Cracker Barrel

For years for Oregonians Cracker Barrel was something you would see commercials for, but that you had to travel to get to.

Suddenly, those dreams of home cooking came much closer, with locations in Tualatin, Beaverton, and now Jantzen Beach. And it was really disappointing.

To be fair, I feared it would be worse. I had heard things that made me worry I was supporting a racist institution, but on entry there was a sign saying they welcomed people of all races, and that's great if it's sincere. It doesn't make the food any better.

The decor is busy, but with a definite country theme; sort of a rustic Red Robin or Chili's. They do not make the wait staff wear a certain number of pieces of flair though, so that's good.

Service was kind of slow, but we had a game at our table if we wanted to pass the time.

And then the food came and it looked great, and I started tasting things and that's where it became disappointing.

It was not all bad. The baby carrots were really good, as were the loaded hash browns. Chocolate chip pancakes and biscuits were okay. The scrambled eggs and sausage were surprisingly bad.

The dumplings had kind of an "off" flavor, and the chicken was terrible: dry and flavorless. The mashed potatoes were indifferent. I admit, when I saw that there was no fried chicken on the menu I became suspicious of the "down-home" cooking, but not everyone wants to get into frying.

I did think the individual syrup bottles were cute, but probably wasteful.

Then it was time for why we had been dragged there: the campfire s'more. And it was a well-toasted marshmallow, but the brownie base was funny-tasting too. One of my sisters tried a piece, and said it did not taste like hers, so it may be that they are hit and miss, but I am not seeing a reason to return. (Though those were surprisingly good baby carrots.)

Then it was time to exit through the gift shop, which was also where you entered.

I was not impressed, then I was a little impressed to see the candy sticks, then put off when they didn't have orange. You could get tangerine or sour orange, but not regular orange, and what is the point of that?

You pay for your meal (and add your tip) at the cash registers in the gift shop. At first I thought this could easily shortchange the wait staff, but I guess the cashiers can look at you funny if you skimp on the tip, so maybe it works outs.

There was a display of rocking chairs - also for sale - along the walkway, and I guess they are charming, but at this point I was just kind of over them, even though they were $25.00 off.

And I have to admit that the prices were not bad, and my sisters think I should give them another try ordering something else, which is something real restaurant critics do. Maybe if I tried again I would get a better brownie. However, if their biscuits aren't better than mine and their mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs are significantly worse, I think I am safe writing them off.

But those were really good baby carrots.

https://crackerbarrel.com/