Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in Gilbert

I only venture out on rare occasions for dinner because I am immune suppressed. But this was always my goto restaurant for at least a couple decades. Was sort of an "early" Mother's Day treat from my adult son. However what I always remembered as "home cooking" has become "from frozen" to your table. I accepted that and attempted to enjoy nonetheless... I skipped the puke on a plate (my description of that gravy mush they put on so many entres, perhaps been "momming" to long to be able to appreciate it as "food", just look at the pics folks, it is not the most appetizing, and certainly I have come to learn, light colored gravy is far from "healthy". So I chose southern grilled chicken (certainly from frozen, not fresh, so the texture is a bit off) but the seasoning was delicious. I live to regret every bit of their amazing biscuits, (Which we specified we wanted ONLY biscuits not corn muffins, and waitress brought the corn muffins and biscuits?) so my son and I sorta fought over the two or three biscuits... I also had what are listed as "fried apples" (turns out they are actually BAKED per the manager, but perhaps he is just not up on the packaging of his frozen "fried apples" that are popped into the "oven" to properly warm before serving?

I also had ordered a side of "fried" okra, which I am pretty sure is also just a frozen item baked in the oven to bring back to serving temp, but it did NOT arrive with our entres, I had to wait on it.

Eventually, my son and I attempted to "enjoy" the wonderful frozen meal we were served, not piping hot, but palatable... and we almost did so until I experienced the non-fond taste of CHEESE in my apples. I looked down to see several bits of MAC AND CHEESE in my "baked/fried apples", 🤮.

I tried not to seem too upset, my son prefers to accept everything as is, but I calmly asked him, "How does mac and cheese get in my apples?"

I didnt order mac and cheese and neither did he. So we both resolved to be very baffled and decided to call over the manager to address the question, "🙋‍♀️ hey, how did mac and cheese get in my fried apples. It has ruined my favorite side. And really, this being one of the rare occassions I venture out for dinner, I am very disappointed, I gave usually had a much more pleasing experience at Cracker Barrels." This "20-something" manager I will not name in this review, he knows who he is, yes, Sunday Cinco De Mayo evening, around 7pm, responds not with empathy or remorse for my unexpected disdain of encountering mac and cheese in my apples ruining the entire meal experience, rather corrects me and expounds on the fact that the apples are NOT fried, they are BAKED, and when I mention the menu clearly lists them as fried, he responds with, I cannot even imagine how you would do that, fry apples. 😂 Not kidding, he had ZERO culinary knowledge, which I guess you do not need if you running a "reheated food" spot rather than a real "reataurant". He then had NO explanation on how the mac and cheese got in my apples, and offered more of them. He could well see that I had not discovered my mac and cheese dilemma until nearly finished with my meal, and NO, not a good answer or solution, I am soured on the experience of having tasted the unexpected mac and cheese with my apples 😭 ... I was MORE than understanding and polite and did not, imo, go "Karen" on him, rather I thought, let him figure out a solution. Well he came back to the table with our bill, and said, we do not have a value for the apples because they are part of the entire entre you selected, so I removed a drink from your tab, I think it would be about the value of the apples, 🤣... again, he totally missed the opportunity to "make things right", as he thought the problem was merely "bad apples" when in fact he gave ZERO weight or consideration to the effect that experience, consuming unexpected mac and cheese (which my children will tell you I NEVER eat) had on my entire dining experience.

I smiled politely and gave him 2nd chance to make it right,...

Take the time to read this review to the end, please, and consider not rewarding the manager with your business. Today my fiancé, daughter, and I visited this location for the 2nd time. When they first opened up, the experience was not the best, but most of the issues could be attributed to processes that needed real-time practice to get it right. This visit was the worst. We will not be back. The waitress had too many tables, sure she made a mistake with the order, but it was minor, and she was apologetic. We asked to speak to a manager when the problems became too many and not within our waitress's ability to control. The chef of the evening did a poor job and cooking and presentation. I ordered the grilled chicken with the cheese and requested the chili be on the side. Instead, it came out with a bowl of cheese and chili all mashed together and plain chicken on the plate. I sent the chicken back, and when the waitress brought the plate of chicken back out to our table, there was a piece missing, and the cheese had not melted all the way. It didn't look like the menu description described. The loaded potato also didn't get brought out until about 20 min after the first plate was brought out. The ham my fiancé ordered was extremely salty, and I like salt. The meatloaf was not hot, not cold but just in the middle. The biscuits and cornbread didn't come out until 8 min after the food was brought out (they were not ready), and the biscuits tasted like they had too much baking soda. For the first time, my daughter didn't like them. We often frequent the location near Bass Pro, and she loves the cornbread and biscuits. After 15 minutes of not seeing anyone, the waitress shows up at our table with her purse over her shoulder. She said she's sorry, but she could not bring us the bill because she "no longer works here." I asked why. She explained that because she forgot to put a potato in the order and because we had expressed our concerns over the experience to the manager, the manager fired her. I was so shocked, not ONCE did I tell the manager it was the waitresses fault. If his management style is to fire anyone who makes a mistake, then why didn't the chef get walked out, and why didn't he fire himself. He forgot to bring us our check. After we spoke to the waitress, we waited another 20 min and finally got up and looked for him. He brought us the check, and after everything we described to him, and after being forgotten by him, the manager, he only thought to remove one meal from the check.

We did talk to the waitress, and I meant every word of what I said to her on a personal level. She's better off not working for somebody like that. Another door has opened up. While it is upsetting, incredibly rude, and unprofessional the way the manager handled it, she should count her blessings at the opportunity that he gave her when he fired her in that way. I'm a quality management system auditor for the aerospace industry, and many problems that happen are directly related to training and management, NOT individual employees who make mistakes. I asked the manager how long he had been working there and he replied about a month. Cracker Barrel, if you read these reviews, I highly suggest you remove him from his position. He is NOT qualified to lead a team and will cost your...

Is saddens me to have to write a review for this restaurant I had ordered the campfire beef dish, and upon opening the Silver paper it came in it was loaded with juice. Hardly no meat, no carrots I was really disappointed in what is being advertised versus what is being given to The customer My server saw the disappointment and I asked for a manager. The first manager came by name Ashley she had explain everything comes prepackaged for the meat and that’s what they put on the plate and said there was nothing that she can do about it. It is what it is. My server had then came back. I asked if they were able to take care of us I explain no I was very dissatisfied with the answer Ashley had given. She went, then to proceed to get me a different manager, which her name was Amanda . She introduced herself as a senior manager for the establishment. I had asked her if this looks acceptable to give to your customer, showing her the ingredients inside with only three carrots, one tomato and a few things of beef, along with two potatoes in two corns she started to get very defensive and said I am the one that made your order, and I think it made the way it should be made. I explained to her there was hardly no carrots or tomatoes in a whole bunch of juice. I tried to ask if she could bring out a side of carrots and tomatoes, and I’ll mix it in and she began to explain. No it’s made how it’s supposed to be made and there’s nothing I can do I was very upset of her demeanor, and how she was treating A paying customer asking if there was anything she could do to make it right she tried changing the subject asking if our waiter has been around to fill up any drinks. I proceeded to tell her that our waiter was doing a phenomenal job and that wasn’t the problem in question she began to say there is nothing she can do. I did ask if there’s a discount she could add since I did not feel this was worth $16.99 and she proceeded to say From a business perspective, it would not be feasible for me to do that as I made everything correctly I am very upset with how I was treated at this establishment. I was really happy to be enjoying a family dinner as I thought it was going to be but turned into a fiasco. This is a very toxic attitude management can have towards...