OC Food Diva: Cracker Barrel saves the day with delicious comfort food in Lafayette, LA

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Cracker Barrel saves the day with delicious comfort food in Lafayette, LA

The menu items in this post were provided by Cracker Barrel but the opinions expressed here are my own.

After a busy morning of dropping my mom off at the airport, packing up the car, getting some breakfast to-go from Home2Suites, it was time to hit the road back to California. Unexpected construction from Mississippi to Louisiana caused a major delay leaving us stuck on a bridge for almost an hour plus all the traffic ahead. I pulled up my Waze app and we cut through some back roads to get around the traffic, probably saving us about 2 hours. By the time we arrived in Lafayette, we were very hungry for a very late lunch. The silver lining was – we missed the lunch crowd. Cracker Barrel in Lafayette is right off the I-10 and, like most of their locations, quite easy to find.

U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish Country Dinner Plate is served with two country vegetables n’ sides plus complimentary buttermilk biscuits or corn muffins with real butter. I ordered the fried catfish with macaroni n’ cheese and cheese grits. I am a sucker for grits! The catfish was nice and crispy on the outside with the cornmeal adding a crunchy texture. The fish was succulent and tender on the inside. The macaroni n’ cheese was pretty good. It was cooked casserole-style and came complete with crispy cheese edges. The grits were lovely, creamy yet plump texture with cheesy flavor throughout. Rating: 4.8/5

Uncle Herschel’s Favorite is two farm fresh eggs with grits, your choice of fried apples or hash brown casserole, and your choice of meat (sugar cured ham, U.S. catfish fillet, 8 oz. hamburger steak, hickory-smoked country ham, fried chicken tenderloins, or grilled pork chops). The hubby also went with the catfish. The yolks on these eggs were huge! They must be using extra large eggs. Fried apples are one of our favorites at Cracker Barrel, a sweet side to balance out the savory flavors in any dish. Rating: 5/5

All-American Apple Pie was served with no sugar added and topped with premium vanilla ice cream. This must be one of the best apple pies I have ever had. It was all about the crust! The crust tasted homemade like my Dad’s. The apples were just sweet and tart enough. We ate the ice cream at the restaurant and got the pies to-go for later. Rating: 5/5

Apple Strudel Pie is topped with premium vanilla ice cream. This also must be the best Dutch apple I’ve ever had! Again, it was all about the crust. Plus, the apples were just sweet enough. The strudel crumbled on top added a bit more sweetness and a crispy texture. Rating: 5/5