Cracker Barrel has plenty of homey personality baked right in.
Not to mention, Cracker Barrel willsoon be upgrading its interiorsto make them even homier!
And now, there’s even more to love following the introduction of brand-new summer eats and drinks.
Photo: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock. Design: Eat This, Not That!
The chain decided to diversify by adding multiple New York Strip Steak meals to its heavily poultry-based lineup.
One such meal offers some surf and turf action with a pairing of fried shrimp.
One was also already coming out of its breading, and I received a bonus hushpuppy in my dish.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
The taste:Not worth the steep price tag.
and I was right.
It came out more well-done than anything else, with little to no pink to speak of.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
Worse, there was no seasoning or flavor to revive it.
The shrimp wasn’t an improvement on the other side of the plate.
The heavy breading was mushy rather than crisp and slid off at the drop of a hat.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
Meanwhile, the delicate shrimp inside were hardly noticeable.
That’s essentially how I view the invention of steak and eggs.
And I’m certainly not mad about itas long as it’s done right.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
The hearty meal is priced at $18.99.
As for the eggs, they appeared to be standard, albeit leaning more toward over-medium than easy.
Seasoning specks on both components were minimal.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
However, it was still tough, chewy, and nothing to write home about.
The eggs were well-cooked, garnering no complaints.
Yet, at the end of the day, eggs are just eggs.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
Watermelon Lemonade
At Cracker Barrel, the drink of the summer is watermelon lemonade.
Of course, the restaurant is also pushing flavored mimosa pitchers right now.
It’s only available for a limited time for $3.69 per 32-ounce glass.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
The look:A light peachy pink beverage.
Ice was kept to a minimum, which I appreciated.
The watermelon flavor is distinguishable, just a bit subdued.
It reminded me of Watermelon Sour Patch Kids, only without the lip-puckering sourness.
My waitress also seemed befuddled when I asked for it with the chain’s hand-breaded fried chicken tenders.
The look:The tenders are well-breaded and well-seasoned, especially with what feels like pepper.
I received four, each measuring about four to four and a half inches long.
Then, the barbecue comes into the picture.
The viscous substance adheres to the tenders well and gives off a sweet yet smokey tang.
I would say that it leans more towards the barbecue side rather than mustard.
Overall, though, it’s a satisfactory summertime choice.
One of them is the Bee Sting Sandwich.
The soul of the sandwich is its drizzle of sweet heat honey glazewhere the Bee Sting moniker comes from.
For $11.99, the sandwich comes with just one side.
The menu recommends pairing it with steak fries, but I was more intrigued by the hashbrown casserole tots.
I also took note of the huge lettuce leafa garnish that wasn’t originally mentioned in the description.
It tastes like it could have been made with a Frank’s hot sauce or something similar.
In addition, my suspicions were correct about the bun’s mega size.
The sauce is exactly the same and is drizzled over the crispy breaded tenders.
The meal additionally comes with two country sides.
The chicken tenders are stacked atop the steak fries and everything is unevenly coated in the thin red-orange sauce.
Some pieces are smothered, while others remain essentially bare.
The taste:Everything good about the previous BBQ chicken fingers just in an elevated sauce.
Once again, it’s mostly sweet with zest and just a smidgeon of spice.
But here, it clings to each crispy, juicy tender and really makes the meal.
Fresh blueberries and strawberries decorate the top as well as whipped cream and powdered sugar.
The taste:The flavor makes up for the shoddy presentation ten times over.
I’m already a big fan of French toast.
And, at this point, I hadn’t even encountered the best part: the cheesecake filling.
But hey, I’m certainly not complaining.
