Cracker Barrel

Recently, my parents asked if we wanted to go to Cracker Barrel and they would treat us. Obviously, I wanted to go for a free meal, but I was hesitant because I thought there would be nothing for Brody to eat and he is at the point now that he sees us eating and wants what we have, so I didn't think that would be fair.

I decided to call and ask to speak to the manager. I figured at least bacon or sausage could be safe and I could bring him other food to supplement (This way, he could have something that we were eating). I explained the food allergy situation to the manger and he was extremely helpful. He told me that the meat is cooked on a separate grill from the eggs, etc. That sounded good to me, but then I thought, "What if someone ordered a cheeseburger and some of the cheese dripped onto the grill, etc.?" I know, I am thinking in extremes, but I want to be cautious. I expressed my concern to him about this remote possibility and he told me that they could clean the grill off before cooking Brody's food. He told me to ask for him when we arrived and he would take it from there (SO NICE!).

Not only did the manger take care of us when we were there, he brought me out a list of safe options. I am such a visual person...I love hard copies of information. This is probably another reason I started this blog to cut down on all of the papers I accumulate and to be able to have them accessible in one place.

This information was updated by Cracker Barrel on 1/03/10 and it must be from a handbook and on the bottom of the page, it says Quality Assurance.


Milk Allergen

The following food can be recommended for guests who are allergic to milk

• Breads: Sourdough Bread (regular and wheat), Westminster Crackers


• Apple Bran Muffins


• Eggs (fresh shell eggs only); Egg Beaters and Eggstrod'naire contain milk


• Grilled Meats: Bacon, Ham, Sausage, Grilled Chicken Tenders, Hamburger Steak-be careful to prevent cross-contamination from pancakes and breads other than sourdough, from cheese or from butter and margarine used to grill other foods.


• Dip Items: Meatloaf


• Side Items: Apple Sauce, Green Beans, Pinto Beans, Turnip Greens


• Tossed Salad, Grilled Chicken Tender Salad or Country Chef Salad (without Cheese, Egg and Croutons)


• The Following Salad Dressings do not contain Milk: Honey French (regular & fat free), Honey Mustard (regular & fat free), Thousand Island (regular & fat free), Reduced Calorie Italian
  

*All fried items should be avoided due to cross-contamination from the cooking oil.

Egg Allergen

The following foods can be recommended for guests who are allergic to eggs

• Breads: Biscuits, Sourdough Bread (regular and wheat), Westminster Crackers


• Grilled Meats: Bacon, Ham, Sausage, Grilled Chicken Tenders, Hamburger Steak, Ribeye and Sirloin Steaks-be careful to prevent cross contamination from Pancakes and French Toast


• Dip Items: Roast Beef and Gravy, Chicken and Dumplings, Turkey and Gravy


• Side Items: Apple Sauce, Green Beans, Pinto Beans, Turnip Greens


• Tossed Salad, Grilled Chicken Tender Salad or Country Chef Salad (without Egg, Cheese and Croutons)


• The following Salad Dressings do not contain Egg: Honey French (regular & fat free), Fat Free & Reduced Calorie Italian, Fat Free Ranch, Fat Free Thousand Island

*All fried items should be avoided due to cross contamination from the cooking oil

Wheat (Glutens) Allergens
The following can be recommended for guests who are allergic to wheat

• Eggs and Grilled Meats: Bacon, Sausage, Grilled Catfish, Grilled Chicken Tenders, Hamburger Steak, Ribeye and Sirloin Steaks-be careful to prevent cross contamination from Pancakes and French Toast
• Side Items: Apple Sauce, Carrots, Corn, Green Beans, Pinto Beans, Turnip Greens

*All fried items should be avoided due to cross-contamination from the cooking oil.

Peanut Allergies

Cracker Barrel does not cook with peanut oil and does not add peanuts to any of our menu items. The core menu items are peanut free. Please carefully check all labels for any promotional items, weekly specials, and regional menu items.

The items that are in bold are safe for Brody (milk, eggs, peanuts and wheat) as long as there is no cross contamination.

Many of the mothers at the FAAN meeting this week also expressed that they have had a good experience at Cracker Barrel and managers have went as far as to bring out labels on items for the parents to read to ensure that it was safe for their child. It is nice to know Cracker Barrel has some safe options, especially when you are traveling. You know you are going to drive by a ton of Cracker Barrel's on your way to your destination. Just hope that you get a manager who goes out of his/her way to accommodate and make you feel comfortable about how the food is being prepared.

One more thing I will add: on the back of my paper the manager put the label for the White Sourdough Bread. I figured I would just add this information since I had it.
White Sourdough Bread: ingredients: flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron, potassium bromate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin), water, sugar, corn oil, potato flakes (dehydrated potatoes, mono and diglycerides, sodium acide pyrophosphate, citric acid., A natural mixed tocopherols [a natural source of vitamin E] added to protect freshness), salt.

One more safe eating out option to add to the list!