So I’ve been asked: Who’s going to win in Iowa? Don’t know. I’m guessing it will be pretty close to a three-way tie.
But Ben Riggs and Jacob Stubbs asked a huger question. What do I think about Cracker Barrel? I loved Cracker Barrel as the place to stop when driving down the interstate with my wife and daughter. The ridiculously random gift shop is a great diversion. And it has Necco Wafers, which are a perfect snack for driving. Better still are the rocking chairs out front with the huge checker board, and that fascinating game with the golf tees found on every table.
I didn’t fully appreciate Cracker Barrel again until going on vacation with two little grandkids. It remains the perfect place to actually enjoy a meal out with children.
Not only that, you can get a real health-conscious balanced meal with fresh vegetables and great biscuits (well, not diet biscuits) for about $10. The quality is consistently good. The service too. And the breakfast, all kidding aside, is of a higher quality and barely costs more than Waffle House. What about the coffee? Not great, but better than most chain restaurants. Other beverages? Get the lemonade for a sugar rush you can believe in.
When you stay at a chain motel on the interstate, it’s always a great comfort to know that a Cracker Barrel is only a parking lot or two away. That means you can spare yourself the motel breakfast and coffee.
Why don’t I eat at Cracker Barrel more? For one thing, Rome, Ga., doesn’t have one, because we’re nowhere near any interstate. For another, it’s always crowded and you have to wait. My objection to socialism is pretty much the waiting it imposes on a formerly free people. For a third, Cracker Barrel is a little boring, compared with, say, Waffle House. God didn’t intend for us to be that reliably consistent.
But overall, Cracker Barrel is another gift of the South to our country.
What about Marilynne Robinson, Pierre Manent, Jim Ceaser, David Bowie, Aristotle, and the other subjects of the learned recent posts of my fellow postmodern conservatives?
I’m getting to it.