It had been quite awhile since our last visit to a Cracker Barrel. Although their Front Porch rewards program is now defunct, the e-mailing list persists. The latest offered the Country Brisket Plate special, slices barbecued brisket on Texas toast, French fries, a side of coleslaw and extra barbecue sauce and garnished with slices of sweet pickle; and all for just $5.99. Sounded like a good deal. We have had favorable outings at Cracker Barrel in the past. We owed out friend Martha a dinner out so we called and set a date.
This Cracker Barrel is the closest to our house, it just off the 275 Freeway on 54th Avenue in St. Petersburg, Florida, a leisurely 15 minute drive. We arrived in a lull, just before the dinner rush I would guess. We were seated almost immediately in a sparely occupied dining room. It was pleasantly much quieter than normal, the hard surfaces do echo ambient sound, and we were thankful for the small crowd and a much quieter dining experience.
Our server, Deborah, was quickly there to take our beverage order. She was friendly and efficient. During the course of the meal she was there to refill beverage glasses and to check on our progress. She was there often enough that we never needed to call for her but never hovered too near the table.
We had not told Martha about our predetermined choices. We wanted her to have free choice from the menu. Janis had already decided on the Chicken and Dumplings ($8.29) from the Country Dinner Platters section, her long time favorite from the Cracker Barrel offerings. She already had her side orders selected, corn, fried apples, cottage cheese and biscuits. Martha found the menu insert about the Country Brisket Special ($5.99), the offering that had brought me there, and in an example of coincidence, ordered the brisket. The brisket comes with a choice of biscuits or corn muffins. Martha was unable to decide when our server, Deborah, suggested that she could provide one of each for Martha to try and then the order was complete.
Janis’s chicken and dumplings were, as she said, “…as good as they always are.” She was thoroughly enjoying them. The serving was more than ample and as is her habit, asked for a take home container to split the meal and enjoy the second half as tomorrow night’s dinner.
Martha’s and my brisket plates were almost identical but only similar to the as advertized picture in the e-mail and stapled to the menu. The as advertized picture would lead one to believe a more substantial and better cooked serving was in the offing. Certainly it needed more work in presentation. Martha enjoyed her meal and had no particular complaints. The meat was slightly tough, more so than to cut with a fork, it needed a bit of pressure with the table knife. Perhaps the meat had been in a steam table dish too long. I think it was more of an oven roasted brisket rather than a true barbecued brisket. It was not big on flavor and therefore benefitted from the barbecue sauce. The sauce was vinegary Carolina style sauce, not to tart and not to thin, very good for that style of sauce. The base Texas toast was crispy as it should have
been. The fries were fine but needed a dash of salt. The coleslaw was tasty and just about the right serving for the size of the dinner platter. With the biscuits and butter, considering it was the “Special” at a reduced price, it all made for a satisfying meal of moderate proportions. There was one additional deficit we didn’t realize until the meal was completed. Our brisket platters did not have the sweet pickle slices. In retrospect I think the sweetness of the pickles would have made an excellent counterpoint to the tartness of the barbecue sauce and would have enhanced the enjoyment of a nearly marginal meal. My curiosity about this dish has been satisfied and I probably will not order it again in the future as there are too many other things on the menu I like better.
For the three of us, dinner and beverages, it came to $24.25, and with tip almost $30.00. At an bout $10.00 apiece, not too bad for an occasional dinner and night out with friends. If you like, you can compare the brisket meal I was served with the “as advertized” picture below.
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