Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

If you like Cracker Barrel avoid this one in Bismark. Our family had some good experiences with other Cracker Barrel’s in the past and since it has been some time we decided to try this one. We were traveling between Idaho and Minnesota and wanted a good dinner for our family. We all were disappointed by the food and lack of food on the menu. We wanted the turkey and dressing dinner offered on Thursdays and they were out and then we also find out they were out of baked potatoes. Then we tried two of the roast beef dinners and they were all fatty. The mashed potatoes were also disappointing. Service was good. Our waitress was Kathleen who was helpful and continued to be apologetic for the food that was not available.

I love Cracker Barrel but, this is the worst one ever. Light traffic and it still took an hour to eat. Stale cornbread and cold broccoli.

I hadn’t been to a Cracker Barrel in years and decided to try it again. Around dinner time on a Saturday, it wasn’t that busy. I ordered the chicken and dumplings because like others have said, it’s a nice comfort food. The food wasn’t anything special, but it hit the spot. One of the only things I remembered about Cracker Barrel was the root beer, so I got one of those too.
What made the stop worthwhile was our waitress, Elizabeth. She is one of the best waitresses I’ve had in awhile anywhere, if not the best I’ve ever had — checking in on us, joking around, and making us feel right at home. Very rarely do I remember a server I’ve had at a restaurant, but I will remember her amazing service from now on.

Love the atmosphere at cracker barrel. It’s almost identical to the location in St.George. The servings always generous and delicious just like how country grandma would make. Not a huge fan of the hashbrown casserole but you can order regular hashbrowns. Ask for the jamming Apple butter you won’t regret it.

Decent food at decent pricing. The average Entrée is around $ 11, comes with two sides and is enough food to share or take home left overs.
I’m not that big on country/​comfort food. I’m sure if I was, the Cracker Barrel would earn 4 stars from me.
The menu has a wide variety of southern and traditional American dishes. The side items span from apple pie filling, steamed veggies, to macaroni and fries. Plenty to choose from.
The food is pretty good flavor wise. I did notice that the chicken and dumplings seemed like they came from a pre-​made batch that had been brewing since opening. But what do you expect? It’s not gourmet. I doubt dishes like that would be efficient to make to order.
The main theme of the Cracker Barrel is southern comfort food. The ambience is hardcore country with vintage folk art and antique posters. Really cute theme, actually.
Service isn’t amazing, but it hasn’t ever been bad, either. Water glasses are filled and the check is delivered at an appropriate time.

I wanted to make a stop at Cracker Barrel while on the road since I knew I’d never have the urge once I was settled back in Minnesota. We saw a sign outside of Bismarck and I gently demanded we stop here for a late lunch. It was around 3pm and there were only two other tables. I ordered ham with sides of dumplings and vegetables (to balance out the dumplings), and my dish also came with biscuits and corn muffins (to balance out the vegetables). My boyfriend had trout with steak fries and two other sides that I can’t recall.
The muffins and biscuits were a little on the dry side and overall I would pronounce the food bland and safe. However, unlike the two other tables we were fully aware that we were at a CHAIN RESTAURANT IN NORTH DAKOTA so we didn’t complain about a thing. I don’t know who goes to a Cracker Barrel in the third least populated state in the country and expects fine dining or exotic cuisine, but they were also having lunch at 3pm on a Tuesday so apparently they exist. The waiter (and eventually manager for one of the tables) handled their displeasure graciously and we made sure to be super duper nice to him to make up for their snottiness. I was embarrassed for the other tables. Come on, people.
The creepy (comforting by American standards?) thing about Ye Old Cracker Barrel is that all the stores are exactly the same. Exactly. I could have sworn the place we ate at two weeks ago was the same one my dad and I ate at in 2001 on another cross country road trip (the first time I voluntarily uprooted my entire life), except that one was somewhere in-​between Minnesota and Maryland and that probably rules out North Dakota. Probably. Let me check a map…
If you want a huge menu filled with familiar, unsurprising, under-​seasoned, possibly once frozen, probably not very healthy comfort food options, Cracker Barrel is a good bet. If you want something else, DON’T GO TO CRACKER BARREL. Or at least don’t complain about it. It’s not their fault if you want something they never promised.

We were back visiting my husband’s family and there aren’t many choices in Bismarck beyond fast food so relieved to find a familiar chain… I know the food is quite bad for you but I can’t resist their chicken n’ dumplins :). If only they had a location near home since I can’t quite get the hang of making them.

I must say, I enjoy shopping and looking in the store more then I do the food. The pecan pancakes are my favorite.

You can’t buy anything from the retail side on Sunday morning thanks to some stupid law in ND… really??? before I get on a plane to leave I can’t get any of their fun snacks. Gah.
Great food
Good prices
Sunday morning staff shows that its the newby’s who get the crappy shift. Our waiter didnt seem to know that when my glass is empty, it should be refilled… one star waiter all the way.
I expected more, thats why the low rating, and the sucky part about not being able to make a fun purchase there before I left. :-(
other than that, awesome

Saturday special: chicken and mushroom with wild rice. Sides mashed potatoes and turnip greens.

good food, good price, good parking, clean. nice place.

The food is relatively consistent. It is always good country style cooking.
Unfortunately, the service is not always the best. You really never know what you’ll get. This restaurant should be good for large groups, but sometimes drops the ball when there are more than 4 people or multiple tables.