Cracker Barrel on 441 in front of Lowes
 

We have been a long term Cracker Barrel customer even dating back to the early 1980's when they had less than ten stores...Knoxville TN.

Eight family members visited yesterday for an early dinner. We all were so disappointed in greatly reduced portion control!

I had a 4 veggie plate...I had a sweet potato the size of an egg, maybe three table spoons of green beans, small bowl of salad and a small fruit salad with had 3 strawberry halves and 2 one inch squares of pineapple.

Complained to the manager and he said that he has received many complaints but portion control is managed at corporate headquarters. He give us a certificate for two free meals. I will go back and eat both the meals by myself...maybe I will leave full this time.:rant-rave:

I find small portions in all cracker barrells to be unusual in all the ones we've eaten in. Actually what I have noticed this time of year at the 27/441 location is that the portions seem to be bigger after the crowds have left. If portion control is set by corporate you never can tell who is going by the rules. That's my quess.

The size of the plates are half the size they use to be...not any bigger than 8 inches round...few plates a little larger and oval.

The food there is not as good as it was a couple of years ago. Perhaps management, here or corporate, does not realize the power we Villagers have when it comes to restaurants surviving or closing their doors. Many, many restaurants have come and gone in the 16 years I have lived here, all due to poor food quality, not enough of it, or staff who are there just to get a paycheck and tips. Both Dairy Queens closed and I felt it was due to the inconsistent portions. When they first opened my blizzard reached beyond the top of the cup. Toward the end, there was a good inch or more of cup showing. You can try to fool us once and you may get away with it. Try it more than that and you will not see many of us in your establishment again.

Cracker barrel is one of the few restaurants I can say I've never gotten a bad meal or poor service.

I agree with all that was said about the food portions and they do lack from the old days in quality......but

I just love the stores...:wave:....always the most original stuff....

Americans eat too much anyway and I actually find the smaller portions to my liking. I admit that I rarely go to the 441 Cracker Barrel. One reason is because it's not on my side of TV.

Cost of food is going up... been to the grocery store lately. CB wants to keep their prices down and competitive so answer is smaller portions. They should have a option to Super Size it for the big boys. Why don't you make that suggestion to corporate.

Do you still get a basket of biscuits with jelly and butter ?

Biscuits with dinner
 

Yes! And they have not been reduced in size.

Once was enough for us.....canned green beans....meatloaf floating in canned gravy....instant mashed potato. Discussing food, don't know how Cracker Barrel stays in business.

If you have any complaints about Crapper Barrel you can call 1-800-333-9566. This is their Corporate office or you can go online at Welcome to Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Restaurant and go under customer feedback and file a complaint there. Maybe if enough people start complaining they will have no other choice than to improve their quality.

I have never liked their food. I think a lot of it is made with margarine, and is canned, because the times we ate there on our trips down to FL, I got incredible heartburn. Vegetables taste either canned or overcooked.

On the other hand, I have been using their goat milk soaps (Dionis?) for over 20 years and love them. I buy a big bag of them in a couple fragrances.

I take offense to the term cracker in “Cracker Barrel”. It is racist and derogatory. If it’s not changed, I will look at obtaining a lawyer.

I take offense to the term Barrel. It's discriminatory to fat people and people who own no clothing.

Going back in time, a cracker barrel was used to store crackers in a general store. This is where Cracker Barrel got their name according to what I have read.

We stopped going there last year, when my wife and I both walked out still hungry.
We are not big eaters and even avoid buffets because we don't eat enough to feel like we got a good deal.
I would rather Cracker Barrel raised prices and served a decent portion meal.
Can't worry about it - too many other places to go.

I absolutely would complain to if I got the above mentioned food served as you described. amazing.

You either like "southern cooking" or you don't. Cracker Barrel makes some things from "scratch" (like biscuits & dumplings) but its all cooked southern style. The way your grandma probably use to cook. Vegetables were canned in those days----before refrigerators and meatloaf had gravy over it they used real butter and buttermilk.

There are few places you can go to get Okra, greens, pinto beans and fried apples. To each their own. I remember grandma being one heck of a cook.

Well, that's one of my big complaints with Cracker Barrel. They use margarine. Real southern cooking should be bacon grease and butter! that's what they used in the dining halls when I went to the University of Georgia, which greatly contributed to my Freshman 15.

We were Cracker Barrel regulars driving up and down I-95 between NYC and Orlando. Restaurant and restroom were always very clean and, although the food was far from gourmet, it was decent for "road food". We would go to the CB here for breakfast as they used to serve wonderfulo multi-grain pancakes; however, after our last visit there a year ago, we vowed "never again." Yes, it was still clean, but the food was pretty awful. Never noticed the portion size, just the crummy food. Very disappointing.

All the Cracker Barrels I've eaten at have been different, some better than others, a few really bad. It's hard to believe that they are all under corporate control; how can they be so different?

You can read all chefs the same recipe, but you can't make 'em cook it the same? (Just a thought.)

Have to disagree....I love southern cooking, and that's exactly why I don't care for Cracker Barrel. The last time we were there was the LAST time, unless we find ourselves starving out on the highway, on a road trip.

As a kid, and later as my kids were growing up, we always had to plan on at least twice as much fried okra as was needed for a meal. We would eat it as quickly as it came out of the iron skillet, and it was nothing, nothing, like that mush at CB.

Oh, and the greens taste so processed and disgusting. I could eat real collard greens everyday!!

I went to Cracker Barrel twice over a period of about 20 years. Two different Cracker Barrels. Both times I was invited for a holiday meal so I didn't have any choice. I thought the food was okay, not great. What bothered me was the noise. It was so noisy, you had to shout your order to the waiter and you had to shout so others at your table could hear you. It wasn't a relaxing, pleasant atmosphere you would expect for a holiday meal.

I noticed there wasn't anything in there to absorb sound, like carpeting, drapes or acustical ceiling panels. I haven't been there for several years now and don't intend to ever go again.

That's so true of many restaurants, good and bad. Ever been to Bonefish and/or Bonifay? I will put up with Bonefish's noise because the food is so good, but not CB or Bonifay.

Maybe some Euro Buyer brought it and cut the portions way down. Next will be price increase so it will be more inline with Euro style restaurants. Pay more and get less. :eclipsee_gold_cup:

I dough CB customers will change and parking lot is always full around lunch time. Use to be good home cooked food for reasonable price. :icon_hungry:

Amazing when people go to the fancy high priced restaurants pay out the wazoo for the tiny portions thinking they are getting something HIGH class, then think they got good deal, and the food was JUST WONDERFUL cause they usually can't cook and anything good to them :pepper2::beer3: