{"id":257,"date":"2025-08-01T15:12:59","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T21:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=257"},"modified":"2026-04-04T13:33:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T19:33:28","slug":"the-cracker-barrel-albuquerque-new-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=257","title":{"rendered":"The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store – Albuquerque, New Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
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Cracker Barrel in Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. This really is Gil’s Thrilling (and Filling) Blog and you really are reading a review of\u00a0 a (gasp) chain restaurant. It would be easy (a cop-out) to say my visit to the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store was the result of brow-beating, cajoling, bribery or even torture, but the truth is my Kim loves the Cracker Barrel.\u00a0 She’s well aware of my chain-averse attitude, but was hoping the Cracker Barrel would win me over. With my every reference to the “Chancre Barrel” on the drive to the restaurant, she quickly realized it was a hopeless cause.<\/p>\n

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Rocking Chair Heaven in Front of the Restaurant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After eight years of living in the Deep South, the Cracker Barrel didn’t stand a chance.\u00a0 For the most part, Southern cooking in the Land of Enchantment (or frankly, anywhere outside of Dixie) is about as good as New Mexican food being interpreted\u00a0 in Mississippi.\u00a0 It just doesn’t pass muster.\u00a0 We’ve learned if we want Southern food as we enjoyed it in Dixie, we have to visit The Hollar<\/a><\/strong>in Madrid where chef-owner Josh Novak elevated Southern food to the level of cuisine. The Hollar, unfortunately, shuttered its doors on December 23, 2013.<\/p>\n

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Cracker Barrel’s Popular Store<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My friend Bill Resnik, who coined the “Chancre Barrel” term\u00a0 likes to joke that the wait staff\u00a0 at Cracker Barrel can’t figure out your bill if you don’t have a senior citizen discount. Though we didn’t see any hay wagons or tractors in the parking lot as Bill predicted we would, a quick scan of the parking lot revealed a cavalcade of Cadillacs, a bounty of Buicks and a lot of Lincolns, all of the super-sized variety preferred by some seasoned citizens (yeah, that’s a stereotype, but so are many things about the Cracker Barrel).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The truth is, the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is as popular with young families as it is with geriatric generations. Portions are bountiful and the environment shouts fun in a subdued Disney Country Bear Jamboree<\/a><\/strong> sort of way.<\/p>\n

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View to Two Dining Rooms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Cracker Barrel’s template does bespeak (rather loudly) of Southern stereotypes.\u00a0 The facade resembles that of an old country store with a corrugated tin roof and a porch extending the entire length of the restaurant’s frontage.\u00a0 As at some country stores (which tend to be the cultural and social hub of small communities) in the Deep South\u00a0 the porch is\u00a0 the center of\u00a0 hospitality with dozens of sturdy oaken rocking chairs of all sizes lined up for neighborly visits.\u00a0 Veterans will appreciate the rocking chairs in which the seals of the different branches of the armed forces are embedded onto the top slat.\u00a0 The porch, by the way, provides a perfect western-facing vantage point for one of our amazing New Mexico sunsets.<\/p>\n

It’s the Old Country Store portion of the sprawling edifice that even cynics like me will enjoy most.\u00a0 Though the store is capacious, it seems quite crowded because\u00a0 from floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall there is just so much to see. You’ll have plenty of time to check out the racks of tee-shirts, shelves brimming with kitchen towels, tables crowded with crafts, rag-stuffed animals, gaggles of greeting cards, kitchen accouterments, old photographs, vintage advertising signs and even farming equipment.\u00a0 That’s because waits are almost invariable.\u00a0 While you’re waiting, you might want to enjoy an Idaho Spud<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0Cracker Barrel is one of the few places outside of Idaho in which you can find one.<\/p>\n

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Biscuits and Cornbread<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nostalgia abounds for those of us beset by our own advancing geriatric progression.\u00a0 For foodies, the area pulling most gently at the heart strings is the area showcasing the sweets of our youth, especially the candy we ate as kids.\u00a0 Shelves are replete with Mallo Cups, Goo Goo Clusters, Moon Pies, Zero Bars and even Nik-L-Nips, the tiny wax bottles filled with flavored syrup.\u00a0 About the only things missing were the little candy cigarettes<\/a><\/strong>(which are surprisingly still made and sold) and the wax orange harmonicas sold around Halloween time.<\/p>\n

The country theme continues onto the Cracker Barrel’s dining rooms where walls abound in sundry brick-a-brac.\u00a0 Vintage\u00a0 sepia-toned photographs of mostly unsmiling countenances survey the room.\u00a0 A large brick fireplace with a heavy oaken mantle is the cynosure of one dining room.\u00a0 The handiwork of a taxidermist is on display on some walls with the deer smiling more broadly than the stoic faces on the vintage photographs.\u00a0 The dining rooms are expansive though some seating is of personal space proximity.<\/p>\n

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Campfire Beef<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cracker Barrel purports to offer “homestyle meals, prepared from scratch in our kitchens<\/em>.”\u00a0 Breakfast, described on the menu as providing “stick-to-the-ribs satisfaction<\/em>” is served all day long and features such traditional country cooking favorites as hickory smoked country ham, grits, homemade buttermilk biscuits and sawmill gravy.\u00a0 The lunch and dinner menu touts such old favorites as meatloaf, chicken n’ dumplins, roast beef and country vegetables.\u00a0 It’s a veritable compendium of what many would consider a Southern menu.<\/p>\n

Most lunch and dinner entrees are served with your choice of one, two or three “premium” or “country” sides, the former being somewhat more expensive if ordered separately.\u00a0 In the Cracker Barrel’s vision of the south, sides means turnip greens, coleslaw, steak fries, mashed potatoes, breaded fried okra, hashbrown casserole, dumplins, whole kernel corn, country green beans, sweet whole baby carrots, fried apples, macaroni n’ cheese, apple sauce and pinto beans. There is absolutely NO green or red chile anywhere on the menu nor are the “country vegetables” strictly vegetarian.\u00a0 Meals are also accompanied by made from scratch buttermilk biscuits or corn muffins and real butter (in those real annoying little tubs).<\/p>\n

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Campfire Chicken<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

14 April 2011<\/strong>:\u00a0 Deciding on what to order at a chain restaurant is an arduous process for me and no matter what I ultimately end up with, my very low expectations about liking what I order invariably wind up ending in a self-fulfilling prophecy.\u00a0 With few exceptions, I order the “lesser of all evils,” generally something out of Home Economics 101, a dish any beginning cook can make edible (if lucky, made to taste good).\u00a0 For my first visit to the Cracker Barrel since a team-building activity nearly a decade ago, the lesser of all evils would be spicy grilled catfish<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Our years in Mississippi were bereft of red and green chile, but we did have the best catfish in America everywhere we turned.\u00a0 With few exceptions, catfish in New Mexico tastes as if the restaurants serving it want to remind diners that catfish are a bottom-feeding, mud-dwelling fish.\u00a0 The fact that the Cracker Barrel’s spicy catfish entree is featured on the “Low Carb” section of the menu gave me hope that it wouldn’t be coated in batter the consistency of sawdust\u00a0 (which might taste better) as most catfish served in New Mexico restaurants\u00a0 tend to be.<\/p>\n

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Spicy Grilled Catfish\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Arriving at our table with a prominent char, the catfish had the blackened sheen of New Orleans style blackened fish.\u00a0 Alas, it had little of the personality of blackened fish.\u00a0 In fact, it wasn’t “spicy” in the least until I doused it liberally with Louisiana hot sauce.\u00a0 The hot sauce wouldn’t have been necessary had the catfish been a bit tastier.\u00a0 It not only lacked spiciness, it lacked flavor.\u00a0 My two country vegetables–whole kernel corn and mashed potatoes with gravy–were a bigger disappointment.\u00a0 The mashed potatoes lacked any creaminess whatsoever.\u00a0 These mashed potatoes weren’t lumpy; they were clumpy.\u00a0 They weren’t of the stick-to-your-ribs variety; they stuck to the spoon.\u00a0 The gravy was even worse–thick and tasteless.\u00a0 The whole kernel corn, though fresh and tasty, was unseasoned and would have benefited from some butter.<\/p>\n

14 April 2011<\/strong>:\u00a0 The Country Fried Steak<\/em><\/strong>, a USDA choice steak breaded and deep-fried then topped with sawmill gravy was as much a let-down as the catfish.\u00a0 Country fried steak is popular throughout Dixie because country cooks know the secrets to country fried steak is pound the cut of beef until it’s tender and juicy then bread it lightly so that when done, the exterior is crispy but the inside is still tender.\u00a0 Cracker Barrel’s version is desiccated and tough. The sawmill gravy is gloppy and flavorless.\u00a0 Try feeding this dish to a Southerner (especially a Texan) and you just might reignite the Civil War.<\/p>\n

1 August 2025<\/strong>:\u00a0 Lest you think, I have autocratic control over the restaurant meals my Kim and I enjoy, she can have her way on any matter.\u00a0 If she wants to visit a restaurant, far be it for me to deny her anything.\u00a0 So, when she wants to visit the Cracker Barrel, we go to the Cracker Barrel.\u00a0 Fortunately during our August, 2025 visit, the restaurant’s special was “Campfire Meals” described on the menu as “slow-cooked to capture every smoky, buttery flavor.\u00a0 Our campfire chicken and beef have captured more than a few hearts and taste buds.\u00a0 As summer winds down, these seasonal favorites won’t be around for much longer–get them on the table while you can<\/em>.”\u00a0 Campfire Meals end when summer ends.<\/p>\n

1 August 2025<\/strong>: Campfire meals “are known for being slow-cooked in foil or cast iron skillets with campfire-style seasonings and vegetables<\/em>.”\u00a0 Each campfire meal includes two years of sweet corn, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and onions in a savory broth.\u00a0 My Kim’s choice was the campfire chicken<\/strong><\/em> (a savory, marinated half-chicken seasoned with a signature campfire blend, slow-cooked).\u00a0 This butyraceous meal surprised me.\u00a0 Vegetables were well-prepared and well-seasoned.\u00a0 The chicken did have a hint of campfire smoke.\u00a0 It was juicy and delicious.\u00a0 My choice was the campfire beef<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 (tender beef slow-braised with the same vegetables and seasonings as the chicken, all wrapped in foil for maximum flavor).\u00a0 The beef was reminiscent of high quality stew meat.\u00a0 In fact, you could take every component of this campfire meal, put it in a stew pot and you’ll have one of the very best stews possible.<\/p>\n

Cracker Barrel one-ups a lot of restaurants by not only offering Stewart’s sodas, but cranberry, grapefruit and orange juices and not just for breakfast.\u00a0 The coffee is replenished faithfully and the wait staff (especially Heatherlee) is friendly and accommodating.<\/p>\n

Cracker Barrel<\/strong>
\n5200 San Antonio, N.E.
\nAlbuquerque, New Mexico<\/strong>
\n505- 821-8777
\nWeb Site<\/strong><\/a>
\nLATEST VISIT<\/strong>: 1 August 2025
\n# OF VISITS<\/strong>: 5
\nRATING<\/strong>: Good<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0\u2013 good food, decent service, and a clean environment; provides a satisfactory, dependable, and standard experience
\nCOST<\/strong>: $$
\nBEST BET<\/strong>: Stewart’s Orange Cream Soda, Campfire Beef, Campfire Chicken, Cornbread, Biscuits<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. This really is Gil’s Thrilling (and Filling) Blog and you really are reading a review of\u00a0 a (gasp) chain restaurant. It would be easy (a cop-out) to say my visit to the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store was the result of brow-beating, cajoling, bribery or even torture, but the truth is my Kim loves the Cracker Barrel.\u00a0 She’s well aware of my chain-averse attitude, but was hoping the Cracker Barrel would win me over. With my every reference to the “Chancre Barrel” on the drive to the restaurant, she quickly realized it was a hopeless cause. After eight years of living in the Deep South, the Cracker Barrel didn’t stand a chance.\u00a0 For the most…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":70798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[440,21,540,268,5632],"tags":[734,5067,5066,838,5069,5068,5070],"class_list":["post-257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-albuquerque","category-american","category-breakfast","category-national-chain","category-good","tag-biscuits","tag-campfire-beef","tag-campfire-chicken","tag-chicken-fried-steak","tag-corn-bread","tag-country-store","tag-heatherlee"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - Albuquerque, New Mexico - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=257\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - Albuquerque, New Mexico - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. This really is Gil’s Thrilling (and Filling) Blog and you really are reading a review of\u00a0 a (gasp) chain restaurant. It would be easy (a cop-out) to say my visit to the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store was the result of brow-beating, cajoling, bribery or even torture, but the truth is my Kim loves the Cracker Barrel.\u00a0 She’s well aware of my chain-averse attitude, but was hoping the Cracker Barrel would win me over. With my every reference to the “Chancre Barrel” on the drive to the restaurant, she quickly realized it was a hopeless cause. 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This really is Gil’s Thrilling (and Filling) Blog and you really are reading a review of\u00a0 a (gasp) chain restaurant. It would be easy (a cop-out) to say my visit to the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store was the result of brow-beating, cajoling, bribery or even torture, but the truth is my Kim loves the Cracker Barrel.\u00a0 She’s well aware of my chain-averse attitude, but was hoping the Cracker Barrel would win me over. With my every reference to the “Chancre Barrel” on the drive to the restaurant, she quickly realized it was a hopeless cause. 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