Johnsonville's The Sausage Dome Champion, Competitive Home Cook (2017 & 2018 World Food Championships Top 5), World Food Championships E.A.T. Certified Food Judge, KCBS Certified BBQ Judge, Tillamook Brand Ambassador, JOI Ambassador, Culinary Researcher, Food & Travel Blogger/Vlogger, and Recipe Developer
Sunday, February 3, 2019
Cracker Barrel welcomes us to Texas with country cooking in El Paso
The food in this post were provided by Cracker Barrel but
the opinions expressed here are my own.
Day 2 of our road to the 2018 World
Food Championships begins with breakfast at the hotel, packing up the car, and
then on the road to our next stop El Paso, TX. The 4 ½ hour drive takes us
through Arizona and New Mexico desert terrain. As we near El Paso, the traffic
starts to get heavy (lunch hour traffic). Welcome to the Lone Star State! El
Paso is on the border of the United States and Mexico. We stayed here last year
but since we arrived so late, we couldn’t see anything. But during the day, you
can see the Rio Grande and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico from the highway.
One of our favorite
restaurant chains is Cracker Barrel. When we go on road trips, we always stop
because we love the country cooking, something we really don’t have in Southern
California. This is our fifth location with Kingman, Phoenix, Lafayette, and Pensacola
also under our belt. With Southern hospitality in full swing, it was time to
order and eat.
Country Fried Steak
is a generation portion of USDA Choice steak breaded and deep fried, topped
with Sawmill gravy, and served with your choice of three country sides (turnip
greens, whole kernel corn, and mashed potatoes with gravy pictured) and
made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuits or corn muffins. This is one of our
favorite entrees to order. The crunchy, blistered exterior of the country fried
steak crunches as I cut it with a knife, but the cubed steak on the inside is
juicy as can be. The Sawmill gravy is amazing! I love it with the biscuits and also
on the mashed potatoes with its velvety creamy texture and pepper punch. Turnip
greens are a side we had not tried before and added it to our “love it” list of
Cracker Barrel items. The taste is like collard greens but a little bit milder.
I love that they are utilizing the tops of this root vegetable.
Southern Grilled
Chicken Caesar Salad is smoky southern grilled chicken breast over chopped
romaine lettuce tossed in buttermilk Caesar dressing, topped with shaved
parmesan, grape tomatoes, house-baked sourdough croutons, and two deviled eggs.
To be perfectly honest, the first thing that caught my eye when I read the
description was “deviled eggs”. If you have been following me, I LOVE, LOVE,
LOVE deviled eggs. My hubby’s grandma made them for the holidays and I always
made a pig of myself or should I say “chicken”. The second thing that caught my
eye was “buttermilk Caesar dressing”. The intrigue turned into delight once I
took my first and second bite. The first was the deviled egg, of course. I love
how creamy the yolk filling was, not too vinegary, not too much mayonnaise,
just right. The second bite consisted of the romaine, dressing, and chicken. I
love traditional Caesar, but this might be my new favorite. The buttermilk
lends a creaminess, richness, and acidity that you would have in a traditional Caesar
from the yolk, olive oil, and lemon. The chicken was juicy and love the smoky seasoning.
All the flavors worked well together, and this item has been officially added
to the “love it” list.
Double Chocolate Fudge
Coca-Cola Cake is Cracker Barrel’s famous cake made daily, by hand, and served warm
with rich, creamy vanilla ice cream. I love Cracker Barrel’s pies but sometimes
I just want cake. This is a cake like grandma would make. It is moist,
chocolatey, and reminds me of home.
Apple Streusel Pie
(seasonal) happened to be on the menu for the 2018 winter holiday season.
Cracker Barrel might have to put it on the regular menu because we added it to
the “love it” list. Their All-American Apple Pie is our favorite as well, but
this combines that beautiful apple flavor with this amazing streusel topping.
With our belly’s at
capacity, it was time to hit the road to our next stop, Fort Stockton, TX.
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