How much meatloaf?
August 29, 2017 8:04 AM Subscribe
Check, please: Couple completes quest to eat at every Cracker Barrel in the USA.
This is not a good idea.
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:09 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:09 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
This could be us but you playing
posted by chrchr at 8:10 AM on August 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by chrchr at 8:10 AM on August 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
Are there even any Cracker Barrels outside the United States?
posted by ardgedee at 8:17 AM on August 29, 2017
posted by ardgedee at 8:17 AM on August 29, 2017
Ray's hometown of Goshen is a manufacturing center for recreational vehicles and accessories.
His job was to drive RVs across the country, delivering them to dealerships or buyers.
Man, fuck a bunch of visiting every Cracker Barrel, but damn if I'm not envious of this dude's career.
posted by Etrigan at 8:18 AM on August 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
His job was to drive RVs across the country, delivering them to dealerships or buyers.
Man, fuck a bunch of visiting every Cracker Barrel, but damn if I'm not envious of this dude's career.
posted by Etrigan at 8:18 AM on August 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
Awww, I think it's a fine goal to spur adventure & exploration. No better or worse than visiting every MLB ballpark or every state capital.
"I think it keeps them going and keeps them active and keeps them healthy," [their daugther] says. "It's nice that they can do it together."
posted by muddgirl at 8:22 AM on August 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
"I think it keeps them going and keeps them active and keeps them healthy," [their daugther] says. "It's nice that they can do it together."
posted by muddgirl at 8:22 AM on August 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
When I was a kid, I loved their pancakes, as well as their biscuits and gravy. When I was young and had no idea how awful they were.
posted by Kitteh at 8:23 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 8:23 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
There have to be better goals out there for the completionists among us.
posted by killdevil at 8:23 AM on August 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by killdevil at 8:23 AM on August 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
My father-in-law did the same thing with Saltgrass. Just recently he drove from Oklahoma City to Laughlin, Nevada (15+ hours) to eat at a recently-opened Saltgrass, then headed back home the next morning. This is his thing.
I've eaten with him in at least three locations, and he expects it to be a big production every time. Sometimes they comp him a hat or dessert or something, other times they don't know who he is and he gets mildly upset about it.
Granted, there's like 40+ Saltgrass locations vs 645 Cracker Barrels, so it's more manageable. There's one opening up in El Paso and it doesn't sound like he's really looking forward to making the trip. At this point it's just something he has to do.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 8:25 AM on August 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
I've eaten with him in at least three locations, and he expects it to be a big production every time. Sometimes they comp him a hat or dessert or something, other times they don't know who he is and he gets mildly upset about it.
Granted, there's like 40+ Saltgrass locations vs 645 Cracker Barrels, so it's more manageable. There's one opening up in El Paso and it doesn't sound like he's really looking forward to making the trip. At this point it's just something he has to do.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 8:25 AM on August 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
At this point it's just something he has to do.
He's more machine than customer
posted by thelonius at 8:27 AM on August 29, 2017 [36 favorites]
He's more machine than customer
posted by thelonius at 8:27 AM on August 29, 2017 [36 favorites]
I mean, fuck Cracker Barrel and all, I guess, but a) this is a super cute story; and b) chicken and dumplings.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:29 AM on August 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 8:29 AM on August 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
> Awww, I think it's a fine goal to spur adventure & exploration. No better or worse than visiting every MLB ballpark or every state capital.
If every MLB ballpark and state capitol was known for race and gender discrimination and anti-LGBT policies, sure.
posted by ardgedee at 8:29 AM on August 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
If every MLB ballpark and state capitol was known for race and gender discrimination and anti-LGBT policies, sure.
posted by ardgedee at 8:29 AM on August 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
If every MLB ballpark and state capitol was known for race and gender discrimination and anti-LGBT policies, sure.
"If"?
posted by Etrigan at 8:32 AM on August 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
"If"?
posted by Etrigan at 8:32 AM on August 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
Ray estimated they have driven nearly 5 million miles.
At 60 MPH that's 9.51 years of driving, assuming you're driving 24 hours a day nonstop. I am guessing that number is off a bit.
posted by Slinga at 8:35 AM on August 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
At 60 MPH that's 9.51 years of driving, assuming you're driving 24 hours a day nonstop. I am guessing that number is off a bit.
posted by Slinga at 8:35 AM on August 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Oh please. I'm willing to cede MLB but ALL state capitals do that? How far does the cynicism lie here?
posted by agregoli at 8:35 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by agregoli at 8:35 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Really, we're #notallstatecapitals-ing now?
posted by Etrigan at 8:39 AM on August 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 8:39 AM on August 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
I don't think every single Cracker Barrel is guilty of race and gender discrimination, either, (the lawsuit commonly referenced involved 50 restaurants) but the bad apples spoil the whole bunch especially when it is condoned by corporate executives. There are undeniably states that do not protect LGBT citizens from discrimination in public accommodation, and the current federal government clearly condones LGBT discrimination.
posted by muddgirl at 8:42 AM on August 29, 2017
posted by muddgirl at 8:42 AM on August 29, 2017
They must be absolutely incredible at that triangle peg game by now. Just hopping the little pegs around telekinetically.
posted by Iridic at 8:44 AM on August 29, 2017 [62 favorites]
posted by Iridic at 8:44 AM on August 29, 2017 [62 favorites]
At least it wasn't Chick-Filet. Regional dishes from the lower 48 might have been more interesting, but would have taken a lot more research. But, good for them for keeping so active.
posted by Bee'sWing at 8:44 AM on August 29, 2017
posted by Bee'sWing at 8:44 AM on August 29, 2017
Been to one once. With toddler. The "store" you have to walk through. Waah! He had a fit cause I wouldn't buy him anything and when he calmed down we ate from take-out boxes on the tailgate. Pure evil. Way too much salt.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 9:08 AM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Mr. Yuck at 9:08 AM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Couple completes quest to eat at every Cracker Barrel in the USA.
I have to imagine this is like listening to Philip Glass, where after interminable perfect repetition you start noticing them anew each time.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:11 AM on August 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
I have to imagine this is like listening to Philip Glass, where after interminable perfect repetition you start noticing them anew each time.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:11 AM on August 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
Stalin used to have exact duplicates of his office and bedroom set up when he traveled, so no matter where he went, it was exactly what he was used to.
When I travel, I try to find the thing that is unique about where I am going to, the thing that is most distinct and local and unlike anything you find elsewhere. Because otherwise why travel?
But I suppose some people just want to be Stalin.
STALIN.
posted by maxsparber at 9:11 AM on August 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
When I travel, I try to find the thing that is unique about where I am going to, the thing that is most distinct and local and unlike anything you find elsewhere. Because otherwise why travel?
But I suppose some people just want to be Stalin.
STALIN.
posted by maxsparber at 9:11 AM on August 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
But you can't drive a million miles if you're Stalin all the time.
posted by uncleozzy at 9:13 AM on August 29, 2017 [85 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 9:13 AM on August 29, 2017 [85 favorites]
You're dead to me.
posted by maxsparber at 9:14 AM on August 29, 2017 [40 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 9:14 AM on August 29, 2017 [40 favorites]
I think this is a sweet story - I don't think it was a 'quest' to hit every single Cracker Barrel - I mean it took them 40 years to complete. But I think it was a fun way for them to frame their road trips and spend time with each other. Yeah - the food is crappy, and as with all big chains - the business ethics are a little dicey, but I think this is better than some people I know who's goal is to dine through that completely awful Top 50 Restaurant List.
posted by helmutdog at 9:15 AM on August 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by helmutdog at 9:15 AM on August 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
They ate their favorite meals — meatloaf and pancakes and grilled chicken sandwiches — in the most obscure of places: Duncan, S.C., and Layton, Utah, and Baraboo, Wis.
I'm amused that the writer thinks that Baraboo is obscure; it's near the Wisconsin Dells and there are billboards for the circus museum all over Wisconsin.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:16 AM on August 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I'm amused that the writer thinks that Baraboo is obscure; it's near the Wisconsin Dells and there are billboards for the circus museum all over Wisconsin.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:16 AM on August 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
God, I hope they did more than eat at Cracker Barrel in Baraboo. It's one of the most interesting places I have ever visited.
posted by maxsparber at 9:19 AM on August 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 9:19 AM on August 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
I have never once bean eating pancakes and thought, man, I wish I had some meatloaf to go with these.
posted by thelonius at 9:28 AM on August 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 9:28 AM on August 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Cracker Barrel wants its customers to believe that it gets its name from the old timey days when they shipped Crackers (the food, not white people) in Barrels. I dont know why that bothers me so much.
posted by kingv at 9:29 AM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by kingv at 9:29 AM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I ate at a Cracker Barrel once. Once.
posted by Bob Regular at 9:32 AM on August 29, 2017
posted by Bob Regular at 9:32 AM on August 29, 2017
I have never once bean eating pancakes and thought, man, I wish I had some meatloaf to go with these.
I assumed those were three separate meals (meatloaf and pancakes and grilled chicken sandwiches), which would be acceptable. Otherwise, this couple truly are monsters.
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:33 AM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I assumed those were three separate meals (meatloaf and pancakes and grilled chicken sandwiches), which would be acceptable. Otherwise, this couple truly are monsters.
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:33 AM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
My condolences to their families.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 9:33 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 9:33 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
At 60 MPH that's 9.51 years of driving, assuming you're driving 24 hours a day nonstop. I am guessing that number is off a bit.
I'm sure the rules have changed over his career, but currently commercial OTR drivers can drive about 60 hours in a seven-day period, roughly max 11 hours per day. Assuming he takes no time off in a year besides his mandated 34 hour resets, it would take only 26.7 years of service to reach 5 million miles at 60 miles per hour.
Now working backwards, they've been travelling together for roughly 40 years. Let's say they only drive 5 days a week to account for extended holidays, that's only 480 miles per day, or an average speed of 44 miles per hour for 11 hours.
Doesn't sound too unlikely depending on how he is counting their miles, if he means they've driven 5 million miles just in 40 years, or over his whole career as a commercial driver + a mobile retiree.
posted by muddgirl at 9:36 AM on August 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I'm sure the rules have changed over his career, but currently commercial OTR drivers can drive about 60 hours in a seven-day period, roughly max 11 hours per day. Assuming he takes no time off in a year besides his mandated 34 hour resets, it would take only 26.7 years of service to reach 5 million miles at 60 miles per hour.
Now working backwards, they've been travelling together for roughly 40 years. Let's say they only drive 5 days a week to account for extended holidays, that's only 480 miles per day, or an average speed of 44 miles per hour for 11 hours.
Doesn't sound too unlikely depending on how he is counting their miles, if he means they've driven 5 million miles just in 40 years, or over his whole career as a commercial driver + a mobile retiree.
posted by muddgirl at 9:36 AM on August 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
(According to this website about driver safety, the average commercial driver covers about 115,000 miles a year, so 5 million miles would take 45 years. So "nearly 5 million miles" may be a slight exaggeration - they may be at like 4.6 million.
posted by muddgirl at 9:44 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 9:44 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I mean, fuck Cracker Barrel and all, I guess, but a) this is a super cute story; and b) chicken and dumplings.
Oh, man, now I've got a dumplings craving three inches thick. I can practically taste my Grandma's blueberry dumplings. Dumplings!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:55 AM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oh, man, now I've got a dumplings craving three inches thick. I can practically taste my Grandma's blueberry dumplings. Dumplings!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:55 AM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Cracker Barrels or MLB stadiums or state capitals or whatever makes you happy: as long as you're minding your own business and nobody else is hurt, it's all cool.
Okay, so they've hit all 645 current Cracker Barrels. Does that mean they call it quits now, since they've got the full set covered? Or do they keep an eye out for future Cracker Barrels, so those can be added to the count?
posted by easily confused at 10:01 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Okay, so they've hit all 645 current Cracker Barrels. Does that mean they call it quits now, since they've got the full set covered? Or do they keep an eye out for future Cracker Barrels, so those can be added to the count?
posted by easily confused at 10:01 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I would do anything for love. But I won't do that.
posted by ocschwar at 10:11 AM on August 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by ocschwar at 10:11 AM on August 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
Wasn't there someone in the 90's who was trying to visit every Denny's?
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:24 AM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:24 AM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
You're all a bunch of grouchy cynics. So what if they like Cracker Barrel? They're spending time together, seeing different parts of the country, doing something they enjoy, eating food they personally like. I mean, come on, grouchy cynics!
Now, could someone please contact the editors at USA Today and let them know that in the English language it's perfectly acceptable -- and even encouraged -- to combine single sentences into groups known as paragraphs, and that cutesy articles about old folks actually read better in paragraph form than they do as a 1200-word collection of standalone sentences?
posted by mudpuppie at 10:25 AM on August 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
Now, could someone please contact the editors at USA Today and let them know that in the English language it's perfectly acceptable -- and even encouraged -- to combine single sentences into groups known as paragraphs, and that cutesy articles about old folks actually read better in paragraph form than they do as a 1200-word collection of standalone sentences?
posted by mudpuppie at 10:25 AM on August 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
It's not a Waffle House, it's a Waffle Home. And I have visited all 5 million between Ohio and Florida.
posted by hal9k at 10:29 AM on August 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by hal9k at 10:29 AM on August 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Pretty sure I'd never make the effort to collect the set, but I've eaten at worse places (where "worse" is certainly culinarily worse and possibly morally worse, too). I wouldn't seek one out, but every Cracker Barrel I've dined in was more appetizing than any of the Applebees or Ruby Tuesdays I've had the misfortune to patronize.
My fondest Cracker Barrel memory is of drinking all night with a friend, slowly but steadily, then taking a cab to a Cracker Barrel because it was 4 in the morning and because it seemed like a good idea. They were open and empty and because it was winter there was a fire in the fireplace. We sat there drunk, eating pancakes, watching the fire burn, and it might be one of the most memorable meals I've ever had.
posted by octobersurprise at 10:30 AM on August 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
My fondest Cracker Barrel memory is of drinking all night with a friend, slowly but steadily, then taking a cab to a Cracker Barrel because it was 4 in the morning and because it seemed like a good idea. They were open and empty and because it was winter there was a fire in the fireplace. We sat there drunk, eating pancakes, watching the fire burn, and it might be one of the most memorable meals I've ever had.
posted by octobersurprise at 10:30 AM on August 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I am an accomplished road tripper, drove 1400 miles in the last week, but have never been in a Cracker Barrel. Now I have a lifetime goal to NEVER step foot in a Cracker Barrel.
Thanks, Roy and Wilma!
I am of the mind to seek out the extremely local for food and whatnot. This can either be transcendent or a nightmare. Adds to the mystery of life.
posted by readery at 10:31 AM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Thanks, Roy and Wilma!
I am of the mind to seek out the extremely local for food and whatnot. This can either be transcendent or a nightmare. Adds to the mystery of life.
posted by readery at 10:31 AM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
She was rushed to Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, Fla.
She survived. She recovered.
But for more than a year, the Yoders didn’t visit any Cracker Barrels.
They weren’t sure if they would ever again.
“She is here by a miracle,” daughter Doris Copenhaver says.
- Excerpt from Hemingway or the Highway
posted by hal9k at 10:38 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
She survived. She recovered.
But for more than a year, the Yoders didn’t visit any Cracker Barrels.
They weren’t sure if they would ever again.
“She is here by a miracle,” daughter Doris Copenhaver says.
- Excerpt from Hemingway or the Highway
posted by hal9k at 10:38 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Anyway, the real question here is if you were starving and they were the only two restaurants in town, would you rather eat at Cracker Barrel or Guy's American Kitchen & Bar?
(Apropos, there's a restaurant in Wrens, GA called Flav R Town USA. One of the reviews is "I could taste the chili dog on his balls 10/10 would ign again." I'm def dropping by next time I'm in Wrens.)
posted by octobersurprise at 10:41 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
(Apropos, there's a restaurant in Wrens, GA called Flav R Town USA. One of the reviews is "I could taste the chili dog on his balls 10/10 would ign again." I'm def dropping by next time I'm in Wrens.)
posted by octobersurprise at 10:41 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I have never once bean eating pancakes and thought, man, I wish I had some meatloaf to go with these.
That sounds like a failure of imagination to me.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:58 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
That sounds like a failure of imagination to me.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:58 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
future Cracker Barrels
Crackers Barrel
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 10:59 AM on August 29, 2017 [33 favorites]
Crackers Barrel
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 10:59 AM on August 29, 2017 [33 favorites]
All I could think about when reading the article was this timely T.Swift meme.
posted by romakimmy at 11:03 AM on August 29, 2017
posted by romakimmy at 11:03 AM on August 29, 2017
We ate Thanksgiving dinner in a Cracker Barrel after spending the day at Sea World in Orlando a few years ago.
Cracker Barrel, places open on T-Day, and Sea World. That's liable to get be banned from this place.
posted by COD at 11:13 AM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Cracker Barrel, places open on T-Day, and Sea World. That's liable to get be banned from this place.
posted by COD at 11:13 AM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Are we beanplating Cracker Barrel?
posted by etherist at 11:24 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by etherist at 11:24 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
My dad exclusively uses Cracker Barrel restrooms on road trips. Doesn't eat the food.
posted by grumpybear69 at 11:25 AM on August 29, 2017
posted by grumpybear69 at 11:25 AM on August 29, 2017
I have never once bean eating pancakes and thought, man, I wish I had some meatloaf to go with these.
You are quite obviously not on the planning committee for any State Fair, are you?
posted by Thorzdad at 11:33 AM on August 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
You are quite obviously not on the planning committee for any State Fair, are you?
posted by Thorzdad at 11:33 AM on August 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
I could see doing this with Waffle House. But you'd have a bit of a problem in the Waffle House heartland where you get up near one Waffle House per highway exit.
posted by madcaptenor at 11:35 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by madcaptenor at 11:35 AM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Awww, I think it's a fine goal to spur adventure & exploration. No better or worse than visiting every MLB ballpark or every state capital.
Indeed. A road-trip-enthusiast relative of mine spent one summer visiting all of the places in Ontario that had the names of national capital cities. I looked down the list she had compiled: London, ON; Paris, ON; Warsaw, ON; Delhi, ON (iffy); Copenhagen, ON; Kingston, ON... I actually laughed aloud when I got to Ottawa, ON. Yeah, I guess that is the name of a national capital.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:01 PM on August 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Indeed. A road-trip-enthusiast relative of mine spent one summer visiting all of the places in Ontario that had the names of national capital cities. I looked down the list she had compiled: London, ON; Paris, ON; Warsaw, ON; Delhi, ON (iffy); Copenhagen, ON; Kingston, ON... I actually laughed aloud when I got to Ottawa, ON. Yeah, I guess that is the name of a national capital.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:01 PM on August 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
I guess y'all only like noisy crowded urban places where the food's so spicy you snot all over your plate
posted by serena15221 at 12:01 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by serena15221 at 12:01 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I could see doing this with Waffle House. But you'd have a bit of a problem in the Waffle House heartland where you get up near one Waffle House per highway exit.
Years ago a group of my friends filmed a documentary of themselves visiting all 25+ Charlotte area WaHo's in one night. Unfortunately pre-YouTube, but IIRC none of them spent over $50 total.
Cracker Barrel is a bit like Paula Deen. Southern, problematic, terrible for your health, but they'll call you Sugar and fill you up and sometimes that's all people are looking for. Of course, my strong preference is for my family's own Southern, problematic, terrible for my health, cooking.
posted by matrixclown at 12:06 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Years ago a group of my friends filmed a documentary of themselves visiting all 25+ Charlotte area WaHo's in one night. Unfortunately pre-YouTube, but IIRC none of them spent over $50 total.
Cracker Barrel is a bit like Paula Deen. Southern, problematic, terrible for your health, but they'll call you Sugar and fill you up and sometimes that's all people are looking for. Of course, my strong preference is for my family's own Southern, problematic, terrible for my health, cooking.
posted by matrixclown at 12:06 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I used to honestly like Cracker Barrel. Not that I'd want to eat there all the time. But they were the last chain I ever went to that actually had real maple syrup. The saddest thing about all this to me is realizing that if that's any indication, the food quality substantially declined while they were in the middle of this whole thing. So there you are, and you've told everybody you intend to go to every Cracker Barrel, and you show up one day and you order the pancakes and you get your little bottle of... Pure Natural Pancake Syrup.
At least they finished now, while that Pure Natural Pancake Syrup is still 55% the real thing.
posted by Sequence at 12:12 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
At least they finished now, while that Pure Natural Pancake Syrup is still 55% the real thing.
posted by Sequence at 12:12 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
They ate their favorite meals — meatloaf and pancakes and grilled chicken sandwiches...
Okay, so they've hit all 645 current Cracker Barrels. Does that mean they call it quits now..?.
No. Now they try to remember what a bowel movement feels like.
posted by PlusDistance at 12:15 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Okay, so they've hit all 645 current Cracker Barrels. Does that mean they call it quits now..?.
No. Now they try to remember what a bowel movement feels like.
posted by PlusDistance at 12:15 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
But I would drive 5 million miles
And I would drive 5 million more
Just to be the man who drove 10 million miles
For meatloaf at your store
Ba pa da ba pa
posted by Jon Mitchell at 12:20 PM on August 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
And I would drive 5 million more
Just to be the man who drove 10 million miles
For meatloaf at your store
Ba pa da ba pa
posted by Jon Mitchell at 12:20 PM on August 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
Pure Natural Pancake Syrup.
Oh my god, yes, we had a little bottle of Cracker Barrel syrup in the fridge from the last time we went there (has to be close to ten years now, and we've moved twice since) and one day I picked it up and looked at the label and realized that it was adulterated. It's unconscionable.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:26 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oh my god, yes, we had a little bottle of Cracker Barrel syrup in the fridge from the last time we went there (has to be close to ten years now, and we've moved twice since) and one day I picked it up and looked at the label and realized that it was adulterated. It's unconscionable.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:26 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ugh. Cracker Barrel; the restaurant for people that think black pepper is an exotic spice.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 12:35 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 12:35 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
one Waffle House per highway exit
In GA, the interstate exit near my house featured not one, but two Waffle Houses within site of each other. I don't think that was particularly uncommon around Atlanta either.
posted by COD at 12:42 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
In GA, the interstate exit near my house featured not one, but two Waffle Houses within site of each other. I don't think that was particularly uncommon around Atlanta either.
posted by COD at 12:42 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've heard legends of a Denny's somewhere in the Inland Empire from which you can see 3 other Denny's.
posted by Copronymus at 12:47 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Copronymus at 12:47 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
No better or worse than visiting every MLB ballpark
I dunno. Is every Cracker Barrel an idiosyncratic landmark featuring an exhibition of 50 of the world's greatest athletes? Or the 50 greatest anything? They're all essentially identical. This isn't taking in the tremendous variety offered by something or going out of one's way to take in different flavors of excellence. It's making the avoidance of variety and excellence into a weird, obsessive quest.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:47 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I dunno. Is every Cracker Barrel an idiosyncratic landmark featuring an exhibition of 50 of the world's greatest athletes? Or the 50 greatest anything? They're all essentially identical. This isn't taking in the tremendous variety offered by something or going out of one's way to take in different flavors of excellence. It's making the avoidance of variety and excellence into a weird, obsessive quest.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:47 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
it's making the avoidance of variety and excellence into a weird, obsessive quest.
So they're kind of nerd folk heroes?
posted by octobersurprise at 12:51 PM on August 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
So they're kind of nerd folk heroes?
posted by octobersurprise at 12:51 PM on August 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Unfair, and yet perfectly fair.
posted by maxsparber at 12:54 PM on August 29, 2017
posted by maxsparber at 12:54 PM on August 29, 2017
one Waffle House per highway exit
In GA, the interstate exit near my house featured not one, but two Waffle Houses within site of each other. I don't think that was particularly uncommon around Atlanta either.
Twenty years ago, there were three "double Waffle" exits between Augusta and Atlanta, which is about a two-hour drive. We always figured it was to minimize trucks' left turns.
posted by Etrigan at 12:55 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
In GA, the interstate exit near my house featured not one, but two Waffle Houses within site of each other. I don't think that was particularly uncommon around Atlanta either.
Twenty years ago, there were three "double Waffle" exits between Augusta and Atlanta, which is about a two-hour drive. We always figured it was to minimize trucks' left turns.
posted by Etrigan at 12:55 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
If I had this kind of dough, I'd probably try "the best barbecue" in each of the 50 US states.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:56 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:56 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'm pretty sure my grandparents visited every Cracker Barrel without realizing they were setting some kind of record.
posted by Cookiebastard at 1:00 PM on August 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Cookiebastard at 1:00 PM on August 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
In my head, I'm imagining a list called "All of the Better Stuff These Old Farts Could Have Eaten within Fifteen Minutes' Drive of Each of Those Fucking Cracker Barrels."
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:03 PM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:03 PM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
If I had this kind of dough, I'd probably try "the best barbecue" in each of the 50 US states.
That would have increasingly diminishing returns the farther north you ventured, I suspect. (I say, as a Texan transplanted to Oregon, where the barbecue is... fine, I guess.)
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:03 PM on August 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
That would have increasingly diminishing returns the farther north you ventured, I suspect. (I say, as a Texan transplanted to Oregon, where the barbecue is... fine, I guess.)
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:03 PM on August 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Omaha and Minneapolis both have some tremendous barbecue.
All made by transplanted southerners, but still.
posted by maxsparber at 1:07 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
All made by transplanted southerners, but still.
posted by maxsparber at 1:07 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Every time I go to Cracker Barrel, I buy at least two packets of Mallo Cups (four cups total). I would have died well before I got to 600 stops/2400 pieces.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:08 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:08 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Is this the same company that sells mediocre cheese in Canadian grocery stores?
posted by 256 at 1:15 PM on August 29, 2017
posted by 256 at 1:15 PM on August 29, 2017
No, that's Kraft.
posted by Bee'sWing at 1:18 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Bee'sWing at 1:18 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
God Bless America is what I'm trying to say.
What you should have said is, "Well bless your heart, America."
Also, "You should probably get your heart checked. All those biscuits and gravy are going to kill you."
posted by mikeand1 at 1:23 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
What you should have said is, "Well bless your heart, America."
Also, "You should probably get your heart checked. All those biscuits and gravy are going to kill you."
posted by mikeand1 at 1:23 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Oh my god old people and their taste for mediocre restaurants are so insufferable!
posted by skewed at 1:33 PM on August 29, 2017
posted by skewed at 1:33 PM on August 29, 2017
Whenever my wife's folks come into town to visit, they like to take us out to a restaurant for one night. But it can't be a "fancy" place. It has to be mediocre. They have to be able to get something like spaghetti, or maybe a grilled chicken breast if we're feeling adventurous.
It's actually hard to find places like that in my neighborhood. Sure, you can get spaghetti or chicken breast, but it's going to be fancy, dammit.
posted by mikeand1 at 1:40 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
It's actually hard to find places like that in my neighborhood. Sure, you can get spaghetti or chicken breast, but it's going to be fancy, dammit.
posted by mikeand1 at 1:40 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I have never been to a Cracker Barrel, and I am old, but not as old as those folks,. Do they even have them in NJ? I have been to Applebees and Olive Garden and Charlie Browns on the insistence of a friend who likes those places. Is loving that kind of food a Midwestern thing?
Who would order meatloaf in any kind of restaurant? That's what you make at home as a mom when you are fairly poor, as well as tuna noodle casserole. We have always had great Italian restaurants here, and now we have every kind of Asian, Central and South American etc. And us old folks love it as much as the younger generation.
We lived in Utah for a year in the 70s and the only decent restaurant food was the Mexican Mission and a Greek Souvlaki stand.
posted by mermayd at 1:51 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Who would order meatloaf in any kind of restaurant? That's what you make at home as a mom when you are fairly poor, as well as tuna noodle casserole. We have always had great Italian restaurants here, and now we have every kind of Asian, Central and South American etc. And us old folks love it as much as the younger generation.
We lived in Utah for a year in the 70s and the only decent restaurant food was the Mexican Mission and a Greek Souvlaki stand.
posted by mermayd at 1:51 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
In GA, the interstate exit near my house featured not one, but two Waffle Houses within site of each other. I don't think that was particularly uncommon around Atlanta either.
Buford Highway and I-285 isn't far from me. (They're on opposite sides of the road.)
posted by madcaptenor at 1:52 PM on August 29, 2017
Buford Highway and I-285 isn't far from me. (They're on opposite sides of the road.)
posted by madcaptenor at 1:52 PM on August 29, 2017
I have never been to a Cracker Barrel, and I am old, but not as old as those folks,. Do they even have them in NJ?
There's one at Exit 1 of the New Jersey Turnpike. (Yes, the Turnpike has an exit 1.)
posted by madcaptenor at 1:53 PM on August 29, 2017
There's one at Exit 1 of the New Jersey Turnpike. (Yes, the Turnpike has an exit 1.)
posted by madcaptenor at 1:53 PM on August 29, 2017
Who would order meatloaf in any kind of restaurant?
Someone who'd do anything for loaf?
posted by octobersurprise at 1:55 PM on August 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Someone who'd do anything for loaf?
posted by octobersurprise at 1:55 PM on August 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
"I would do anything for love, but I won't do that!"
I live 30 miles out from NYC on Rt. 80, so not near the Turnpike. Also forgot if the numbers of exits start from the north or south.
posted by mermayd at 1:59 PM on August 29, 2017
I live 30 miles out from NYC on Rt. 80, so not near the Turnpike. Also forgot if the numbers of exits start from the north or south.
posted by mermayd at 1:59 PM on August 29, 2017
Hey, has anyone dropped in this thread yet to smugly say that the food at [restaurant chain with regressive social stance] isn't even that good, and also that they've never eaten there?
posted by smokysunday at 2:05 PM on August 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by smokysunday at 2:05 PM on August 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
meatloaf is good you freaks
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:06 PM on August 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:06 PM on August 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
Hell yes meatloaf is great. That linked recipe takes 2 hours and ~2 dozen ingredients to make. Getting meatloaf of that quality in a restaurant is definitely a great trade off of money vs. effort.
posted by mmascolino at 2:13 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by mmascolino at 2:13 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I love the loaf, man. I've even ordered it in restaurants, tho never at Cracker Barrel.
("It looks like your mother let her meat loaf" was my dad's favorite dad joke.)
posted by octobersurprise at 2:35 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
("It looks like your mother let her meat loaf" was my dad's favorite dad joke.)
posted by octobersurprise at 2:35 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
People are weird.
posted by OHenryPacey at 3:14 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by OHenryPacey at 3:14 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Bah, what a farce. It would only be an achievement if they weren't white. They literally did this on easy mode.
posted by Anoplura at 3:30 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Anoplura at 3:30 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I underwent the Cracker Barrel experience a few times in the 80's, because whenever my grandparents visited they insisted on dragging the whole family there as a "treat". I found the food innocuous at best, and there's no denying the decor is aggressively cornified. But the hard cold fact is that, as with most chain restaurants, it's a successful chain because a large number of people actually like the food and enjoy going there, oblivious to the more "evolved" standards of good cuisine we're always going on about here. De gustibus yadda yadda yadda...
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:33 PM on August 29, 2017
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:33 PM on August 29, 2017
> Hey, has anyone dropped in this thread yet to smugly say that the food at [restaurant chain with regressive social stance] isn't even that good, and also that they've never eaten there?
I've only eaten at Cracker Barrel twice that I can recall. Once was some long time ago before I knew about their politics, and the other at a moment of desperation somewhere in West Virginia when it was late, we needed a break and food and there were no other options in sight. Both times, the food was actually pretty okay, within the constraints of their genre of cuisine. I mean, it's basically southern-style diner fare in a gussied up down-home stripmall establishment, but even at that the trappings are tolerable compared to, say, mid-90s Bennigans or Ruby Tuesdays decor.
If there's a repeatedly problematic thing with southern food chains, it's that the food tends to be better than typical chain food and the politics are an unavoidable accompaniment. But it doesn't take much digging to find something odd regarding politics, society or religion with fast-food chains based elsewhere, too; In-n-Out Burger puts scripture on their fast food packages, Carl's Jr.'s founder was a prolific supporter of anti-abortion and anti-LGBT causes, Domino's founder's links to numerous right-wing Catholic organizations, and so on. If you're going to eat fast food by strict ethical guidelines, your options are pretty slim once you hit the highway.
posted by ardgedee at 3:34 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've only eaten at Cracker Barrel twice that I can recall. Once was some long time ago before I knew about their politics, and the other at a moment of desperation somewhere in West Virginia when it was late, we needed a break and food and there were no other options in sight. Both times, the food was actually pretty okay, within the constraints of their genre of cuisine. I mean, it's basically southern-style diner fare in a gussied up down-home stripmall establishment, but even at that the trappings are tolerable compared to, say, mid-90s Bennigans or Ruby Tuesdays decor.
If there's a repeatedly problematic thing with southern food chains, it's that the food tends to be better than typical chain food and the politics are an unavoidable accompaniment. But it doesn't take much digging to find something odd regarding politics, society or religion with fast-food chains based elsewhere, too; In-n-Out Burger puts scripture on their fast food packages, Carl's Jr.'s founder was a prolific supporter of anti-abortion and anti-LGBT causes, Domino's founder's links to numerous right-wing Catholic organizations, and so on. If you're going to eat fast food by strict ethical guidelines, your options are pretty slim once you hit the highway.
posted by ardgedee at 3:34 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
And hey don't diss the meatloaf. There are a hell of a lot of ground meat dishes all around the world that are basically meatloaf, it's just that instead of using meatloaf seasonings that are down-homey by *your* standards, they're seasonings that are down-homey by somebody else's standards. Kofta, anyone?
posted by ardgedee at 3:39 PM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by ardgedee at 3:39 PM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I didn't even know you could get food at Crate and Barrel.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:55 PM on August 29, 2017
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:55 PM on August 29, 2017
Sure you can, if you're a termite!
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:00 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:00 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
On the Internet, nobody knows you're a termite.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:01 PM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:01 PM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
You guys are crazy. Cracker Barrel is awesome as a comforting stop on a long-ass trip. Their mains are not too greasy and the veggie sides are yummy if you like Southern style stuff. The ones here in NC are always crowded on weekends with old people looking for a good , filling and familiar meal. The service is great too.
Also this is nothing, I know a guy IRL who is trying to go to all the STARBUCKS. I wish I was kidding. As of 2011 I think he had been to like 11,000.
posted by freecellwizard at 4:05 PM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Also this is nothing, I know a guy IRL who is trying to go to all the STARBUCKS. I wish I was kidding. As of 2011 I think he had been to like 11,000.
posted by freecellwizard at 4:05 PM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
On the Internet, nobody knows you're a termite.
Sometimes there are clues, though.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:05 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Sometimes there are clues, though.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:05 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Sorry , only 10,000. ...
posted by freecellwizard at 4:06 PM on August 29, 2017
posted by freecellwizard at 4:06 PM on August 29, 2017
And that was just on one city block.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:10 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:10 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Crackers Barrel.
posted by MOWOG at 4:15 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by MOWOG at 4:15 PM on August 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I wouldn't seek one out, but every Cracker Barrel I've dined in was more appetizing than any of the Applebees or Ruby Tuesdays I've had the misfortune to patronize.
It's a true fact that chains like Cracker Barrel and Waffle House tend to have better consistency and quality control, precisely because they have reduced their sourcing and preparation methods to a machinelike consistency. (I'm a Waffle House guy myself, although I'd go any place that also serves alcohol instead if there was such an alternative. Often there isn't.)
Chains like Applebee's and RT (and Chili's, etc.) tend to be more uneven both because it takes a bit more skill to properly prepare their fare and there is less consistency between franchises. A couple of menu changes ago Applebees introduced freshly fried potato chips that were to die for, if done right -- which they rarely were at my local Applebees. One time I had to send them back four times before the manager finally personally prepared them for me. ("Which part of 'crisp' isn't getting through?") The local place also stopped selling the 22 oz beer, which was only 25 cents more than the 16 oz beer. I was like, do you think I'm an idiot? I travel. I know other Applebees still sell the Brewtus. I eventually stopped going to that place, though I still visit Applebees in other towns I regularly visit. (Highly rec the ones in McComb and Meridian, MS in particular.)
You simply do not have problems like that with Cracker Barrel or Waffle House. But then, you can't have a beer with your meal, either :-(
posted by Bringer Tom at 4:39 PM on August 29, 2017
It's a true fact that chains like Cracker Barrel and Waffle House tend to have better consistency and quality control, precisely because they have reduced their sourcing and preparation methods to a machinelike consistency. (I'm a Waffle House guy myself, although I'd go any place that also serves alcohol instead if there was such an alternative. Often there isn't.)
Chains like Applebee's and RT (and Chili's, etc.) tend to be more uneven both because it takes a bit more skill to properly prepare their fare and there is less consistency between franchises. A couple of menu changes ago Applebees introduced freshly fried potato chips that were to die for, if done right -- which they rarely were at my local Applebees. One time I had to send them back four times before the manager finally personally prepared them for me. ("Which part of 'crisp' isn't getting through?") The local place also stopped selling the 22 oz beer, which was only 25 cents more than the 16 oz beer. I was like, do you think I'm an idiot? I travel. I know other Applebees still sell the Brewtus. I eventually stopped going to that place, though I still visit Applebees in other towns I regularly visit. (Highly rec the ones in McComb and Meridian, MS in particular.)
You simply do not have problems like that with Cracker Barrel or Waffle House. But then, you can't have a beer with your meal, either :-(
posted by Bringer Tom at 4:39 PM on August 29, 2017
I'm with Bob Regular. I've been once, and that's enough.
I found it to be superior to, for instance, all the restaurants at South of the Border. (speaking of low bars)
I have no problem with someone [else] visiting all of them.
Why? - Because they're there.
TFA unclear to me- it sounds like he's been to >600, but has he been to all of them?
posted by MtDewd at 4:59 PM on August 29, 2017
I found it to be superior to, for instance, all the restaurants at South of the Border. (speaking of low bars)
I have no problem with someone [else] visiting all of them.
Why? - Because they're there.
TFA unclear to me- it sounds like he's been to >600, but has he been to all of them?
posted by MtDewd at 4:59 PM on August 29, 2017
Ugh. Cracker Barrel; the restaurant for people that think black pepper is an exotic spice.
I've never eaten at Cracker Barrel, and harbor no great desire to do so, but I do find it sort of unnecessary to make people's food preferences (or spice tolerance!) into some kind of a proxy for moral virtue.
On topic, the couple in question definitely doesn't seem to be lacking for a certain kind of adventurous spirit.
posted by eponym at 5:26 PM on August 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
I've never eaten at Cracker Barrel, and harbor no great desire to do so, but I do find it sort of unnecessary to make people's food preferences (or spice tolerance!) into some kind of a proxy for moral virtue.
On topic, the couple in question definitely doesn't seem to be lacking for a certain kind of adventurous spirit.
posted by eponym at 5:26 PM on August 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Nice quest you've got there. Be a shame if somebody...opened a new Cracker Barrel.
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:35 PM on August 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:35 PM on August 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Be a shame if somebody...opened a new Cracker Barrel.
Oh no, now that you've killed all the asteroids you play saucer strategy and rack up the points as they come out and you mop them up.
posted by Bringer Tom at 5:56 PM on August 29, 2017
Oh no, now that you've killed all the asteroids you play saucer strategy and rack up the points as they come out and you mop them up.
posted by Bringer Tom at 5:56 PM on August 29, 2017
Man, every thing I've ever had at Cracker Barrel seems so heavy
I'm awesome at that peg game, though
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:23 PM on August 29, 2017
I'm awesome at that peg game, though
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:23 PM on August 29, 2017
The first time I went to a Cracker Barrel was at a family gathering. One of my brothers was a corporate VP of something or other for them so the meal was comp. I love my brother, but know his taste in food, bosses, and politics were a bit suspect. I hated the kitchy sell the rubes any damned thing feel of the place, but didn't hate the food. Honestly the food is unmemorable. Trust me when I tell you that is not necessarily a bad thing.
The second time was because my friend Alex had a fond memory and wanted to go. The result was to drive from one of the far southern suburbs of Denver to one of the far northern ones, only for her to discover it was better in memory.
Also, Crackers Barrel, hilarious.
posted by evilDoug at 9:28 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
one Waffle House per highway exit
In GA, the interstate exit near my house featured not one, but two Waffle Houses within site of each other. I don't think that was particularly uncommon around Atlanta either.
Twenty years ago, there were three "double Waffle" exits between Augusta and Atlanta, which is about a two-hour drive. We always figured it was to minimize trucks' left turns.
At one point there were McDonald's configured the same way at I-20 in Augusta. There are at least 3 exits with 2 Waffle Houses at them within a 30 minute drive from me. For some reason, they have also been opening a lot of new WHs in suburban areas here, including ones right around the corner from the neighborhood I grew up in and another one near my daughter's school. I guess Waffle House is the southeastern counterpart to Starbucks. I think it is also worth noting that WH is not free from claims of discrimination itself.
Back in the olden days of the 1980s, when I was in college in Texas and spent a lot of time driving between Austin and Houston, Waco, DFW, and Kress to visit various relatives I noticed that a lot of small TX towns have a Dairy Queen on each side of town, always on the right side of the road as you drive into town.
there's a restaurant in Wrens, GA called Flav R Town USA
!? Thats right by me, although I rarely have a reason to drive in that direction.
I'm def dropping by next time I'm in Wrens. I'm a little surprised that any mefites have a connection to Wrens, but let me know when you are headed that way and maybe we could have a minimeetup.
posted by TedW at 9:29 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
In GA, the interstate exit near my house featured not one, but two Waffle Houses within site of each other. I don't think that was particularly uncommon around Atlanta either.
Twenty years ago, there were three "double Waffle" exits between Augusta and Atlanta, which is about a two-hour drive. We always figured it was to minimize trucks' left turns.
At one point there were McDonald's configured the same way at I-20 in Augusta. There are at least 3 exits with 2 Waffle Houses at them within a 30 minute drive from me. For some reason, they have also been opening a lot of new WHs in suburban areas here, including ones right around the corner from the neighborhood I grew up in and another one near my daughter's school. I guess Waffle House is the southeastern counterpart to Starbucks. I think it is also worth noting that WH is not free from claims of discrimination itself.
Back in the olden days of the 1980s, when I was in college in Texas and spent a lot of time driving between Austin and Houston, Waco, DFW, and Kress to visit various relatives I noticed that a lot of small TX towns have a Dairy Queen on each side of town, always on the right side of the road as you drive into town.
there's a restaurant in Wrens, GA called Flav R Town USA
!? Thats right by me, although I rarely have a reason to drive in that direction.
I'm def dropping by next time I'm in Wrens. I'm a little surprised that any mefites have a connection to Wrens, but let me know when you are headed that way and maybe we could have a minimeetup.
posted by TedW at 9:29 PM on August 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ray's hometown of Goshen is a manufacturing center for recreational vehicles and accessories. His job was to drive RVs across the country, delivering them to dealerships or buyers.
This is the real reason they're Cracker Barrels rather than small unique local ethnic hole-in-the-walls located in the quaint centers of villages. Just try to pilot a 40 ft. long, 12 ft. wide, 8 ft. high Winnebago, and you'll understand why this guy prefers eateries located at Interstate exits.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 9:36 PM on August 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
This is the real reason they're Cracker Barrels rather than small unique local ethnic hole-in-the-walls located in the quaint centers of villages. Just try to pilot a 40 ft. long, 12 ft. wide, 8 ft. high Winnebago, and you'll understand why this guy prefers eateries located at Interstate exits.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 9:36 PM on August 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
The independently-owned family restaurant where I cooked when I was a student served meatloaf every Monday night. I got pretty good at it, if I do say so myself, and it was one of the more popular weekly specials.
On the other hand. I used to hang out on Disney trip planning forums quite a bit, and I remember there was a big fuss when the Be Our Guest restaurant first opened. It seemed like every other post on certain sites and threads was about how they didn't serve “kid-friendly food.” All kinds of mothers were saying that their kids wouldn't eat anything as “exotic” and “adventurous” as Mickey Mouse-shaped meatloaf. So maybe restaurant meatloaf is now strictly old people food, like tomato aspic or Jell-O salad with mayonnaise.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:48 PM on August 29, 2017
On the other hand. I used to hang out on Disney trip planning forums quite a bit, and I remember there was a big fuss when the Be Our Guest restaurant first opened. It seemed like every other post on certain sites and threads was about how they didn't serve “kid-friendly food.” All kinds of mothers were saying that their kids wouldn't eat anything as “exotic” and “adventurous” as Mickey Mouse-shaped meatloaf. So maybe restaurant meatloaf is now strictly old people food, like tomato aspic or Jell-O salad with mayonnaise.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:48 PM on August 29, 2017
When I travel, I try to find the thing that is unique about where I am going to, the thing that is most distinct and local and unlike anything you find elsewhere. Because otherwise why travel?
The response to this is that universality also has its own virtues. Whenever I travel, yes, I like to eat at mostly local restaurants, because that's the local culture and of course I want to experience that. But I also always make a point of eating at a McDonald's. I eat at a McDonald's because it's nice to see people everywhere enjoy McDonald's with that same look people have everywhere, that "okay, yes, I like this, but I know I probably shouldn't like it" expression that is the McDonald's Face. Because we're all humans, and it's nice to be remembered of that.
posted by mightygodking at 9:51 PM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
The response to this is that universality also has its own virtues. Whenever I travel, yes, I like to eat at mostly local restaurants, because that's the local culture and of course I want to experience that. But I also always make a point of eating at a McDonald's. I eat at a McDonald's because it's nice to see people everywhere enjoy McDonald's with that same look people have everywhere, that "okay, yes, I like this, but I know I probably shouldn't like it" expression that is the McDonald's Face. Because we're all humans, and it's nice to be remembered of that.
posted by mightygodking at 9:51 PM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I think one thing to consider here is that for Ray it wasn't so much travel like one might think of when taking a vacation, but a job on the road where routine can feel like a comfort and give a sense of familiarity and "home" even if one is far from one's actual residence. I personally really like having a set routine for many things.
When I was younger I used to meet up with friends at a Perkins restaurant and hang out until 4am at least four or five nights a week. Now days I go to the same Teriyaki restaurant every week like clockwork as a habit I slowly picked up ten years ago when I first moved to this town. I still go other places too both new and old, and when I get a rare vacation I too seek out interesting local places that are different than what I have at home, but I've also spent time travelling that wasn't for pleasure where visiting a Perkins restaurant seemed like a relief and memory of home.
Adventure and the new have their place, but a sense of familiarity can sometimes be what you really need.
posted by gusottertrout at 11:34 PM on August 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
When I was younger I used to meet up with friends at a Perkins restaurant and hang out until 4am at least four or five nights a week. Now days I go to the same Teriyaki restaurant every week like clockwork as a habit I slowly picked up ten years ago when I first moved to this town. I still go other places too both new and old, and when I get a rare vacation I too seek out interesting local places that are different than what I have at home, but I've also spent time travelling that wasn't for pleasure where visiting a Perkins restaurant seemed like a relief and memory of home.
Adventure and the new have their place, but a sense of familiarity can sometimes be what you really need.
posted by gusottertrout at 11:34 PM on August 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
The result was to drive from one of the far southern suburbs of Denver to one of the far northern ones
LocalNostalgiaFilter: Was that the the Cracker Barrel off of I-25 and (I think) 120th Avenue? If it was, I worked just down the road from there in the late 90s.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:04 AM on August 30, 2017
LocalNostalgiaFilter: Was that the the Cracker Barrel off of I-25 and (I think) 120th Avenue? If it was, I worked just down the road from there in the late 90s.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:04 AM on August 30, 2017
I used to really like Cracker Barrel, and if it weren't for the company's discriminatory awfulness I would happily go there again. It's a road-trip restaurant; you don't go to Cracker Barrel when you have even a passing familiarity with local restaurants, but if you've been on the highway all day and want to eat somewhere sit-downy and a little more cozy and squishy-chaired than a diner, Cracker Barrel is a reliable and fairly ubiquitous place. The only Cracker Barrel foods I remember really liking were their dumplings and hash brown casserole (both salty wads of simple carbs), but nothing was ever bad. And they all have the big store in the front, which is good if you have extra cash and want to get some (overpriced) novelty candy for the road or a puzzle book for the next hotel, or if you're too cool and urbane for Cracker Barrel there's stuff like John Deere Christmas ornaments to gawk at. Cracker Barrel is tailored for white suburbanites on road trips, and it does that really well.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:33 AM on August 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:33 AM on August 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Oh, man, now I've got a dumplings craving three inches thick.
But what's the length? Nobody is going to settle for mere girth. Sorry.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 4:43 AM on August 30, 2017
But what's the length? Nobody is going to settle for mere girth. Sorry.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 4:43 AM on August 30, 2017
Growing up my extended family took a yearly vacation to Myrtle Beach. That meant a caravan of 3 or 4 cars traveling from Eastern Ohio/Northern WV down to South Carolina. Cracker Barrel was often a stop on these trips because they could accommodate such a large group. Not only accommodate, but between the checkers and rocking chairs on the porch and the general store there was things to do while you waiting. That was important for people traveling with a bunch of kids.
I've been back a few times since being an adult and found the food solidly in the unremarkable range although the coffee was awful.
posted by mmascolino at 5:15 AM on August 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've been back a few times since being an adult and found the food solidly in the unremarkable range although the coffee was awful.
posted by mmascolino at 5:15 AM on August 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I was visiting some older relatives in Denver a few years ago and they were fairly excited that there was a brand new Cracker Barrel near them. They asked me if I'd ever heard of it and my reply was something like "Yeah, there's one at every exit between my house and Virginia."
posted by lordrunningclam at 5:23 AM on August 30, 2017
posted by lordrunningclam at 5:23 AM on August 30, 2017
All kinds of mothers were saying that their kids wouldn't eat anything as “exotic” and “adventurous” as Mickey Mouse-shaped meatloaf. So maybe restaurant meatloaf is now strictly old people food, like tomato aspic or Jell-O salad with mayonnaise.
That is batshit. I mean, my kid probably wouldn't eat it, but that's because she won't eat anything when we eat out, not because it's meatloaf. What kid won't eat meatloaf?
Also I have eaten restaurant meatloaf in the last six months. Does that make me Old? Don't answer that.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:53 AM on August 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
That is batshit. I mean, my kid probably wouldn't eat it, but that's because she won't eat anything when we eat out, not because it's meatloaf. What kid won't eat meatloaf?
Also I have eaten restaurant meatloaf in the last six months. Does that make me Old? Don't answer that.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:53 AM on August 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
What kid won't eat meatloaf?
I hated meatloaf as a kid. I like it now though, and this reminds me that I haven't made Alton Brown's meatloaf recipe in a while. I should put that on the menu for next week.
We eat at Cracker Barrel a couple of times a year, always at my wife's insistence. She is from the South and now that I think about it, the food there reminds me of eating with her family went I went home with her on the weekends in college. High carb - heavily breaded, not aggressively spiced southern food was her mother's cooking. That is probably the attraction for her. I don't hate eating there, but I would never choose it on my own.
posted by COD at 6:25 AM on August 30, 2017
I hated meatloaf as a kid. I like it now though, and this reminds me that I haven't made Alton Brown's meatloaf recipe in a while. I should put that on the menu for next week.
We eat at Cracker Barrel a couple of times a year, always at my wife's insistence. She is from the South and now that I think about it, the food there reminds me of eating with her family went I went home with her on the weekends in college. High carb - heavily breaded, not aggressively spiced southern food was her mother's cooking. That is probably the attraction for her. I don't hate eating there, but I would never choose it on my own.
posted by COD at 6:25 AM on August 30, 2017
but if you've been on the highway all day and want to eat somewhere sit-downy and a little more cozy and squishy-chaired than a diner, Cracker Barrel is a reliable and fairly ubiquitous place.
That's exactly when I've eaten at Cracker Barrel. If you are slightly careful about what you order, you can actually get non-deep-fried food and plenty of vegetables, which is impossible at the majority of highway exit fast food places. The food is mostly mushy and bland (it is very clear what their target demographic is) but not disgusting, either, and there are ok options.
But I have in-laws living in a small town where Cracker Barrel is one of the better restaurants, and it has a long line every day at dinner time, mostly locals. So I try to keep in mind that like other casual chains (eg, Olive Garden), for a lot of people, it is a treat and chance to have a nice dinner out, not a tacky symbol of mass consumption where you occasionally eat at in an ironic fashion.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:26 AM on August 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
That's exactly when I've eaten at Cracker Barrel. If you are slightly careful about what you order, you can actually get non-deep-fried food and plenty of vegetables, which is impossible at the majority of highway exit fast food places. The food is mostly mushy and bland (it is very clear what their target demographic is) but not disgusting, either, and there are ok options.
But I have in-laws living in a small town where Cracker Barrel is one of the better restaurants, and it has a long line every day at dinner time, mostly locals. So I try to keep in mind that like other casual chains (eg, Olive Garden), for a lot of people, it is a treat and chance to have a nice dinner out, not a tacky symbol of mass consumption where you occasionally eat at in an ironic fashion.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:26 AM on August 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
> What kid won't eat meatloaf
Me, as a kid. Both my kids, currently. But I am skeptical that anyone is really calling Disneyland meatloaf “exotic” and “adventurous."
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:30 AM on August 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Me, as a kid. Both my kids, currently. But I am skeptical that anyone is really calling Disneyland meatloaf “exotic” and “adventurous."
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:30 AM on August 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Over here, we roughly follow this recipe for meatloaf, only we form it into a giant toroid to increase the surface area for the delicious crispy crust. ground beef, bison, and pork sausage. lots of vegetables. cook on a broiler pan so the grease can drip out instead of making it a soggy ball of sadness.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 7:14 AM on August 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 7:14 AM on August 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
A friend of a friend of a friend got beat up at a Cracker Barrel in Wisconsin by Insane Clown Posse. I believe assault changes were filed. And now I read that Jugaloos are protesting Nazis and I don't known what to feel anymore.
Cracker Barrel contains multitudes.
posted by misterpatrick at 7:29 AM on August 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Cracker Barrel contains multitudes.
posted by misterpatrick at 7:29 AM on August 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm wearing about 20 pounds' worth of Waffle House right now.
(sigh)
I didn't eat so good in college.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:48 AM on August 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
(sigh)
I didn't eat so good in college.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:48 AM on August 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
LocalNostalgiaFilter: Was that the the Cracker Barrel off of I-25 and (I think) 120th Avenue? If it was, I worked just down the road from there in the late 90s.
I don't know if it's the one evilDoug went to, but I can vouch it is still there on 120th -- I took my parents there a couple months ago. (From my brother's house a few blocks away near Federal & 120th, not from down in Parker or somewhere.)
posted by rewil at 8:50 AM on August 30, 2017
I don't know if it's the one evilDoug went to, but I can vouch it is still there on 120th -- I took my parents there a couple months ago. (From my brother's house a few blocks away near Federal & 120th, not from down in Parker or somewhere.)
posted by rewil at 8:50 AM on August 30, 2017
Is it Cracker Barrels, or Crackers Barrel?
posted by sotonohito at 10:06 AM on August 30, 2017
posted by sotonohito at 10:06 AM on August 30, 2017
As for the food, like all big chain restaurant food it has that inevitable mediocrity that comes from either trucked in frozen from a central factory or assembled on site from a LEGO like kit.
It isn't bad. It isn't good. It is, however, always exactly and perfectly identical. You can't get good food to be perfectly identical every time at all locations across the country. It just won't work. But you can get mediocre food to do that.
A great many people will tend to prefer a mediocre known food to taking a risk on an unknown place, so the various Mediocre Meals outlets are going to be with us forever.
My kid occasionally begs us to eat at a Cracker Barrel, we went there once with his grandmother (who is very definitely a person who prefers Mediocre Meals to the risk of anything new) so I think he has a good memory associated with the place. We'll occasionally give in.
As for the couple, I figure some people juggle geese. Little geese. Goslings. It isn't my thing but it makes them happy and it doesn't hurt anyone.
posted by sotonohito at 10:12 AM on August 30, 2017
It isn't bad. It isn't good. It is, however, always exactly and perfectly identical. You can't get good food to be perfectly identical every time at all locations across the country. It just won't work. But you can get mediocre food to do that.
A great many people will tend to prefer a mediocre known food to taking a risk on an unknown place, so the various Mediocre Meals outlets are going to be with us forever.
My kid occasionally begs us to eat at a Cracker Barrel, we went there once with his grandmother (who is very definitely a person who prefers Mediocre Meals to the risk of anything new) so I think he has a good memory associated with the place. We'll occasionally give in.
As for the couple, I figure some people juggle geese. Little geese. Goslings. It isn't my thing but it makes them happy and it doesn't hurt anyone.
posted by sotonohito at 10:12 AM on August 30, 2017
So I'd been living in this Tuscan town with a few other couples for a month, middle-of-nowhere kind of. The place has two restaurants and the one down the street is run by a charming couple and man, they make everything great. Flavored sugarcubes, homemade compote, run out of there with a freshly decanted bottle of vino out the back. Good times. Osterias are awesome.
Its our last time there and we ask about the special and the owner is talking about it being minced meat and spices and baked in the oven from which we've had so many good things. We're expecting I dunno what. Some kind of toscano amazing for the way out.
Friends, you may have guessed. It was meatloaf. Of all the things I expected, meatloaf was not amongst them.
I guess this is a long way of saying that yeah, it was meatloaf put together with genius in a 400-year-old kitchen in God's own country but at the end of the day meatloaf is still gonna be meatloaf. Its gonna taste like love...and meatloaf.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 1:42 PM on August 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Its our last time there and we ask about the special and the owner is talking about it being minced meat and spices and baked in the oven from which we've had so many good things. We're expecting I dunno what. Some kind of toscano amazing for the way out.
Friends, you may have guessed. It was meatloaf. Of all the things I expected, meatloaf was not amongst them.
I guess this is a long way of saying that yeah, it was meatloaf put together with genius in a 400-year-old kitchen in God's own country but at the end of the day meatloaf is still gonna be meatloaf. Its gonna taste like love...and meatloaf.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 1:42 PM on August 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I often order meatloaf when I stop at local non-chain diners, which is what these people should have been doing. I've had bad meatloaf, sure, but also really good meatloaf. And I appreciate the mefites posting meatloaf recipes. I currently love making this.
posted by acrasis at 3:01 PM on August 30, 2017
posted by acrasis at 3:01 PM on August 30, 2017
Does Barrel modify Cracker? Crackers Barrel.
Does Cracker modify Barrel? Cracker Barrels.
posted by Night_owl at 4:33 PM on August 30, 2017
Does Cracker modify Barrel? Cracker Barrels.
posted by Night_owl at 4:33 PM on August 30, 2017
Every time I go to Cracker Barrel, I buy at least two packets of Mallo Cups (four cups total). I would have died well before I got to 600 stops/2400 pieces.
Are you perchance from Central PA?
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 6:55 PM on August 30, 2017
Are you perchance from Central PA?
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 6:55 PM on August 30, 2017
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posted by agregoli at 8:05 AM on August 29, 2017 [16 favorites]