A Fried Chicken Sandwich

Two of the most iconic institutions in America are Walmart and Cracker Barrel. Someday books with stories about the things that have happened while shopping and eating will fill the shelves of libraries with the things that people have experienced in these establishments. Everyone has seen the videos of Walmart shoppers who have unusual ways of dressing or not dressing in some cases. I try not to go to Walmart, but I do eat at Cracker Barrel, especially when traveling. I have a few stories about some funny and not so funny things that happened to me in that restaurant.

One thing I’ve learned about Cracker Barrel is that if you go there at a busy time and have to wait several minutes for a table there is no place you can stand and not be in the way. Women love to wait in Cracker Barrel. That is because God made them to browse. They love to look at all the tacky things in the the shopping section where you have to wait. There is barely room to squeeze between the displays holding clothes, toys, nicknacks, videos of old TV shows, local sports teams shirts and memorabilia and just about anything men don’t want. In just a few weeks they will begin putting out their holiday junk. It will start with Halloween, followed immediately with Thanksgiving and Christmas. For four months people will be buying all kinds of dancing ghosts, turkeys, and Santas. Millions of dollars will be spent impulsively on these things that people simply don’t need.

I do have one personal story about eating at Cracker Barrel. We were living in Elizabethtown Kentucky at the time. My brother, Mike, and his wife, Lisa, were visiting my wife and me, and we decided to go have lunch at the local Cracker Barrel. At this particular time period the management there was horrible, and the waitresses were not the greatest.  Many times I had issues with the service there. I complained several times to management, or anyone who would listen. After my brother witnessed what happened on this day he began telling people that the management had put my picture up in the kitchen to warn the workers about me. That is not true, I don’t think.

The waitress came and took our order. I ordered a Ruby’s Fried Chicken sandwich and fries. I don’t think we had to wait very long before our food was served. Everything looked like we got all that we had ordered. I picked up my Ruby’s Fried Chicken sandwich and took a bite. Something didn’t seem right, but after eating a fry or two I took another bite of my sandwich. It didn’t taste bad, but in some way it appeared to be lacking something. I removed the top of the bun to check and see if I could spot the problem. Immediately I saw what was missing—Ruby had left off the chicken!!! I couldn’t believe it! I had gotten a Ruby’s Fried Chicken sandwich without the chicken! Ordinarily, especially after having problems before, I would have been very upset, but this time I just laughed. My brother and his wife were dumbfounded. But I was not surprised.

The waitress came by and asked if our food was good. I said, “Oh yes! It’s perfect except there is no chicken on my fried chicken sandwich.” She began laughing and exclaimed, “I can’t believe they did that again!” After we left I began thinking, ‘Maybe they do have my picture hanging in the kitchen.’