Cracker Barrel

Cracker Barrel
Bel Air, MD

I read an article about Cracker Barrel new introduction of Southern Fried Chicken. The company did all types of research to perfect the best fried chicken. It's sounded great and for being a Southern style restaurant and not have fried chicken on the menu seemed kinda unusual.
I had the opportunity to visit the Cracker Barrel on Saturday after my daughter's swim meet. I was literally hungry for a nice lunch. With Cracker Barrel around the corner why not try their new fried chicken. Mine you I've had KFC, Royal Farms, Popeye's chicken and of course Chick Fil A.
 All have their pros and cons. So we went to Cracker Barrel. I am aware that this is the place for Southern cooking. and to boot, Saturday was fried chicken special.
We entered with high anticipation since the company studied al sorts of recipes and tested it thoroughly.
I saw a brochure before being seated but first  I have to say Cracker Barrel Southern Hospitality was perfect. Friendly, personal and very professional.
We were seated promptly especially on a Saturday I was expecting a long wait, but not so, We sat down to our table and reviewed the fried chicken brochure. You get 4 pieces of chicken, a breast, a thigh, a wing and drum stick, 2 sides with biscuit and cornbread. Looked scrumptious.
The meal came and the chicken  looked presentable . But at first sight the batter was kinda thick. It was definitely crunchy, took a bite and the chicken was moist, a little more pepper in the batter but seemed like a lot of salt was added.
Don't get me wrong, the fried chicken was ok, but personally I didn't get the "Woo" effect.  Seemed to me like it was regular fried chicken.  Now, I haven't spent much time in the South and looking forward to doing so to try the true flavor of Southern Fried Chicken and maybe to my amazement the chicken at Cracker Barrel might be very close but I cannot say.
On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the best, I have to give Cracker Barrel a "3". It's crunchy which is important, chicken is juicy, a nice bit of pepper is good but very salty.
By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com
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