The Cracker Barrel Fury Continues With The New Fried Pickle

When you think of country fried steak, fried chicken, or grits and sausage there are a few restaurants in America that come to mind, and Cracker Barrel is probably one of them. The native Lebanon Tennessee-based chain has been wooing its customers for years with the best things to order from the Cracker Barrel menu such as the sugar-cured ham and macaroni n' cheese.

With all of these classic American staples, adding new items to the longstanding menu that fail to fall within the typical bounds of the at-home country store has been quite controversial. With the rise of inflation in mind, Cracker Barrel came up with a plan to invigorate its future sales that includes focusing on menu innovation and adding a new regular customer to its consistent fan base (per FSR).

You would assume sticking with trends and adding menu items such as newer plant-based foods would bode well for most, but the country store's recent menu additions are inciting more drama instead of sales. The new Impossible sausage that was added to the breakfast menu had Cracker Barrel fans seeing red. Some diehard Cracker Barrel goers believe it to be a negative deviation from the standard menu (via Entrepreneur). Not only has the fake meat sparked outrage but the debate continues over another meatless menu inclusion.

While Cracker Barrel is not new to drama with its recent faux meat debate, last week the country store updated its Facebook page to entice fans over the new Country Fried Pickles with the tagline "Bite Sized & Country Fried."

Once again, heated comments were thrown in the comments section. One user complained, "There's no meat on that plate! This is downright unAmerican" while another wanted Cracker Barrel to change its "menu back [to] like it was pre-COVID." Some Facebook users didn't understand how fried pickles could spark political debate, yet the post saw over 300 comments on the meaning behind breaded cucumbers.

Some might argue that Cracker Barrel has done its due diligence by attempting to make all parties happy. It continued to advertise for meat lovers with its recent promotion of the new Kick n' Ranch Fried Chicken as the country store's cover photo on Facebook and primary image featured on the Cracker Barrel website. While the company has addressed the debate over its latest vegetarian options, you can't help but wonder what issues fans could have with Cracker Barrel's sweet treat options for fall.