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Pinellas to go: Good down-home cookin' at Cracker Barrel
By J. NEALY-BROWN
© St. Petersburg Times, I never thought that Cracker Barrel would become a neighborhood restaurant. To me, they are as synonymous with road trips as highway rest areas. But last month, the country-store-themed restaurant opened at Interstate 275 and 54th Avenue N in St. Petersburg, and billboards along the highway reminded me I don't have to go out of town to stop by. So for lunch, a co-worker, Rossie, and I went to Cracker Barrel, which my grandmother affectionately calls "the place with the rocking chairs." The country-themed restaurant's menu is loaded with terms like "homemade" and "fixin's" to make you feel at home. The dessert menu includes a cobbler to take you back to the good ol' days. The breakfast menu has traditional items plus country ham, fried catfish, smoked sausage and grilled pork chops. The parking lot was packed, which made us nervous about getting our food quickly. The rows of rocking chairs were also full. We placed our order and expected to wait longer than the 10 or 15 minutes we were quoted. Wandering around the retail part of the restaurant, we sniffed candles and lotion, looked at old-fashioned candy and stumbled upon a chess set. I didn't (and probably still don't) know how to play, but Rossie offered to show me. Needless to say, he won. But it was an excellent pastime. Before I realized it, almost 20 minutes had passed and we hadn't heard our name called. So I decided to check. Our food was ready. One of the things that makes take-out service at Cracker Barrel foolproof is that the cashier double-checks your order before ringing it up. At our visit, she even accounted for the container of ranch dressing. From previous experience, I knew that Cracker Barrel's fried chicken tenderloin salads ($6.79) were good. But impressively, the chicken tenderloins were already cut into pieces. This meant less work for me. The hard-boiled egg was the only thing I had to chop. The tomato wedges only required a few cuts. When I was looking at the menu, I was torn between the salad and chicken 'n dumplin's. So I satisfied both cravings by getting a side order of dumplin's. I dipped a few of the chicken pieces into the gravy and made my own combo. Everything was right about the fried catfish dinner ($8.99), according to Rossie. The catfish was the perfect blend of crunchy outside and tender flaky inside. It's odd how we like fish to not taste fishy and mark it as an accomplishment. But that's how Rossie described it. He also noted that the presentation was superb for a to-go order. Along with the catfish, he got three side orders: turnip greens, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. Cracker Barrel serves almost two dozen side dishes, including fried apples, fried okra, hash brown casserole, whole sweet baby carrots and green beans. The turnip greens, which Rossie admits he really doesn't like, were delicious and full of meat. The pot liquor was even good. He scored those greens higher than those from a local soul food joint. The mashed potatoes, Rossie made sure to point out, were not made from a box of flakes. "I taste real potato lumps in them, and it's good," he said. The country gravy on top added a nice kick, too. The macaroni and cheese was full of rich, thick cheese and had a nice brown crust on top. That's clear evidence that it was baked in an oven and not in a pot. One of the pitfalls of this side dish can be oil from the cheese. Not the case here. The biscuits that came with the meal were fluffy and buttery, not greasy. By the time Rossie finished, he said, "I don't remember this place being this good." His meal was enough to refresh his memory. Cracker Barrel
2151 54th Ave. N Phone: (727) 526-0031 Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday Consumers: Two adults What we got: Fried chicken tenderloin salad, catfish dinner, "dumplin's" What it cost: $16.89 Time it took: 15 minutes Pay with: Cash, checks, credit cards Web: www.crackerbarrel.com
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
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From the Times Taste section From the features wire |
