There’s more to life than Key Lime pie

Cracker Barrel is a regular haunt of ours along the Interstate 95 when coming to or leaving the United States of America. Judging by its signature twanging cowboy music which surrounds the entrance alleyways, permeates throughout the restaurants, blasts across the adjoining gift shops and infiltrates the restrooms (that is, the men’s room for certain), I’m guessing the predominant commercial affiliation is with the former Confederate states.  And it won’t come as a surprise to learn that the owner fought a losing battle against how  “real men” in his employ ought to behave.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., doing business as simply Cracker Barrel, is an American chain of restaurant and gift stores with a Southern country theme. The company was founded by Dan Evins in 1969. Its first store was in Lebanon, Tennessee; the corporate offices are located at a different facility in the same city. The chain’s stores were at first positioned near Interstate Highway exits in the Southeastern and Midwestern United States, but expanded across the country during the 1990s and 2000s. As of September 16, 2020, the chain operates 663 stores in 45 states.

But enough of the petty political realities which shamelessly (and as ironically though not admittedly) insinuate society.  Cracker Barrel is renowned for its excellence of product and service notwithstanding the audience is not normally those who celebrate high tea for example.  But if you’ve an appetite for supremely well cooked fried eggs, substantive pancakes with crisp edges and genuine maple syrup and wholesome slices of bacon, then you’ll not be disappointed.  So convinced were we this morning of the unparalleled satisfaction of the meal (we each had the identical order) we voted to order on its heels the newest item on the menu since our visit last October; namely, biscuits beignets which we estimated to be a deference to New Orleans and its French heritage.  Our young server even pronounced the word beignets properly!

Founded in 1718 by French colonists, New Orleans was once the territorial capital of French Louisiana before becoming part of the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® today announced a limited-time fall menu, including new ways to enjoy one of its most craveable menu items – handmade buttermilk biscuits. The new menu invites biscuit lovers to enjoy Cracker Barrel’s made-from-scratch biscuits with “Tried and True Made New” recipes that put a Southern twist on traditional signature dishes. The menu will feature a range of new items now through October 7, including the Parmesan Crusted Biscuit Pot Pie, Biscuit French Toast, and Buttermilk Biscuit Beignets.

This was but the preamble to our tour along the A1A from Daytona Beach to St Augustine. Nearby Flagler Beach I saw Hammock Dunes which I’ve decided is my new best-kept-secret. Dinner this evening was at Obi’s Fillin’ Station, an iconic hamburger joint. We both had the Mustang burger. Superb!