Eric R.
Yelp
Just last April, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store abruptly closed two stores in California, leaving only five stores in the state, and the Rocklin location standing as the only location in NorCal. I enjoyed their breakfast during my last visit, and I decided to pay a visit, "just in case..."
As you enter, you'll notice the "country store" side of the operation, which displays clothes, souvenirs, knick knacks, canned fruit, posters, and practically anything with a "southern" slant. It's late August, and already much of the merchandise is centered on Halloween and Christmas.
In a clever marketing twist, you will need to walk through the store to enter the restaurant.
Cracker Barrel is very serious about breakfast, as their menu begins with breakfast. I chose from the top of the menu, and went with the "Old Timer's Breakfast," which seemed the right thing to do on this Monday morning.
The dining room is absolute GIGANTIC and it's separated in the middle by a low partition. If you love wood, you've come to the right place, as the floor, the furniture and much of the walls are wood, or wood paneled. The furniture is all tables, as there are no booths or a counter. The spacious dining room centers around the charming fireplace - which wasn't lit on this warm August morning - and is "country," quirky, attractive and interesting. The walls are adorned with posters, tools, pictures, guns, farm equipment... you name it. You could spend all of your morning just admiring the interesting decor.
From the "Cracker Barrel Classics" section of the breakfast menu, I started at the top, and went for "Old Timer's Special." The menu describes this delicious breakfast as, "Two farm fresh eggs, with your choice of breakfast side, PLUS thick skinned bacon or smoked sausage patties. Served with biscuits 'n gravy." True Southern cuisine in Rocklin!
My meal began with two small, thin patties of smoked sausage, each a little larger than a silver dollar and maybe a quarter inch thick. The sausage definitely had a delicious, smoky flavor, and the smoke taste enhanced the sausage and didn't overpower it. The sausage was tender, juicy and delicious, but each patty only made for about two bites, which is only a "taste."
Cracker Barrel offers several choices for your side, and like to keep my breakfast on the simple side, so I went for hash browns, which I truly adore with any breakfast. The slab of hash browns were average size, perfectly grilled to a crispy, medium brown on the outside, with a white inside, which made for perfect hash browns.
My two eggs arrived perfectly fried sunnyside up, as per my request, which matched perfectly with the hash browns, especially when I added some Cholula Mexican Hot Sauce, which is the perfect breakfast hot sauce, especially with eggs.
My breakfast included two small, freshly baked biscuits, with a cup of sausage gravy in a small basket, with made for a sunning presentation. I cut each biscuit in half, placed both on my plated and topped them with the gravy for a delicious, Southern taste sensation.
The glass of Blue Moon beer added a refreshing "fruity" touch" and served as both my appetizer and my dessert.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is serious about breakfast, and I enjoyed a solid, delicious, "Southern style" breakfast at this fine restaurant. I loved the breakfast, but I was slightly disappointed in the size of the portions, as I feel, for the price I paid, they could have been a bit larger. Despite that small gripe, the breakfast was delicious, and the price of admission wasn't totally out of the Rocklin ball park. Solid four-star dining.