This is what I came here to say. There are two camps in the grits department sometimes 3. There is the one side that is savory grits with salt and pepper and maybe hot sauce and some butter anddd maybe cheese. Then there is the butter and sugar, brown sugar, honey or syrup department for sweet. Then there are weirdos that go either way depending. That would be me ;-).
I love looking through the comments over the course of time. Do you realize how much we love having your family here in the United States? We've officially adopted y'all and no matter where you go in the world, you'll always be a part of us.
Chicken Fried Steak originated when the Germans and Czechs immigrated to the US, many from the Gulf up through Central Texas, and brought schnitzel to a place where beef was far more availible than pork. So, CFS is Texas-German schnitzel. Okra comes originally from Africa and became common in the south through the slave trade. The slimy texture serves as a thickening agent in many southern, Cajun and Creole soups and stews, Gumbo for example. In my opinion, if fried okra is still slimy, it wasn't fried enough and would be considered soggy. It is meant to be crispy and salty.
Y’all actually have to put things in the grits. Salt butter pepper cheese…butter and sugar…some ppl eat shrimp and grits…not just plain lol. Keep up the work enjoying the vids.
I find grits taste a little better if they're a little thicker too, just enough to not be soupy, most places make em too wet and it just feels like baby food
It's funny that it's a common mistake across cultures. The Chinese eat congee/juk (rice) for breakfast which is plain by itself, but is eaten with other things. Oatmeal is topped with things. Around the Caribbean mashed plantains fill the same function. Etc. But toss those same people a new cuisine and they are lost with the new starch.
I worked at cracker barrel for quite a while. All of them are setup this way…, it’s to give people something to do while they wait to be seated. It’s all about country style and cooking… unique gifts and comfort! My favorite place I’ve ever worked!
It's passable fried. At the end of the say it's a weird veg with a gooey center that doesn't un-goo after cooking. Deep fry something else and it will be better.
Atlanta gets a 9.98 on her commentary. The day will come when she will be a chef on an international cooking show. And when she isn't doing that, she will be a world restaurant reviewer. She is well spoken and knowledgeable. I enjoy the entire family and your adventures. Sam, in that you are fond of spicy food, I cant wait until you come to New Mexico. New Mexican food is very different than Mexican food. Hatch Green Chili is the basis of of every dish. When you order food be sure to ask for Christmas (a mixture of red and green chili). If you are really into spice ask for hot. Nadine, you add the enthusiasm to each video. Denzel adds humor. Overall, a great mix.
Yes, that is a normal Cracker Barrel. Where when you first walk in you’re in an old time store. The candies are usually old as well. I don’t mean they are expired. I mean, they are candies that your grandfather probably ate when he was a kid. It’s candies you can’t usually find anywhere else because they Are no longer as popular as the new candies. And there’s usually rocking chairs on the front porch. And in northern states there’s usually a big fireplace and the fire will be going in the winter time. I love Cracker Barrel.
They have the big fireplaces even in Texas and light them up on cold winter days. I'm sure they had the peg game on the table and the large checker boards on the porch with the rockers. Classic Cracker Barrel 👍 ❤
Yes, we have the big fireplaces in Tennessee as well. I live close to where the original one started. The original Cracker Barrel is sadly no longer there. But the surrounding cities, and southern states, most definitely have Cracker Barrel Restaurants in their towns and cities.
I grew up poor but never hungry! My mamaw (grandma) was the best cook and we ate meals like that all the time. We ate biscuits and gravy 3-4 times a week. Sometimes, when times were tough, we ate bread and gravy, but we were never hungry ❤ Glad you guys like that southern cooking
I used to love my Granny's bread and gravy. She would make homemade bread and white gravy sometimes with ground beef in it and sometimes just pepper. I used to love her macaroni milk and butter as well.
This is alot of America there's a lot of "secret" small meals and other casserole type meals that don't cost much but were cooked with care to make them taste amazing
Yall just made me miss my grandma so much lol. She loved cracker-barrel and loved their turkey dinner on Thursdays. Thank you guys for bringing this experience back for me ❤
They were there for lunch. They see that as a breakfast thing, so they had no reason to order pancakes. Not everyone orders pancakes at CB, even for breakfast. They still tried some good food there. 😁😁
I agree with every comment y'all are making about cornbread. Now I want to try some Mexican cornbread with honey. Hadn't thought of that, but it sounds incredible! 😋
Guys, chicken and dumplings, also known as chicken pastry is a stew, not simply a dumpling like in Asian dumplings. Again, it's a chicken stew with dumplings. Whether it's good or not depends heavily on how well you balance the texture of the dumplings and if you got the heartiness of the chicken and broth right. Sadly, I think you went in with the wrong idea of what to expect.
I agree completely. I love Cracker Barrel overall, but Chicken and Dumplings are disappointing there. When done properly nothing is better than Southern C & Ds. Fried Okra is another skip for me. It's got to be made fresh, hand breaded (corn meal and flour) and pan fried in a cast iron. Also, anybody that hates Grits has not had them cooked right.
@@roystoyscomics1361If it’s slimy it may be because of the way it was prepared. Some people don’t allow it it to completely dry after washing it before cooking it. One way I have eaten it was pickled and isn’t slimy at all. The fried okra I have had hasn’t been slimy. Plus I have friends from India who make curries with okra and their dishes aren’t slimy at all.
Cracker Bardel has a roast turkey, dressing and cranberry dressing special every Thursday .Add mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes as your side and you have a mini Thanksgiving meal-lots of gravy over everything!
ALWAYS tear your biscuits into small pieces ( 10-12) then pour the gravy over them . Let the biscuits soak up the gravy then eat it with a fork. ALSO always dip your MEATLOAF in ketchup to give it an extra taste .
You can also add steak sauce if the meatloaf is to dry. It's all up to your taste preferences. I've even dipped my dry meatloaf in egg yolk and some bread crumbs.
Okra is sometimes known as ladies' fingers, bhindi, and bamia in Australia and New Zealand. It's an "acquired" taste. :D And yes, there is always a store attached to the restaurants...it's a "combo".
Okra can be made tolerable but it's definitely an inferior vegetable. You can skip the fried okra, no big loss. Nobody has a restaurant with a big sign saying THE WORLD'S BEST FRIED OKRA. At best you can almost make it taste like fried nothing, with no okra inside. That's the goal. If you're really curious, ask someone at another table to try a bite of their fried okra. That will be enough.
okra has more names too. Okra comes from an African language. It’s heavily eaten in West Africa and was brought over in the transatlantic slave trade so the slaves would have food they were familiar with. Okra in French is gombo which is also from an African word. English speakers spell the word gumbo which the name of the dish comes from which usually has okra/ gombo in it. Bhindi I believe is the Hindi word. Another word for okra is bendakay in Telugu.
Grits must be seasoned to taste. Typically with butter and either salt pepper and cheese or with sugar. It’s a plain breakfast porridge similar to risotto
Roast beef dinner carrots green beans unsweetened ice tea biscuits with butter and strawberry jelly is the best!!! It’s all antiques in the place and a little store
It was really enjoyable watching your family eat this meal as a 'family'.....sharing everything so that everyone got a taste of each dish. Welcome to southern food....grits and ochra are acquired tastes. The fact that you were all lovers of the cream gravy is very special.....often kids can't accept the odd appearance of gravy...even when the taste is very good. Congrats and safe travels.
Grits usually have things added to them. At the very least, salt and pepper, but often butter, syrup or honey, shrimp, etc. They are almost never eaten plain.
Dude Cracker Barrel never gets old. Their candied bacon with an egg in a neat is my all time favorite breakfast. Not to mention the store is so much fun to browse. Glad you guys are finally getting to experience our culture you have delved so much into in recent years
I keep realizing that you're probably home by now and uploading these videos from New Zealand but I really truly hope that the rest of your journey was as wonderful and eye opening as the episodes we've seen so far. Your family really is something special.
Grits need butter, salt, pepper and cheese. You can get fancy, make a roux, and cook up some shrimp with the roux, put that on the grits. Grits are a flavor vessel that stick to your stomach.
i love cracker barrel with all my heart i grew up going to it with my grandparents all the time and i never leave there not full and super happy i LOVE their cornbread and grits i lost my pawpaw in 2013 but i lost my grandma in 2023 and i havent gone to cracker barrel since then and i really need to go back sometime i just have never been a fan of eating alone thank you for this video it really brought back some happy memories im glad yall loved it also grits are best eaten (in my opinion) when you add some butter, black pepper, and salt but if ive learned anything about grits its like a potato in how versittle it is you can add cheese to them as well they are SO good and when you said that their food was perfectly seasoned and you dont have to go grabbing the salt or pepper ive always felt the same every once in a while i will add seasonings but i usally dont have too
Cracker Barrel is always pretty good. I'm always hesitant to eat at "Home cooking" restaurants because we make it better at home, but I've never left Cracker Barrel disappointed.
I love Cracker Barrel! In my opinion (and others may strongly disagree), the food is only decent, (but consistent). The gift shop and atmosphere are so fun and unique though!
When we travel, we stop at Cracker Barrels along the interstates for precisely those reasons. Decent food (especially breakfast) and consistency. You know what you're getting when you walk in the door.
I think it depends on location. I have been to ones with delicious food and others that were nasty. The nasty ones were ones I have been to were not in the South. Reminds me of Popeyes. I don’t eat it outside of Louisiana or the MS Coast. It doesn’t taste the same.
Cracker Barrel was an attempt to capture the old southern country store. A lot of times in old 1800s towns in the South Eastern US you would have the General Store which was where you went to buy your normal dry goods, treats, etc. They would share the building, or be right next to, a Tavern, INN, Saloon, or even have a small country diner/kitchen where you could choose from one or two things for a meal. This was also the place in town where you would generally order all your goods from a catalog. You would go to the store and browse through the catalogs and the merchandise would arrive at the store and the shop would deal with payment. It was developed as kind of a theme restaurant in the 1970s and was quite popular in the 1980s and 1990s. However it generally has fallen into the kind of place you take the kids when you're traveling, and the food selection is not as unique of an attraction as it was back then. But trust me they're food is kind of an echo of Southeastern flavors...there are elements there, but you won't know what it really is until you've had the real thing.
That’s their hash brown casserole, not hash browns. It needs hot sauce. Plain biscuits need butter and honey or some type of fruit jam/jelly/preserve. Biscuits and gravy do not need butter; they need to be sliced across the equator, then drowned in sausage gravy. Okra tastes nothing like capsicums or courgettes or anything else. They just need a dunk in buttermilk, a dredge in cornmeal, a quick fry and a sprinkle of salt: they are AWESOME.
Biscuits and gravy get a couple huge pats of butter before ladling the gravy over them, at least, that's how I do it and I have yet to have my first heart attack.
IMO fried okra has to be eaten right away, as soon as it's served. The longer you wait and the more it cools down, the more some notice the slimy texture. I'm only a fan of fried okra when it's piping hot and fresh from the fryer. It's definitely not to everyone's taste though.
We went a couple weeks ago and I noticed the Granny Smith Apple Tea for the first time on the menu, thought I'd try it. Excellent! Holy cow, I drank 3 of them, so good. Over the years I've tried many items on the menu, but now it's either country fried steak, meatloaf, or chicken. Those 3 items really shine, plus the mac 'n cheese and hashbrown casserole. The beignets are really good, too.
Dumplings are my favorite. Not sure how the dumplings you hand prior to these….but Cracker Barrel’s dumplings are so close to how my grandmother fixed them. A hug in a bowl to me!!
Cracker Barrel has sawmill gravy; I've never seen sausage gravy at a Cracker Barrel. But the sawmill gravy is good. When I get grits, I add some butter and sugar to them. They have great breakfast food. Lunch and dinner food can be very good depending on what you order. My favorite is Chicken n Dumplings; although they have the thick noodle type dumplings, not the old fashioned drop dumplings.
Grits are great at absorbing flavor; One small bite of chicken or bacon/eggs with a mouthful of grits will impart flavor to the whole lot. Don't forget lots of pepper
My favorite way to eat grits is butter, salt, pepper, and cooked and crumbled ground sausage. Completely savory and absolutely filling. I have it three times a week for breakfast. For an added touch a flavor, I add a tables spoon of the sausage grease too.
except their sausage is some sort of ham concoction, rather than using the usual pork cut associated with sausage. I understand ham is from the pig, but it's not usually the basis for sausage. Otherwise, they have a great breakfast.
CB is a decent home style restaurant chain. They’re noted for their Hash Brown casserole. Agreed on the okra, and fine ground grits over course. CB usually serves a good Pot Roast, but with any chain, it can be iffy between locations.
Cracker Barrel is a great place, with its food, bakery, and shop. They have locations throughout most of the U.S., usually more on the East Coast but have gone out west as well. Their shop section varies like the Christmas holiday will go all out with a large and unique Christmas shop. It's a fun place to travel to visit. Their breakfasts are great as well. Even better I think than dinner and lunch. Their bakery and desserts are great as well. Glad you got to experience it. Thank you for sharing. Cheers.
In chicken and dumplings the "dumplings" are more like biscuit dough. In fact, some people just use raw biscuits that they cut up in their chicken and dumplings instead of making them from scratch. While the ingredients are basically the same, the thickness plays a part in the texture. BTW, I don't like grits either. I will say they are better when you add stuff to them. My husband loves grits. I can cook them, but i don't eat them. Yes, i have tried them many ways.
Nobody eats grits plain. People make cheesy grits, or sweet grits, or shrimp and grits(which has a flavorful, spiced sauce). Never plain tho. It's flavorless on its own.
Most southerners add butter and salt and pepper and eat along with eggs and bacon or sausage. You need to eat them when they are hot!!! Cheese grits are good. In Florida, I was introduced to eating cheese grits along with fried fish. Shrimp and grits are great!
@@Arcturus-Onebc everyone likes to flavor them up the way they like them. I prefer cheese with salt and pepper, even better with bacon. Some people like just butter. Some people prefer sweet grits by adding jam, etc. 😁
Exactly, it is rare to find a place that has Grits seasoned just right when it hits the table. Depending on how you like your Grits you will always usually need to add more butter, salt, pepper or sugar. I don’t blame them for disliking Grits if they always eat them bland.
Cracker Barrel is always an adventure. You have to try their Apple Butter. It's so good. Okra is gross. The only way I can eat it is in gumbo.. and then only in small bits. Also, at Cracker Barrel, the green beans and turnip greens are great. I always add a pinch of sweetner to the turnip greens.
There used to be a brand of pumpkin butter called Muirhead and it was the only kind I liked. Then, after not finding it for several years, I located it at williams-sonoma. The Muirhead company closed during the pandemic and has not continued production of the pumpkin butter, but William Sonoma took their idea. Their pumpkin butter and recently I tried the caramel pumpkin butter is amazing! Not terribly high in sugar and only four or five ingredients on the label
I honestly much say I have never enjoyed watching people eat as much as I enjoyed watching your family eat. I also love the fact that the young man didn’t talk alot. I was not surprised that he scored higher than the rest of you. fried okra can be amazing when it’s staged in cornmeal and fried really good and crispy. There’s no mushy mess at all. It’s a wonderful texture.
You guys need to come to Mount Airy,North Carolina sometime! It’s beautiful here and a tourist town! Don’t know if you know of Andy Griffith show! That’s what we’re famous for! I’d loved to see you all here soon! Also,In October we have a festival and it’s pretty popular! Lots of people come out here from far off! Look up Autumn Leaves Festival in October!
I'm confused, I thought you were presenting each episode in the order in which they occurred? Love Cracker Barrel, they aren't as good as they once were, but still acceptable. Grits are best eaten as a base to support other items, such as eggs, cheese, shrimp, etc., and Okra is also only loved in the South.
Yes, they all have the stores inside them, some are larger than others. If you are close to a tourist town, they are usually larger. If it is off of a highway closer to the middle of nowhere, they are often smaller. Chicken fried steak, fried apples, fried okra, and some grits with butter, salt and pepper is my standard Cracker Barrel order. I don't go to one regularly, but it is a treat on each road trip. I hope that you are having a good time.
Cracker Barrel has always had a massive novelty store in the front part. It's always been like that ever since the first store. You can put your name on the waiting list, then go shopping while you wait.
I have had the slimy stewed preparation in the caribbean. It's not great since it doesn't have a lot of flavor, but if you need it to sustain yourself, it's okay
Glad you enjoyed it! Okra is a pretty common item in country cooking, especially in the South. It's mainly used two ways - fried (though imo, Cracker Barrel's fried okra was always mid-tier), or it's used in a gumbo or other slow simmered dish. In the latter case, slow cooking it really softens it up and brings out the flavor without the sometimes funny texture.
Most Cracker Barrel locations are at interstate exits. We have two in our area and my daughter works at the Cracker Barrel corporate office in Lebanon Tennessee. My experience has always been great. We actually ate at our local Cracker Barrel last week when we were still waiting on power to be restored after Hurricane Helene. The food always reminds me of home cooking, it's always good and the browse thru the country store is nostalgic for me.
Y'all, it's really easy to look up what these dishes are. Your mistake was misunderstanding the name of the dumpling dish. It's not chicken dumplings, it's chicken AND dumplings. It's basically a chicken stew with dough balls added to cook in the gravy.
In order to eat their grits, I have to add something to them. Usually I combine it with their fried apples if I am going to eat them. In all honesty, I’m not a fan of them but I grew up in the northern US so I didn’t grow up eating it. But eating at Cracker Barrel for me is like a hug from my Grandma from Heaven. My go to meal usually has their fried catfish. I even will order it for breakfast with eggs and pancakes. At dinner, I get it with that hash brown casserole and fried apples and biscuits and sometimes their dumplings if I am super hungry or plan on taking half home for lunch the next day.
This is Troy from El Paso, Texas for you guys to try at home. It is Cheese onion rings to deep fry. all you will need is 2 large onion, String cheese Mattarella sticks, 4-6 eggs beaten in a bowl, 2 cups of Flower, black pepper, salt, Italian seasoning, to make the seasoning mix in a large bowl with the flower, salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning and mix them evenly. Then Peal and slice the onions into 1/2 inch slices making sure each slice has 2 ring that sit side by side. remove the inner slice from the outer slice and take the string cheese and wrap the inside of the smaller one and replace the larger ring over the cheese making one ring. Repeat this step till all the rings are used up, Now you will need to place some parchment paper into each baking pans. Then dip the double rings into the egg wash then into the flower mix then do each ring 2 times till you have a nice coating and place them on the backing sheet evenly spaced. place in a pre heated oven of 400 deg for 15-20 minutes' till golden brown. take them out of the oven and let them cool a bit and enjoy as a snake with your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy
Your right, l never found any form of okra that l liked😮 slim is a good description!👌 Great Reaction, Peace✌️ and Love❤ Gary😊 from San Diego wish you safe travels 🙏
Family didn't like: coarse grits dumplings fried okra (kids) meatloaf Family LOVED: southern fried chicken buttered corn corn bread chicken fried steak biscuits and gravy Almost every state I've been to has a Cracker Barrel. Tennessee has a ton of them, however...makes perfect sense.
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This was the first time…in my life…ever seeing biscuits and gravy being eaten by hand! 😂
I know I’m not alone on this.
My thought exactly! In my many decades, that was a first for me. 😊
I came here to say the same thing.
If you can grab it with your hand, it needs more gravy. That poor biscuit needs to be drowning in gravy.
My thoughts exactly LOL
They need to at least double the amount of gravy they're serving.
You don't eat grits plain. You add butter, salt and pepper if you want savory or butter, sugar, maple syrup or honey if you want sweet.
Basically treat it the same way you would cream of wheat.
@@tammierandall864 I love them with cheddar cheese.
This is what I came here to say. There are two camps in the grits department sometimes 3. There is the one side that is savory grits with salt and pepper and maybe hot sauce and some butter anddd maybe cheese. Then there is the butter and sugar, brown sugar, honey or syrup department for sweet. Then there are weirdos that go either way depending. That would be me ;-).
@@cherylbrunette2490 Nothing beats some gooey, cheesy grits for breakfast.
I grew up eating grits with grape jelly mixed in. That was our mom’s way of getting us to eat them and how her German mom fed them to her as a child.
I love looking through the comments over the course of time. Do you realize how much we love having your family here in the United States? We've officially adopted y'all and no matter where you go in the world, you'll always be a part of us.
I love how all of us, the viewers and these 4 great people celebrate wholesome family time!
Cracker Barrel is genius from a marketing standpoint, making you enter and leave through the gift shop.
Chicken Fried Steak originated when the Germans and Czechs immigrated to the US, many from the Gulf up through Central Texas, and brought schnitzel to a place where beef was far more availible than pork. So, CFS is Texas-German schnitzel. Okra comes originally from Africa and became common in the south through the slave trade. The slimy texture serves as a thickening agent in many southern, Cajun and Creole soups and stews, Gumbo for example. In my opinion, if fried okra is still slimy, it wasn't fried enough and would be considered soggy. It is meant to be crispy and salty.
Pickled okra is bangin
@@mwmw8132 I love HOT pickled Okra from my local farmers market. Great in place of spicy pickles. Also great as an addition to a spicy Bloody Mary
I think if the whole world ate saw mill biscuits and gravy it would be a more peaceful place😅😅❤❤
Cracker Barrel gift shops are the best - they are in every CB and offer new seasonal merch all the time!
is that a new thing?
@@therealcyber5No, it's been like this for decades. I'd assume since they opened.
@@k.d.5603 I never knew that...
And old school toys, candy, and soda 😊
Cracker Barrel has the BEST cards. Very funny ones for birthdays.
Y’all actually have to put things in the grits. Salt butter pepper cheese…butter and sugar…some ppl eat shrimp and grits…not just plain lol. Keep up the work enjoying the vids.
Definately butter, at least. And with cheese it's terrific.
Grits are usually served bland and it's up to the individual consumer to season it to their taste.
I add the maple syrup
I find grits taste a little better if they're a little thicker too, just enough to not be soupy, most places make em too wet and it just feels like baby food
yes you have to salt and pepper until its gray imo with heaps of butter
Grits is your starch. You eat it with something. that’s the problem as people don’t understand that. Grits is like polenta.
It's funny that it's a common mistake across cultures. The Chinese eat congee/juk (rice) for breakfast which is plain by itself, but is eaten with other things. Oatmeal is topped with things. Around the Caribbean mashed plantains fill the same function. Etc.
But toss those same people a new cuisine and they are lost with the new starch.
or likes pasta. no one ever eats plain pasta, they either put sauce with them or at least butter, salt&pepper
@@recoil53hey, I eat my oatmeal plain, )if you don’t count the maple and brown sugar flavoring…. or the blueberries if I happen to have any 😂)
A big pile of grits with a few fried eggs over the top, then all messed up. Add some pan sausage and biscuits on the side, and there you go 😁
The US exports grits and imports polenta...
Yes, every Cracker Barrel has an old time store! And they all have rocking chairs and checkerboards out front.
I worked at cracker barrel for quite a while. All of them are setup this way…, it’s to give people something to do while they wait to be seated. It’s all about country style and cooking… unique gifts and comfort! My favorite place I’ve ever worked!
Okra and grits are both acquired tastes. Mostly people in the South love them.
yeah as someone who didn’t grow up in the south, i don’t understand why people like them but if you grow up on it you tend to love them
@@OhWord3 cheesy grits are the way to go
I can tolerate okra and stewed tomatoes.
I'm from the south... And I don't know anyone under the age of 50 that would order grits or okra at a restaurant.
Grits at Cracker Barrel are not that quality.
As someone from Georgia, and a former server of Cracker Barrel
This warms my Heart
Welcome to the South!!!
Try okra at different places because recipes are different. Personally I love fried okra. 🤤
Definitely!!!!!!!!!
To me anyway, it has a pretty neutral “healthy” taste, and what’s not to like about anything breaded/battered and fried!?
Fried okra dipped in some ranch dressing... mmmm!
I think he may have let it sit too long. I LOVE fried okra when it's hot....when it's cold...it is pretty nasty.
It's passable fried.
At the end of the say it's a weird veg with a gooey center that doesn't un-goo after cooking.
Deep fry something else and it will be better.
I usually dip my fried okra into the gravy at Cracker Barrel. Yum.
Cracker Barrel’s breakfasts are where it’s at. The pancakes are divine and the hash brown casserole is just perfection.
The Cracker Barrel store is an experience all on its own.
That's a perfect way to put it. "Like there are a bunch of grandmas out back". Southern cooking is grandma's home cooking. Yep. Spot on.
Atlanta gets a 9.98 on her commentary. The day will come when she will be a chef on an international cooking show. And when she isn't doing that, she will be a world restaurant reviewer. She is well spoken and knowledgeable. I enjoy the entire family and your adventures. Sam, in that you are fond of spicy food, I cant wait until you come to New Mexico. New Mexican food is very different than Mexican food. Hatch Green Chili is the basis of of every dish. When you order food be sure to ask for Christmas (a mixture of red and green chili). If you are really into spice ask for hot. Nadine, you add the enthusiasm to each video. Denzel adds humor. Overall, a great mix.
As an American, I feel like I'm living vicariously through you guys.
Same. It’s a lot of fun.🤩
I am so glad you Guys are Back!!! I prayed everything would work out for you all. Love you all!!
Howdy from Wyoming, Thank You so very much. I enjoyed watching NICE PEOPLE having fun and enjoying each other's company! God Bless You All
Biscuits and gravy is my favorite!!
We are the only country in the world who considers a bowl of gravy a meal😅
I read somewhere that we Americans eat like we had free healthcare 🤣
Yes, that is a normal Cracker Barrel. Where when you first walk in you’re in an old time store. The candies are usually old as well. I don’t mean they are expired. I mean, they are candies that your grandfather probably ate when he was a kid. It’s candies you can’t usually find anywhere else because they Are no longer as popular as the new candies. And there’s usually rocking chairs on the front porch. And in northern states there’s usually a big fireplace and the fire will be going in the winter time. I love Cracker Barrel.
I wonder if they have the games on the table as well. I don't see them, but they may have moved them for the camera
They have the big fireplaces even in Texas and light them up on cold winter days. I'm sure they had the peg game on the table and the large checker boards on the porch with the rockers. Classic Cracker Barrel 👍 ❤
Yes, we have the big fireplaces in Tennessee as well. I live close to where the original one started. The original Cracker Barrel is sadly no longer there. But the surrounding cities, and southern states, most definitely have Cracker Barrel Restaurants in their towns and cities.
I grew up poor but never hungry! My mamaw (grandma) was the best cook and we ate meals like that all the time. We ate biscuits and gravy 3-4 times a week. Sometimes, when times were tough, we ate bread and gravy, but we were never hungry ❤ Glad you guys like that southern cooking
Toast & gravy 👌🏼
I used to love my Granny's bread and gravy. She would make homemade bread and white gravy sometimes with ground beef in it and sometimes just pepper. I used to love her macaroni milk and butter as well.
I still make biscuits and gravy.
I grew up on eggs and BnGs. I still eat BnG once a week. Honestly even mickey ds in my area can't mess that up it's so easy. God bless 🙏🏼
This is alot of America there's a lot of "secret" small meals and other casserole type meals that don't cost much but were cooked with care to make them taste amazing
Yall just made me miss my grandma so much lol. She loved cracker-barrel and loved their turkey dinner on Thursdays. Thank you guys for bringing this experience back for me ❤
Cracker Barrel has the BEST pancakes! You missed it!
Yup
For real right?
@@TolkienladyThey were there for lunch. Not everyone eats pancakes for lunch. Lol
They were there for lunch. They see that as a breakfast thing, so they had no reason to order pancakes. Not everyone orders pancakes at CB, even for breakfast. They still tried some good food there. 😁😁
There are sweet and savory versions of cornbread. I'm partial to the savory.
My Grandma used to bake in some mild chili peppers then drizzle honey on top, it was so delicious!
I love cornbread that contains creamed corn
I agree with every comment y'all are making about cornbread. Now I want to try some Mexican cornbread with honey. Hadn't thought of that, but it sounds incredible! 😋
Agree. Finally broke down and made hubbie sweetened cornbread. I can't eat it. IMO sugar shouldn't be in cornbread.
I don't want sugar in my cornbread. I like the corn taste with butter.
Cracker Barrel is a combination of good country cooking and an old country store. Little bit of everything.
Guys, chicken and dumplings, also known as chicken pastry is a stew, not simply a dumpling like in Asian dumplings. Again, it's a chicken stew with dumplings. Whether it's good or not depends heavily on how well you balance the texture of the dumplings and if you got the heartiness of the chicken and broth right. Sadly, I think you went in with the wrong idea of what to expect.
The last time I went to Cracker Barrel specifically to treat myself to chicken and dumplings, I was disappointed. The broth had no flavor to it
I agree completely. I love Cracker Barrel overall, but Chicken and Dumplings are disappointing there. When done properly nothing is better than Southern C & Ds. Fried Okra is another skip for me. It's got to be made fresh, hand breaded (corn meal and flour) and pan fried in a cast iron. Also, anybody that hates Grits has not had them cooked right.
It's kinda like a chicken pot pie, in soup form.
But CB doesn't have the best. Look for other places or make it yourself.
Yeah, it’s essentially chicken noodle soup with thicker noodles and a lot more chicken.
Real dumplings are fluffy; that's probably what you expected. The kind at CB are the flat noodle pieces called dumplings in the country.
8:45 grits are just a vessel for shoving salt, pepper, butter, and cheese in your mouth lol
What are gritts??
Denz is my boy, eating silently, then rating with confidence😁👍💕
My favorite breakfast since 70’s Navy. Biscuits and gravy with two eggs over easy on top! 😁🇺🇸💙
I have to have crunchy hash browns on the bottom 😉 that's what I have too!!
I love your guy’s family wish nothing but blessings and good times for you guys on your adventure❤
Okra is a vegetable. You either love it or hate it. It's polarizing. 😂
I guarantee the chicken fried steak will taste better. Hands down. 😂
Okra is not a vegetable, technically it's a fruit because it flowers and has seeds. Look it up!
@@Muddywatersistbotanically it is a fruit but culinarily it is a vegetable.
I love it.
@@Muddywatersist either way I still hate it. Too slimy. 😂
@@roystoyscomics1361If it’s slimy it may be because of the way it was prepared. Some people don’t allow it it to completely dry after washing it before cooking it. One way I have eaten it was pickled and isn’t slimy at all. The fried okra I have had hasn’t been slimy. Plus I have friends from India who make curries with okra and their dishes aren’t slimy at all.
The kids are getting so tall. Bless them and you both❤❤❤❤❤
I love how all of us, the viewers and these 4 great people celebrate wholesome family time!
Cracker Bardel has a roast turkey, dressing and cranberry dressing special every Thursday .Add mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes as your side and you have a mini Thanksgiving meal-lots of gravy over everything!
The Great thing about Cracker Barrel..... Every one is exactly the same , no matter where you go ...
..you know exactly what you are going to get.....
ALWAYS tear your biscuits into small pieces ( 10-12) then pour the gravy over them . Let the biscuits soak up the gravy then eat it with a fork. ALSO always dip your MEATLOAF in ketchup to give it an extra taste .
If you got to add ketchup to meatloaf, the meatloaf is too dry or it just has no flavor. IMO
I use bbq sauce instead of ketchup, and I do the same thing with my biscuits, 😆 small pieces add gravy and 💥 ya got a big meal with small pieces .
@@WillstarWorld ketchup is for children...
You can also add steak sauce if the meatloaf is to dry. It's all up to your taste preferences. I've even dipped my dry meatloaf in egg yolk and some bread crumbs.
@@maddhatt7082 🤢
That cut to the Lion King chicken was amazing 😂😂
Thanks for sharing your experience at Crack Barrel. it was always a part of road trips with my family growing up.
Okra is sometimes known as ladies' fingers, bhindi, and bamia in Australia and New Zealand. It's an "acquired" taste. :D And yes, there is always a store attached to the restaurants...it's a "combo".
Okra can be made tolerable but it's definitely an inferior vegetable.
You can skip the fried okra, no big loss. Nobody has a restaurant with a big sign saying THE WORLD'S BEST FRIED OKRA.
At best you can almost make it taste like fried nothing, with no okra inside. That's the goal.
If you're really curious, ask someone at another table to try a bite of their fried okra. That will be enough.
@@protorhinocerator142
Ok is a actually a fruit. I have had it many ways including raw and grilled. I taste the flavor.
okra has more names too. Okra comes from an African language. It’s heavily eaten in West Africa and was brought over in the transatlantic slave trade so the slaves would have food they were familiar with. Okra in French is gombo which is also from an African word. English speakers spell the word gumbo which the name of the dish comes from which usually has okra/ gombo in it. Bhindi I believe is the Hindi word. Another word for okra is bendakay in Telugu.
Grits must be seasoned to taste. Typically with butter and either salt pepper and cheese or with sugar. It’s a plain breakfast porridge similar to risotto
Polenta not risotto
Roast beef dinner carrots green beans unsweetened ice tea biscuits with butter and strawberry jelly is the best!!! It’s all antiques in the place and a little store
It was really enjoyable watching your family eat this meal as a 'family'.....sharing everything so that everyone got a taste of each dish. Welcome to southern food....grits and ochra are acquired tastes. The fact that you were all lovers of the cream gravy is very special.....often kids can't accept the odd appearance of gravy...even when the taste is very good. Congrats and safe travels.
Grits usually have things added to them. At the very least, salt and pepper, but often butter, syrup or honey, shrimp, etc. They are almost never eaten plain.
Dude Cracker Barrel never gets old. Their candied bacon with an egg in a neat is my all time favorite breakfast. Not to mention the store is so much fun to browse. Glad you guys are finally getting to experience our culture you have delved so much into in recent years
What is candied bacon?
I keep realizing that you're probably home by now and uploading these videos from New Zealand but I really truly hope that the rest of your journey was as wonderful and eye opening as the episodes we've seen so far. Your family really is something special.
I think they are there because of the Halloween items and Christmas items.
Grits need butter, salt, pepper and cheese. You can get fancy, make a roux, and cook up some shrimp with the roux, put that on the grits. Grits are a flavor vessel that stick to your stomach.
i love cracker barrel with all my heart i grew up going to it with my grandparents all the time and i never leave there not full and super happy i LOVE their cornbread and grits i lost my pawpaw in 2013 but i lost my grandma in 2023 and i havent gone to cracker barrel since then and i really need to go back sometime i just have never been a fan of eating alone thank you for this video it really brought back some happy memories im glad yall loved it
also grits are best eaten (in my opinion) when you add some butter, black pepper, and salt but if ive learned anything about grits its like a potato in how versittle it is you can add cheese to them as well they are SO good and when you said that their food was perfectly seasoned and you dont have to go grabbing the salt or pepper ive always felt the same every once in a while i will add seasonings but i usally dont have too
Cracker Barrel is always pretty good. I'm always hesitant to eat at "Home cooking" restaurants because we make it better at home, but I've never left Cracker Barrel disappointed.
You should have tried apple butter on your corn muffins... It is so good!
Growing up I never ate sweet on corn bread.They don't go together!!
I love Cracker Barrel! In my opinion (and others may strongly disagree), the food is only decent, (but consistent). The gift shop and atmosphere are so fun and unique though!
Exactly! Although one thing that I cannot get anywhere else are their steak fries. Those are delicious!
When we travel, we stop at Cracker Barrels along the interstates for precisely those reasons. Decent food (especially breakfast) and consistency. You know what you're getting when you walk in the door.
I think it depends on location. I have been to ones with delicious food and others that were nasty. The nasty ones were ones I have been to were not in the South. Reminds me of Popeyes. I don’t eat it outside of Louisiana or the MS Coast. It doesn’t taste the same.
Cracker Barrel was an attempt to capture the old southern country store. A lot of times in old 1800s towns in the South Eastern US you would have the General Store which was where you went to buy your normal dry goods, treats, etc. They would share the building, or be right next to, a Tavern, INN, Saloon, or even have a small country diner/kitchen where you could choose from one or two things for a meal. This was also the place in town where you would generally order all your goods from a catalog. You would go to the store and browse through the catalogs and the merchandise would arrive at the store and the shop would deal with payment.
It was developed as kind of a theme restaurant in the 1970s and was quite popular in the 1980s and 1990s. However it generally has fallen into the kind of place you take the kids when you're traveling, and the food selection is not as unique of an attraction as it was back then. But trust me they're food is kind of an echo of Southeastern flavors...there are elements there, but you won't know what it really is until you've had the real thing.
That’s their hash brown casserole, not hash browns. It needs hot sauce. Plain biscuits need butter and honey or some type of fruit jam/jelly/preserve. Biscuits and gravy do not need butter; they need to be sliced across the equator, then drowned in sausage gravy. Okra tastes nothing like capsicums or courgettes or anything else. They just need a dunk in buttermilk, a dredge in cornmeal, a quick fry and a sprinkle of salt: they are AWESOME.
Biscuits and gravy get a couple huge pats of butter before ladling the gravy over them, at least, that's how I do it and I have yet to have my first heart attack.
IMO fried okra has to be eaten right away, as soon as it's served. The longer you wait and the more it cools down, the more some notice the slimy texture. I'm only a fan of fried okra when it's piping hot and fresh from the fryer. It's definitely not to everyone's taste though.
@darcyjorgensen5808 yep! 😊
i love you guys because your what an American family us to be .
We went a couple weeks ago and I noticed the Granny Smith Apple Tea for the first time on the menu, thought I'd try it. Excellent! Holy cow, I drank 3 of them, so good. Over the years I've tried many items on the menu, but now it's either country fried steak, meatloaf, or chicken. Those 3 items really shine, plus the mac 'n cheese and hashbrown casserole. The beignets are really good, too.
I love you guys so much, cant wait for more vids!
Dumplings are my favorite. Not sure how the dumplings you hand prior to these….but Cracker Barrel’s dumplings are so close to how my grandmother fixed them. A hug in a bowl to me!!
Cracker Barrel has amazing food, especially the breakfast. I love the gift shop area the most, always something fun to look at.
Now this is my day better!
Cracker Barrel has sawmill gravy; I've never seen sausage gravy at a Cracker Barrel. But the sawmill gravy is good. When I get grits, I add some butter and sugar to them. They have great breakfast food. Lunch and dinner food can be very good depending on what you order. My favorite is Chicken n Dumplings; although they have the thick noodle type dumplings, not the old fashioned drop dumplings.
Grits are great at absorbing flavor; One small bite of chicken or bacon/eggs with a mouthful of grits will impart flavor to the whole lot. Don't forget lots of pepper
My favorite way to eat grits is butter, salt, pepper, and cooked and crumbled ground sausage. Completely savory and absolutely filling. I have it three times a week for breakfast. For an added touch a flavor, I add a tables spoon of the sausage grease too.
I like grits with sugar and butter.....Cracker Barrel is awesome when it's cold out and you get a seat close to the fireplace.....wonderful place
Cracker Barrel BREAKFAST is vastly superior to the lunch/dinner food.
truth their breakfast is best
except their sausage is some sort of ham concoction, rather than using the usual pork cut associated with sausage. I understand ham is from the pig, but it's not usually the basis for sausage. Otherwise, they have a great breakfast.
Not the fried chicken
Agree. They have great pancakes too.
Maybe so but I had a cheeseburger there one day about a year ago, and it was one of the best burgers I've ever had. It was really good.
CB is a decent home style restaurant chain. They’re noted for their Hash Brown casserole. Agreed on the okra, and fine ground grits over course.
CB usually serves a good Pot Roast, but with any chain, it can be iffy between locations.
Cracker Barrel is a great place, with its food, bakery, and shop. They have locations throughout most of the U.S., usually more on the East Coast but have gone out west as well. Their shop section varies like the Christmas holiday will go all out with a large and unique Christmas shop. It's a fun place to travel to visit. Their breakfasts are great as well. Even better I think than dinner and lunch. Their bakery and desserts are great as well. Glad you got to experience it. Thank you for sharing. Cheers.
In chicken and dumplings the "dumplings" are more like biscuit dough. In fact, some people just use raw biscuits that they cut up in their chicken and dumplings instead of making them from scratch. While the ingredients are basically the same, the thickness plays a part in the texture.
BTW, I don't like grits either. I will say they are better when you add stuff to them. My husband loves grits. I can cook them, but i don't eat them. Yes, i have tried them many ways.
My favorite restaurant and my favorite New Zealand fam.
Nobody eats grits plain. People make cheesy grits, or sweet grits, or shrimp and grits(which has a flavorful, spiced sauce). Never plain tho. It's flavorless on its own.
I agree, but why is it always served plain in restaurants? At least here in the non south it is.
@@Arcturus-One at most places, you can just ask for cheese grits instead of normal grits
They at least need lots of butter and salt and pepper...or like my friend used to make with sugar(cringe).
Most southerners add butter and salt and pepper and eat along with eggs and bacon or sausage. You need to eat them when they are hot!!! Cheese grits are good. In Florida, I was introduced to eating cheese grits along with fried fish. Shrimp and grits are great!
@@Arcturus-Onebc everyone likes to flavor them up the way they like them. I prefer cheese with salt and pepper, even better with bacon. Some people like just butter. Some people prefer sweet grits by adding jam, etc. 😁
I love that place
Just had homemade biscuits & gravy yesterday, can't go wrong with them.
You can never go wrong with biscuits that nice!!!
This is a must stop if you ever see it! Me and my family love Cracker Barrel!!
Grits= Add sugar or something sweet like your favorite jams or jellies. Or even butter for butter grits
A pat of butter and a few good shakes of pepper
Exactly, it is rare to find a place that has Grits seasoned just right when it hits the table. Depending on how you like your Grits you will always usually need to add more butter, salt, pepper or sugar. I don’t blame them for disliking Grits if they always eat them bland.
Cracker Barrel is always an adventure. You have to try their Apple Butter. It's so good. Okra is gross. The only way I can eat it is in gumbo.. and then only in small bits. Also, at Cracker Barrel, the green beans and turnip greens are great. I always add a pinch of sweetner to the turnip greens.
There used to be a brand of pumpkin butter called Muirhead and it was the only kind I liked. Then, after not finding it for several years, I located it at williams-sonoma. The Muirhead company closed during the pandemic and has not continued production of the pumpkin butter, but William Sonoma took their idea. Their pumpkin butter and recently I tried the caramel pumpkin butter is amazing! Not terribly high in sugar and only four or five ingredients on the label
mmm, I've never tried pumpkin butter. That sounds amazing and just in time for Fall! I'm going to have to google it...
I honestly much say I have never enjoyed watching people eat as much as I enjoyed watching your family eat. I also love the fact that the young man didn’t talk alot. I was not surprised that he scored higher than the rest of you. fried okra can be amazing when it’s staged in cornmeal and fried really good and crispy. There’s no mushy mess at all. It’s a wonderful texture.
I’m getting a home cooked meal vibe - like a bunch of grandmas back there - Best line ever 😂
I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the antique bicycles hanging from the ceiling! Lol
First thing I noticed. And the shop that looks like the funkiest yard sale ever. lol
Next time, try their steaks. Perfectly cooked, and beautifully seasoned.
Love CB. Thankfully I am/ from live in southern US lol
I love your videos! 3:10 The infamous first round table on the right that my large family and I are frequently required to sit at. 😂
Very few people eat plain grits. Most people mix them with other things like eggs, cheese, shrimp or even sugar and cinnamon.
Denz with the chicken😂 our family jokingly calls Cracker Barrel “The Crack”. It has Always been a family favorite . Great video as always.
Let's all go get the Crack. lol
You guys need to come to Mount Airy,North Carolina sometime! It’s beautiful here and a tourist town! Don’t know if you know of Andy Griffith show! That’s what we’re famous for! I’d loved to see you all here soon! Also,In October we have a festival and it’s pretty popular! Lots of people come out here from far off! Look up Autumn Leaves Festival in October!
The real Mayberry!😁
I'm confused, I thought you were presenting each episode in the order in which they occurred? Love Cracker Barrel, they aren't as good as they once were, but still acceptable. Grits are best eaten as a base to support other items, such as eggs, cheese, shrimp, etc., and Okra is also only loved in the South.
Yes, they all have the stores inside them, some are larger than others. If you are close to a tourist town, they are usually larger. If it is off of a highway closer to the middle of nowhere, they are often smaller. Chicken fried steak, fried apples, fried okra, and some grits with butter, salt and pepper is my standard Cracker Barrel order. I don't go to one regularly, but it is a treat on each road trip. I hope that you are having a good time.
Cracker Barrel has always had a massive novelty store in the front part. It's always been like that ever since the first store. You can put your name on the waiting list, then go shopping while you wait.
Okra Is Definitely An Acquired Taste!! Even Among Americans!!
Too bad you didn't get tge buttermilk pancakes with tge warm maple syrup. Yum!
Their pancakes and warm syrup are so good! I only ever go for breakfast there (it’s all day).
I was just thinking that!
Okra is a vegetable. If fried correctly it's delicious. I'm not a fan of the slimy variety.
I have had the slimy stewed preparation in the caribbean. It's not great since it doesn't have a lot of flavor, but if you need it to sustain yourself, it's okay
@Muddywatersist
Okra is not a vegetable, technically it's a fruit because it flowers and has seeds. Look it up!
@@Muddywatersist The seed argument has been debunked many times. Green Beans and Black Eyed Peas are vegetables with seeds.
@@Muddywatersist Fruit is a biological term, vegetable is a culinary term. Plenty of vegetables are technically fruit, like tomatoes.
Not an okra fan, either.
Glad you enjoyed it! Okra is a pretty common item in country cooking, especially in the South. It's mainly used two ways - fried (though imo, Cracker Barrel's fried okra was always mid-tier), or it's used in a gumbo or other slow simmered dish. In the latter case, slow cooking it really softens it up and brings out the flavor without the sometimes funny texture.
Most Cracker Barrel locations are at interstate exits. We have two in our area and my daughter works at the Cracker Barrel corporate office in Lebanon Tennessee. My experience has always been great. We actually ate at our local Cracker Barrel last week when we were still waiting on power to be restored after Hurricane Helene. The food always reminds me of home cooking, it's always good and the browse thru the country store is nostalgic for me.
Y'all, it's really easy to look up what these dishes are. Your mistake was misunderstanding the name of the dumpling dish. It's not chicken dumplings, it's chicken AND dumplings. It's basically a chicken stew with dough balls added to cook in the gravy.
CB's dumplings are the noodle type, not ball type.
@@osmadchlo
I know that's right!
The Chicken fried steak is my fav.
Turkey sandwich is so under rated at Cracker Barrel...
In order to eat their grits, I have to add something to them. Usually I combine it with their fried apples if I am going to eat them. In all honesty, I’m not a fan of them but I grew up in the northern US so I didn’t grow up eating it. But eating at Cracker Barrel for me is like a hug from my Grandma from Heaven. My go to meal usually has their fried catfish. I even will order it for breakfast with eggs and pancakes. At dinner, I get it with that hash brown casserole and fried apples and biscuits and sometimes their dumplings if I am super hungry or plan on taking half home for lunch the next day.
This is Troy from El Paso, Texas for you guys to try at home. It is Cheese onion rings to deep fry. all you will need is 2 large onion, String cheese Mattarella sticks, 4-6 eggs beaten in a bowl, 2 cups of Flower, black pepper, salt, Italian seasoning, to make the seasoning mix in a large bowl with the flower, salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning and mix them evenly. Then Peal and slice the onions into 1/2 inch slices making sure each slice has 2 ring that sit side by side. remove the inner slice from the outer slice and take the string cheese and wrap the inside of the smaller one and replace the larger ring over the cheese making one ring. Repeat this step till all the rings are used up, Now you will need to place some parchment paper into each baking pans. Then dip the double rings into the egg wash then into the flower mix then do each ring 2 times till you have a nice coating and place them on the backing sheet evenly spaced. place in a pre heated oven of 400 deg for 15-20 minutes' till golden brown. take them out of the oven and let them cool a bit and enjoy as a snake with your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy
Your right, l never found any form of okra that l liked😮 slim is a good description!👌 Great Reaction, Peace✌️ and Love❤ Gary😊 from San Diego wish you safe travels 🙏
Family didn't like:
coarse grits
dumplings
fried okra
(kids) meatloaf
Family LOVED:
southern fried chicken
buttered corn
corn bread
chicken fried steak
biscuits and gravy
Almost every state I've been to has a Cracker Barrel. Tennessee has a ton of them, however...makes perfect sense.
Headquarters is in Tennessee