10 Cracker Barrel Dishes You Should Avoid Completely

Back in the day, Cracker Barrel was regarded as the premier restaurant for families who wanted to both shop and eat Southern food off the highway on long road trips. It was a place where you could, inexplicably, buy a rocking chair, scented candles, retro candies, and various old-timey wooden toys after a hearty meal of country-fried steak or succulent biscuits and gravy. As of this publication, though, Cracker Barrel is struggling. Some claim that the quality has taken a nosedive over the years, and that the food and the service just aren't as good as they once were. 

Depending on the Cracker Barrel location you go to, you could be in for a less-than-positive dining experience if you decide to stop in for a bite to eat. That doesn't necessarily mean that you need to avoid the chain completely, though. That being said, it's important to know which dishes on the Cracker Barrel menu are likely to disappoint so you can avoid them the next time you're ordering there. 

We've compiled a list of some of the dishes you may want to skip when you're at the restaurant if you actually want your meal to taste good. Use your own judgement, of course, but maybe check out some of the chain's other menu items before you order the following dishes.

Cracker Barrel offers a ton of meals that don't come with set sides. Instead, you get to choose different sides to add to your plate, which offers you the ability to customize your meal. That's great and all, until you order the chain's carrots. These are considered one of the worst Cracker Barrel side dishes on the entire menu, and you'll probably want to avoid them if you actually want to enjoy your veggies. The first sin that Cracker Barrel committed here is using baby carrots. If you ask us, you should think twice about buying baby carrots, which are designed solely for snacking — raw — and shouldn't be cooked or used as a hot dish. That, unfortunately, is exactly what you'll get when you order this side, though.

These carrots are unpleasantly soggy, with none of the snappy texture that makes carrots appealing in the first place. They have a sickly, mushy texture that's closer to slimy mashed potatoes than decent roasted carrots, which can taste amazing with bold seasonings. And to make matters worse, these Cracker Barrel carrots barely taste like anything at all, and they're deeply in need of seasoning. It doesn't seem hard to add some salt and a few spices to a small bowl of carrots, but alas, maybe that's too much to ask. 

Luckily, there are much better veggie side dishes to choose from at Cracker Barrel. So, you may want to skip the carrots entirely.

It's the end of the week, and you want to treat yourself to a delicious meal. Cracker Barrel may not be the absolute best place to go, but it's an easy option if you're craving some down-home comfort food. And what's more comforting than something crispy and fried? That's why you might be attracted to the Friday fish fry. We're here to tell you, though, that you may be better off if you skip this dish entirely. 

Some customers claim that the fish fry is made with "mystery fish" instead of the expected cod or another fish that holds up well to frying. But that's not exactly a problem if it tastes good, right? Well, apparently, it doesn't even taste that good either. 

One customer complained on TripAdvisor that this dish is "soft and mushy," which generally isn't a sign of freshness when it comes to fish. With seafood, you're definitely going to want the freshest possible catch, and it seems like that's not exactly what you're getting here. Not only that, but the flavor was off, too, with the customer claiming that the dish "tasted very fishy." Fish is supposed to taste like fish, of course, but after it's been fried, it shouldn't taste like you're breathing in the aromas of an open-air fish market. Therefore, you may want to opt for a non-seafood dish from the menu instead.

Just because you're going out to dinner doesn't necessarily mean you want something that's going to be too heavy and indulgent, particularly if you're trying to watch what you eat. At most restaurants, getting fish cooked on the grill is a good option because it tends to be quite light and healthy. That may lead you to thinking about ordering the lemon pepper rainbow trout, and we don't blame you. It sounds delicious, and it's a far cry from the otherwise heavily breaded menu items you'll find at Cracker Barrel. But, as it turns out, one Mashed survey found that the lemon pepper rainbow trout was widely regarded as the worst dish on the entire menu, with over 37% of respondents saying it was their least favorite option.

Could this simply be because grilled fish isn't exactly what most people are expecting when they go to a restaurant known for its hearty comfort food? Sure. But we're not going to take the chance of ordering a dish that's known to be so widely disliked. Luckily, there are several other seafood dishes on the menu to choose from if you don't feel like ordering meat or something on the heavier side.

If there's one comforting Southern food we'll always love, it has to be dumplings. It's basically just rustic pasta, covered in a creamy white sauce that doesn't have much flavor beyond basic ingredients like salt and black pepper. But it's the texture of this dish that really shines; well-cooked dumplings are nice and chewy, with almost an al dente edge to them. If you feel the same way about dumplings that we do, then you might jump at the chance of ordering Cracker Barrel's dumplins (conspicuously missing the "g") off of the sides menu. But unfortunately, you're not likely to be thrilled by this carb-y option.

The actual dumplings here are not bad, with that chewy, almost gummy texture we look for. However, the sauce really falls flat. It's too thick and almost glue-like, without any of the soupiness that you might expect from this dish. And although it's not advertised as a side that comes with chicken (which is the usual accompaniment for Southern-style dumplings), it's missing any chicken-y flavor, which renders a dish with basically no flavor at all. If you actually do want dumplings from Cracker Barrel, you should probably just order the full serving of chicken and dumplings instead.

You might expect Cracker Barrel's meatloaf to be a standout dish, considering what the restaurant is known for. After all, meatloaf seems like just the kind of thing the chain would be able to pull off, with its reputation for embracing these sorts of homestyle classics. But, alas, the meatloaf is just not worth your time. Over a fifth of respondents to that same Mashed survey said that the meatloaf was actually the worst dish on the menu. If so many people agree that you're better off not ordering this dish, it's a good indication that you should probably choose something else.

Apparently, the meatloaf wasn't always so bad. One customer on Reddit claims that it's not what it used to be, suggesting that at one point, the meatloaf was actually quite enjoyable. These days, though, it seems to be lacking in flavor, with some customers complaining that it doesn't even come with any sauce on top, which is essential for a meat dish that can often be quite dry without some sort of added moisture. 

You can always gamble if you're really craving meatloaf — after all, the quality of food you get at a Cracker Barrel probably has a lot to do with the specific location you visit. But if you want to make sure you're getting the best bang for your buck, you may want to avoid it completely.

We've already covered the fact that Cracker Barrel's meatloaf might leave you feeling dissatisfied, but don't worry. There are other beefy, meaty dishes on the menu. Why not opt for the roast beef instead? Well, that may be a flop, as well. It seems like it depends on which Cracker Barrel you go to when it comes to what you're going to get with the roast beef, but in most cases, it's not good. Some claim that the roast beef is quite fatty. That's not always a problem, particularly if you enjoy a richer cut of meat. But there's a limit — too much fattiness means that you're not actually getting any of the flavorful, lean meat in the mix.

However, others complain of a completely different problem with the roast beef at Cracker Barrel, such as several commenters in a Reddit thread who claim that it's actually quite tough. That may be even worse than excessive fattiness, since you can't really cut around a tough piece of meat that's tough all the way through. You may get lucky and end up getting a decent plate of roast beef, but we wouldn't risk it.

When you're at a restaurant that's known for heavier dishes, it can be nice to get a side dish that's on the lighter side to help balance out your meal a bit. And whether you go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, having a side of fruit is a great way to make sure you don't feel too heavy by the time you get up from the table. But unfortunately, there's a good chance that you won't have a particularly good experience if you do order the fruit.

You may assume that a side of cut fruit is hard to mess up, but apparently, Cracker Barrel manages just that. Some complain that the fruit is out of season and therefore really lacking in flavor. The blueberries and strawberries may be quite tart if you don't visit the restaurant during the summer months, and the pineapple is likely to be bland. 

Again, this is a situation in which you could potentially order this side and get lucky with good-quality fruit. But ultimately, it seems like Cracker Barrel might not care enough about quality control to ensure that every dish of fruit it offers actually tastes good. So, this dish, like so many others on this list, is a gamble.

There are few dishes that feel as warming and as comforting as a good chicken pot pie, and luckily, Cracker Barrel offers just that for its patrons. Unfortunately, though, it's far from one of the best dishes on the menu, which means you might want to skip it if you want the best possible Cracker Barrel experience. According to that abovementioned Mashed survey, a full 9% of respondents said that they disliked the chicken pot pie. And considering chicken pot pie is such an easy dish to love, this number is far, far too high.

But these respondents aren't alone. One customer who ordered the dish from the restaurant was scandalized by how it came out. Instead of an actual, normal chicken pot pie top crust, they received a top crust that was a giant square, which they described on Facebook as a "... saltine cracker on steroids, just laid on top." That's probably not what most people are imagining when they order a chicken pot pie, and unless that's what you want, then you should probably order something else from off of the menu.

Cracker Barrel offers its patrons a variety of incredibly simple sides that can accompany many of the main dishes on the menu. These sides don't really seem to be that inventive — it's not like you're ordering veggie-focused small plates at an upscale restaurant. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the corn is super, super basic: just a bowl of plain corn. Cracker Barrel could've offered buttered corn on the cob, at least, but if you order this side dish, you won't even get something that exciting.

The main problem with this side dish, though, isn't the fact that it's boring. After all, plain corn is a side that many people enjoy, and if you want a bit of extra color on your plate, it's not necessarily a bad option. The issue is that the quality of the corn generally isn't all that good. When you're working with a dish that's literally just a single ingredient, you want to make sure that one ingredient actually tastes good, not like it came straight out of a can that's been sitting in the back of a pantry for years. 

If your expectations aren't that high in the first place, then go ahead and snag some corn as a side dish. Otherwise, look for something else on the side menu.

A loaded baked potato can be a beautiful thing when it's done right. At home, you may just throw on whatever ingredients you happen to have in the fridge and call it a night. But when you go out and specifically order a loaded baked potato, you ostensibly want it to be, in fact, "loaded" with a ton of other flavorful ingredients. After all, a baked potato is pretty flavorless all on its own, and it really needs a healthy sprinkling of other ingredients to help it realize its full potential. That's where Cracker Barrel's loaded baked potato disappoints.

Your baked potato will be decorated with sour cream, of course, to add a layer of creaminess to the dish, in addition to chives, cheese, and bacon. However, you're not likely to get a baked potato that's actually stacked with these ingredients like it should be. Rather, you may just get a few toppings haphazardly thrown on top, seemingly without a lot of care about how they appear or how they taste all together. The result is a lackluster loaded baked potato that's just not worth your money considering how easily you could make a more delicious version at home.

Static Media owns and operates Tasting Table and Mashed.