Cracker Barrel Done Made Me Mad

Yesterday was my birthday. In the great tradition of birthdays for Moms, the question of the day was "What do you want for dinner"? In other words, "Even though it's your birthday, it's no fun to go out to dinner alone, so it looks like TJ and I will be tagging along. But you get to pick where, after all it's your birthday."

I do cook dinner at home just about every night. So, it's a nice change to go out for dinner somewhere through the middle of the week. There are several "non-chain" restaurants locally that I've been wanting to try, but I had a hankering for Cracker Barrel.

Now let me tell you, when I lived in New Mexico, my friend Dyan and I would eat lunch there every Thursday. We were bored housewives then, so a few hours at the Barrel was always a welcome reprieve, and on Thursday they served their delicious tortilla soup. Couple that with a glass of their sweet tea and some biscuits, and it was a simple lunch in an environment we both felt so at home in. Who doesn't feel at home in a place with a deer head and a rifle, right? I don't even need to mention that my husband built the fireplace in the store in Gallup, New Mexico, do I? Oh, I guess I just did.

So, I decided that Cracker Barrel sounded like just the ticket for a quiet Tuesday evening dinner out. I haven't been to one since I moved to Pennsylvania over two years ago. I wished I would have made another choice.

I've always enjoyed meandering in the little store, in fact I have several serving dishes and little odds and ends that I've picked up there through the years. Either their store merchandise has changed nationally, or I accidentally walked into a Toys 'R Us and didn't know it. All this particular stores' shelves where stocked with cheap, replica vintage toys and candy. And when I say cheap, I mean cheaply made, as a sack of 10 marbles was a great buy at $9.99. Umm, no thanks.

But I was hungry and had my mind focused on biscuits and cornbread, so the monkeys in a barrel and cap guns didn't matter.

The menu was relatively the same, the chicken and dumplings, the meatloaf, turnip greens, etc. were all still there. And our waitress, a perky older lady name Reba, was very sweet and attentive.

I ordered the sampler, which included chicken and dumplings, meatloaf, and country ham. I'll make this very simple. I think I have a pair of shoes that are softer to chew on than that ham. The mushy dumplings were more like tasteless baby food, and the burnt little piece of meatloaf had so much ketchup on it, I mistook it for a hamburger without the bun. And my okra... eeww. That pretty much sums up my whole dinner, as well as my husband and TJ's.

Normally if I'm dissatisfied at a restaurant, I make no bones about having my dinner recooked. This time, however, I just wanted to get out of there. Cracker Barrel ruined my birthday.

I'm tempted to call their comment line, but for what? So they can send me a coupon to eat there again free? I'd rather they send me a coupon to somewhere I would want to eat.

The lousy dinner aside, I did quite enjoy my birthday. I had a donut and a gift card for Target on my desk at work from my employee, Chris. (We have a donut joke at the office.) Todd hooked me up with an awesome new CD player and speakers in my car, along with some CD's I've been wanting. TJ was so proud when I opened his strawberry Topsy-Turvey gift.

Anyway, if you are wondering what Cracker Barrel specifically I'm referring to, please leave me a comment with your email address and I will give you the location. I'm not going to publicly humiliate this restaurant, but I'm also not going to be shy in telling ya'll that Cracker Barrel done made me mad.