Steveats: Cracker Barrel's country fried turkey

This feature went away for a while, but now... IT'S BACK! I tryout questionable food items so that you don’t have to in… Steveats. (Note: Title developed in about 10 seconds of brainstorming.)

Somewhat surprisingly for a man known for questionable food decisions, I hadn't ever been to a Cracker Barrel before embarking on this little (ir)regular writing venture of mine. It would seemingly be right in my wheelhouse – a chain of questionable quality, with weird, gravy-coated offerings? – but it is quite awkwardly placed in my old stomping grounds of Rhode Island. It's right off of Route 95 in Coventry... but so is Popeye's, and if I'm going along that stretch, you can bet I'm going to Popeye's instead of Cracker Barrel.

However, this feature always leaves me looking to try things to write about, and I was finally enticed in during the Thanksgiving time frame with an offering that may or may not be seasonal – country fried turkey. I sometimes have a hankering for the “country fried” variety of food, although with steak, I usually take two bites and go, “Why yes, that is what it tastes like, and I'm quite satiated, thank you.” I was expecting a similar experience with Cracker Barrel.

But here's the thing... It was shockingly good. By this, I mean that the skin had a nice, fried crisp, and the meat was succulent and tender. Like, as far as a fried bird tender went, this was one of the better ones I've had. Typically, whether you're talking KFC or Applebee's or McDonald's, if you're getting the chicken tendies, you're getting a dipping sauce, because they're dry. Not the case here! The white gravy on top was quite unnecessary, because the turkey was moist on its own, and because white gravy is a disgusting-looking food substance.

Let me be clear though – This is not the start of a love affair with Cracker Barrel, because the rest of my meal was utterly and completely flavorless, and the total came out to around $15. This is more in line with what I was expecting, basically, bland food for the family. I got two piles of mush that they called mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese, but they were hard to tell apart except by color. Some cranberry chutnuy added a third color – crimson – to my plate, and it had enough “kick” to be mixed into the mashed potatoes. Lastly, I got two biscuits, which were pretty big and flavorless.

All in all, I got one good food option out of five at the Cracker Barrel. From hearing other friends describe their past experiences with the chain, this seems like a good percentage, and I shant risk lowering it with another visit anytime soon.

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