By Jim Duncan CVFDude@aol.com

Its gas pumps have long since been removed, but Cracker Barrel still broadcasts the vibes of a Tennessee truck stop. This is where grandmothers in miniskirts and high-heeled leather boots spend their lunch breaks. Where else in Des Moines do you see families holding hands and saying grace before dinner? For voyeurs of the American scene, this is improvisational theater. As a dining choice for suburban soccer moms, it is the Grand Ole Option. And in these fickle times, consumers polled by the national trade magazine Restaurants and Institutions named this chain the best family restaurant in America 15 years running.

While most chains push phony themes, selling the sizzle for the steak and the lowest-priced imitation for the real thing, Cracker Barrel's theme is its authenticity. The woodpile outside is stacked with real aged hickory for its smokehouse. The stone fireplace burns real logs. The kitsch on the walls is antiques. Even the musical system
is genuine - that's the original Gene Autry version of "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" you hear, as CB endows the preservation of roots music.

The chain began as a means of preserving a vanishing part of Americana - the country store/gas station of the rural South. As it grew into a 500-outlet company, it did better than most at saving its soul. It's still run by its original founder and the maple syrup on the pancakes is still 100 percent pure. Cracker Barrel claims it uses more than 6 percent of all the pure maple syrup in America. The butter is real and jams are high-end. Fruit toppings are made fresh daily, as are most things served here.

Since Cracker Barrel does not discuss recipe information, we resorted to old-fashioned investigative reporting - we checked out its dumpsters. We found no cans or any packages of pre-mix. So neither our eyes nor our taste buds have any reason to doubt restaurant claims that sauces are made from real stock and baked goods are made from flour or meal, never a pre-mix. Grits, bacon, sausage and ham (country or regular) are old Tennessee traditions, so it's no wonder all are exceptional. And nobody makes better biscuits.

Because this is a southern store, lunch is "dinner" and dinner is "supper" and the menu does not change. Best of all for conscientious moms, CB offers the only true variation of "meat and three" in Central Iowa, with an extensive vegetable menu from which to pick. Turnip greens, fresh-rolled dumplings, pintos, fried apples and fried okra are good enough to make the four-vegetable platter popular, even with kids.

In southern tradition, smoking, braising and frying are strong suits here. Pulled pork had real smoke flavor and the country ham was unique in Des Moines. Roast beef was made from shoulders, not boring rounds. Chicken, chicken-fried steak and catfish all came with distinctly different breading, but much of our fried food was too dark,
suggesting the oil isn't changed as frequently as it should be. The best dishes were those that used stock gravies - chicken & dumplings and hot-beef sandwiches. Dessert kept the southern faith, with average pecan and apple pies, and cobblers.

Prices were family friendly, too. Breakfasts ranged from $2 - $9, with most in the $7 area. Dinners ran from $3 - $13 with most of the meat & threes costing less than $9.

Food News

The Juice Company is now open at 86th and Douglas, offering homegrown wheat grass shots and fresh-squeezed juice... Crimmin's Cattle Company, displaced from Fleur Drive by airport runway ambitions, has relocated to Army Post Road in front of Southridge Mall and adjacent to Dickie Dugan's, with which it will share a kitchen. CV

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