Cracker Barrel New Menu Items: Tasty Pancakes, but Biscuits Need Work - Business Insider

Published 6 hours ago• 7 minute read

The author stands outside a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Virginia. — Cracker Barrel has made several additions to its menu over the past year. Alex Bitter/BI

Cracker Barrel's turnaround effort is in full swing.

A year ago, CEO Julie Masino said that the restaurant chain was "not as relevant as we once were." Since then, Masino and other Cracker Barrel executives have outlined plans for big changes at the chain's locations, from refreshed decor to new menu items.

After Masino's "relevant" comment last year, I visited a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Northern Virginia to see what she was talking about. Back then, I found the food underwhelming, from middling fried chicken to disappointing biscuits and gravy.

My story about that visit prompted many reader responses, including a few dozen messages from people who said they loved the food and old-timey decor. A few others, including some Cracker Barrel fans who had been going to the chain for decades, said that they had noticed the food quality slip in recent years.

One year later, Cracker Barrel has introduced several new menu items, so I decided it was time to go back and see if any of them were better than what I ordered last time. Here's what I found:

This Cracker Barrel restaurant is located just north of Washington Dulles International Airport. Alex Bitter/BI

Like many Cracker Barrel restaurants, this one is located near multiple major highways and freeways, including some leading into and out of Washington, DC. It's the same location I visited last year.

The Cracker Barrel gift shop's ceiling is decorated with antiques, including baskets, farm tools, and a bicycle. Alex Bitter/BI

Cracker Barrel has said it's renovated a fraction of its 660 locations. These reset stores still feature antiques and other objects meant to provide a sense of nostalgia, but with a brighter paint job and a little less clutter.

When I visited in early July, none of the stores near where I live in Washington, DC, had been renovated.

Cracker Barrel said in June that higher costs from tariffs would hit results from its gift shop sales. About one-third of the stuff the chain sells in its shops comes from China. Tariffs have also influenced how early the chain is bringing in some seasonal merchandise this year, CEO Masino said.

While I've gotten used to seeing fall and winter decorations at stores in summer, these Halloween items seemed especially early, given that I was visiting Cracker Barrel during the first full week of July.

The author's sunglasses were on a table with a menu. Alex Bitter/BI

The restaurant seemed a little less than half full when I stopped by at 9:30 a.m. on a Tuesday.

The Cracker Barrel menu included several kinds of pancakes. Alex Bitter/BI

After looking over the menu, I settled on a few new menu items: The S'mores Latte, a Cinnamon Roll Skillet, a Signature Pancake Plate with Blueberry Pancakes, and a Campfire Meal with Beef.

Cracker Barrel's S'mores Latte is part of the chain's summer menu. Alex Bitter/BI

The latte came generously topped with whipped cream — notice the cream dripping down the sides of the mug — and graham cracker crumbs.

The author with his latte at Cracker Barrel. Alex Bitter/BI

The whipped cream topping was sweet — a little too sweet for my taste. Once I worked my way through all that whipped cream, the underlying coffee wasn't nearly as sweet.

I wish that the flavor had been more consistent and less sweet throughout the entire drink.

Cracker Barrel's Cinnamon Roll Skillet comes in a cast-iron skillet. Alex Bitter/BI

The skillet came with six cinnamon rolls. With the cast-iron skillet and faux-gingham paper, Cracker Barrel seemed to be trying to make it feel homemade.

The pancake platter came with bacon and eggs. Alex Bitter/BI

About 10 minutes after I ordered, my blueberry pancakes arrived with syrup on the side, three strips of bacon, and two eggs.

The pancakes came with extra blueberry syrup on the side. Alex Bitter/BI

Cracker Barrel started serving these pancake platters earlier this year.

I don't know for sure whether these pancakes were made with fresh buttermilk, but they sure tasted like it. The syrup, unlike a lot of pancake syrups, tasted more fruity than sweet. I would order these again in a heartbeat.

My server brought my biscuits in a to-go bag without me asking. Alex Bitter/BI

Around 30 minutes after I sat down, my server came over with a check and asked me if I was ready to pay or if I wanted something else. After looking at the menu again, I decided to try Cracker Barrel's biscuits, which had been a low point of my previous visit.

The biscuits showed up about five minutes later in a to-go bag, even though I hadn't asked for them to go.

Overall, it felt like my server wanted me to pay and leave as soon as possible. I thought that was odd, given that the restaurant wasn't that busy and there were plenty of open tables for anyone who walked in.

I wondered how a restaurant that stakes its reputation on Southern food doesn't have better biscuits. Alex Bitter/BI

The biscuits were warm out of the bag, which raised my hopes that they would be better than on my last visit. On that occasion, they were served room temperature and alongside gravy that tasted like it was out of a can.

Sadly, these biscuits were no better than the last ones. They had a slightly sour taste, and after a couple of bites, I had had enough.

Making biscuits at scale in a commercial kitchen isn't the same as making them at home. Yet, given how foundational biscuits are to Southern cooking, I wondered why Cracker Barrel couldn't make better ones.

Cracker Barrel's Campfire menu was included as an insert to the regular menu. Alex Bitter/BI

As I finished my breakfast dishes, it was nearly 11 a.m. That's when Cracker Barrel started serving some lunch and dinner items, including the Campfire Meals. At the location I visited, the Campfire options included either chicken or beef served with slow-cooked potatoes and vegetables in a foil-lined dish.

The Campfire Meals intrigued me because Cracker Barrel hasn't served them since 2018 and recently brought them back as a limited-time offer. "We heard loud and clear for both guests and employees that they deeply missed these unique and delicious foil-wrapped meals," Masino said on the company's latest earnings call in June.

Given the hype, I figured I had to try one.

Cracker Barrel wrapped up my Campfire Meal to go. Alex Bitter/BI

After paying for my sit-down meal, I ordered a Campfire Meal with beef for pick-up. It took about 15 minutes for my meal to be ready. It came with the meat and vegetables wrapped in aluminum foil, as well as two small pieces of cornbread in a separate paper bag.

I ordered Cracker Barrel's Campfire Meal with beef. Alex Bitter/BI

The beef and vegetables were tender. Of anything I've ever eaten at Cracker Barrel, this meal tasted the most like home cooking.

Some longtime Cracker Barrel fans told me last year that the chain should bring back some discontinued items to increase sales. Cracker Barrel's return of the Campfire Meals — for the summer, at least — suggests that they are listening to customers.

The Campfire Meal came with two pieces of cornbread. Alex Bitter/BI

This cornbread came warm, and it was clearly buttery when I took it out of the bag. But it needed a little more flavor — it wasn't particularly sweet or salty. Soaking it in the meal's beef juices helped.

The author is seen standing outside the Cracker Barrel in Sterling, Virginia. Alex Bitter/BI

In my opinion, Cracker Barrel's new menu items are better than some of the staples that I tried one year ago. The pancakes, in particular, were a standout, and the Campfire Meal was a nice alternative to the usual fried or sweet fare you find at many restaurants.

There were also items that still needed work, including the biscuits.

Cracker Barrel is definitely making progress on its menu. But if it wants to win diners over with memorable food, the latest changes look more like a starting point than a complete solution.

A Cracker Barrel spokesperson told me in a statement that the company is "committed to ongoing menu innovation" and that the seasonal items "help keep the menu fresh and encourage repeat visits."

Do you have a story to share about Cracker Barrel or another restaurant chain? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

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