Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (An honest review for first timers). Pros:
The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in Crestview definitely has southern hospitality down to a science. You get a warm welcome coming in and a gift store brimming with presents that tempt you to take them home.
*The gift shop. The items change seasonally, so if you're in the gift shop looking for Thanksgiving or Christmas gifts, you're sure to find something. You can even get your presents gift wrapped right at the store. If you're getting something for a friend or family member who lives farther away, Cracker Barrel offers shipping options as well. I've gotten a lot of birthday presents from their gift shop, and the ladies and gentlemen at the Crestview store are always more than happy to help or hold items for me for a short amount of time.
*The food. The food is well priced and you get a lot of bang for your buck, as well. I don't know of another place in town where you can get these home-cooked meals. Roast beef, chicken and dumplings, a jumbo sized chicken pot pie, and oven roasted turkey with made from scratch cornbread dressing, ect. Most of these dinners come with your choice of three or two country sides, PLUS biscuit or cornbread for -normally- under $10.00.
Cracker Barrel, at the moment, offers $5.99 lunch specials from Monday - Thursday. The special changes itself every weekday, so you learn to pick your favorite days quickly. :)
Just the other Thursday I went in and got their Thursday Lunch Special- which is the Sliced Oven Roasted Turkey Breast smothered in Turkey Gravy. I got a side of their made from scratch cornbread dressing, a baked sweet potato with butter and cinnamon-sugar, cranberry relish, and biscuits with blackberry jam and spiced apple butter for $5.99!
Cracker Barrel also has some healthier options for those who are watching their weight. They have a lot of different salads to choose from. There is also the grilled trout, grilled catfish, grilled chicken tenders, oven baked chicken, oven fried chicken (But is actually baked and quite delicious), steak, and grilled pork chops. They've also got small side salads, baked sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli, boiled cabbage, carrots, green beans, mixed vegetables (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower), fresh apples, seasonal fruit, yogurt parfaits, and fresh baked apple bran muffins. I'm sure there are other options that I can't think of at the moment, but trust me when I say, you won't starve if you're watching your figure here.
*The friendliness: The host or hostess is always friendly. You can tell that they've been trained to cater to, comfort, and inform their guest. I came in at 10:48 a.m. on Thursday. After I was scripted the feature of the turkey and dressing I asked my hostess if I had to get the cornbread dressing with the meal. She was all too happy to answer any questions I had. I was informed that we can choose which sides we like and weren't mandated to get any specific sides with meals, but that the sides are merely suggested with the turkey in the description because they best compliment the meal and give the home cooked, warm feeling that we get at Thanksgiving. She was right. The meal wouldn't have been the the same without the dressing and cranberry relish (which the hostess recommended I double up on, and boy am I glad I did!).
The servers seem trained to greet, get drink orders, and drop checks in a timely manner, so it's a great place to go if you're in a quick hurry or if you want to just sit and chat. My server in specific was very friendly. She raved about the Turkey and Dressing and said I wouldn't regret my choice. When I finished my meal, I grabbed a piece of delicious carrot cake (it was amazing) from their list of desserts: Fruit cobbles, Chocolate Cola Cake, Mug Sundaes, Pie, ect.
When I left my cashier asked how my food and my service was with a smile. She also asked me if there was anything else she could get me before I hit the road. I bought a bag of chocolate covered peanuts and she explained that they were buy 2 for $3 (a deal I had almost missed) so I did and added on a bottled soda to boot.
It's nice to go into a place that makes you feel welcomed when you walk in and like they miss you when you leave.
Cons:
*The tables are really close together, so it's hard to get comfortable on a busy day. It can almost feel like you're eating with strangers, so it's not necessarily a place where you'd want to take a date unless it was a very slow day or early in the morning.
*The store is fast-pace, so you get a little bit of a rushed feeling if you've been there for about 30 minutes. You can tell the server wants to "turn" the table quickly. For a single person eating, as I do often, it's fine because your food is the only dish being cooked so it comes out quickly, and since there is no one eating with you, you eat quickly, too. But if you're with a big party taking up more than 2 tables, you feel a little bit of a rush.
*The food can be messy. Certain foods go on a plate and certain foods go in a small dish on the side. I once ordered chicken and dumplings and it was basically covered in my greenbeans. It was a little unpleasant because it made everything watery so I sent it back. If there's a side you really like, stay on the safe side and order it on the side.
*The fire place is sometimes wonderful, but other times not so much. The fire places don't have a grate on when lit, so occasionally pieces of burning log will tumble out onto the floor (this is rare). Don't sit too close is my best advice.
Still, as far as restaurants go, it's one of my favorites. Service is fast, prices are decent, food is "normally" hot, and people are really friendly. If you ever don't like something, the servers prefer that you speak up so that they can make you happy. Even with its flaws, I still think more restaurants need to be like this.
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