flavored creamy sauce as a side to freshly baked, flaky buttermilk biscuits and homemade cornmeal muffins; Southern staple grits, which need salt, pepper and butter as seasonings; two eggs, a tasty hashbrown potato casserole or fried apples and a choice of breakfast meats.
I chose the hickory-smoked country ham, cured with a higher salt level than most Westerners are accustomed to but a mainstay in the South. Also available are more unusual breakfast sides of grilled pork chop or even a catfish fillet. Grandpa's Country Fried Breakfast ($6.79) includes all of the above options but adds a country fried steak or chicken to the morning meal. If the traditional Southern menu fails to appeal, seven flavors of pancakes ($3.99), including pecan, peach, blackberry or buttermilk, and fruit-topped oatmeals ($2.99) are also available.
Country fare also dominates dinner selections with entrees such as the Meatloaf Dinner ($7.29), the Country Fried Steak ($8.49) or the Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie ($6.59).
I tried the Country Boy Sampler ($7.29), which included a slab of zesty, tomato-flavored meatloaf, a slice of sugar-cured ham (less salty and more familiar) and a pasty con-coc-tion labeled Chicken 'n' Dumplings. I'd be happy to share my North Carolina-born grandma's recipe to improve this entree; it's definitely not worth a reorder.
We also tried the special Campfire Beef Supper ($7.99), an adaptation to local tastes with a foil-wrapped bundle of roast beef, chunky carrots, red-skinned potatoes and whole mushrooms. Maybe a bit longer in the "campfire" would improve the tenderness of the beef, but, on the whole, the combination was flavorful and inviting.
Dessert put the final punctuation on the Southern-inspired menu with a hefty 4-by-6-inch serving of caramel pecan bread pudding ($2.69). In a single bowl, Cracker Barrel summarizes the best of the South: densely rich and tender bread pudding with coconut, homemade butterscotch fudge caramel sauce and candied pecans. Fresh fruit cobblers ($2.79) come topped with premium vanilla bean ice cream.
Cracker Barrel, with competent and informed servers, introduces a formula that works for busy families who need to feed a group efficiently, for casual diners looking for a hearty meal or anybody who wants a taste of Southern-style cooking with a bit of Western influence.