It’s been suggested by friends and followers alike that I should try heaving some crushing purple prose on the experience of dining at such Maine Mall restaurants as Olive Garden, Ruby Tuesday, Applebee’s and Cracker Barrel. No thank you. It would mean I’d have to eat at these national chains, which I’ve never had interest in doing. However, I made an exception once and went to Romano’s Macaroni Grill because their TV ad made the place look appetizing. The experience ended any further curiosity. One exception. On Saturday morning I read a link in my inbox from the digital edition of the New York Times Magazine with an article titled “Letter of Recommendation: Cracker Barrel” by Jia Tolentino, noted as a first time contributor to the magazine.
Cracker Barrel, South Portland
It was an intensely moving essay deriding one of this country’s most popular chain restaurants (635 locations in 42 states). That they had been chided years before for outrageous discriminatory practices against blacks and gays might remain a distant memory to some who either didn’t care or wished not to so that they could covet the misconceived wholesomeness of Cracker Barrel—a polemic of bad taste and even worse food.
