Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

My husband and I went for dinner and even though the environment was ok, the food was very disappointing.  The potato soup and the clam chowder were both salty and extremely thick, to a point they both looked like oatmeal and they both tasted the same way! We are still wondering how that was possible.  The lemon pepper grilled rainbow trout was small and bland, barely seasoned.  The dumplings as a side dish were horrible; the sauce was extremely thick and we were not able to eat more than one. The meatloaf was overcooked outside and barely cooked inside; the flavor was nothing special and needed more spices.  The side of carrots was just that, a side of boiled baby carrots that anyone could make at home and the macaroni and cheese seemed to be cooked hours before our order was placed.  If you still decide to go there, Do not order the cranberry ice tea; it tasted more like sweetened water with a slight berry flavor, and i had it because i needed something to wash out the taste of the food. The only ok part of the meal was the fried apples, which were well cooked but were nothing special.  The service was fine... But unfortunately we will never go back there, the food is definitely not worth it and looked like if it was taken out of a TV dinner container and heated for us.  We are not fans of fast food, but even that would have been better than this place.

I feel weird giving 5 stars to a chain restaurant, but I couldn't find anything wrong!  Fun little craft country store, clean restaurant, flavorful food for a good price...Fried catfish for breakfast, you say?  Sounds a little weird, but I'm game to try it.  Thank God I did!  One of the best, moist, flaky, cornmeal-dusted fish dishes I've ever had!  Oh, and you should REALLY ask for Payge as your server - meticulous, friendly, and helpful to the nth degree.

We stopped in for lunch during a road trip just to be adventurous. That'll teach us.

I don't wish my review to cast aspersions on the nice ladies who work in the shop, but the fact is that this was without a doubt the second-worst meal we've ever had in our lives.  This is not to say that you might not enjoy it, if like so many people in the state of Illinois you prefer your food to be bland, gelatinous and in the end a slow form of suicide via diabeetus.

To be fair, I should have been tipped off by the clientelle. If you find yourself the youngest diner in any establishment by roughly 30 years, basically, run.