Cracker Barrel Posted About New Meatless Sausage, Causing Backlash From Fans
By: Joseph Lamour (TODAY. com)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Aug. 3, 2022, 10:23 PM UTC By Joseph Lamour
While breakfast is the most important meal of the day, how it's being offered seems to be a point of contention on one restaurant's Facebook page.
On Monday, Cracker Barrel proudly announced on Facebook that it now carries Impossible Sausage, a meatless breakfast patty made from plants, as an option on its Build Your Own Breakfast menu.
This seemingly innocuous announcement riled up many in its Facebook community, with some fans commenting how angry at the restaurant they were for offering a meatless option at all.
"Don't you ever try to push that crap in my direction. Stick to the basics that made your franchise a success," wrote one Facebook user.
"You just lost the customer base, congratulations on being woke and going broke," commented another user.
"Are you kidding me? Who do you think your customer base is? I still order the double meat breakfast and it's not even on the menu anymore," wrote another person, who did not further divulge whether or not they actually receive that breakfast when they order it, especially since, by their own admission, it's not on the menu anymore.
"I only eat vegetables I can recognize," wrote someone else on Facebook.
"I just lost respect for a once great Tennessee company," remarked yet another person in the comments.
There are hundreds and hundreds more comments just like these, decrying the very idea that the Southern restaurant chain would ever offer a vegetarian option to anyone, let alone them. In less than two days, Cracker Barrel's post has garnered more than 3,600 comments, many of them consisting of people absolutely furious with the diner chain, proving that people are really passionate about their pork-based products.
On the other hand, while some of Cracker Barrel's Facebook fans piled on in criticizing the menu addition, other folks stepped in to defend the restaurant and its new menu.
"Y'all really need to grow up. Absolutely no one asked you to eat this. I won't eat it, but I am glad the options are there for those who will. Imagine being this triggered by breakfast," wrote one Facebook user.
"I also hate the idea of a menu having options that I specifically don't want to eat! Restaurants should limit their options to exactly my specifications and nothing more! How dare they cater to anybody other than myself!" someone else said, sarcastically.
"I mean... I'm allergic to shrimp... so should I attack any place that serves it? Or do I just... not eat it," remarked another person on Facebook. "Good lord."
Facebook wasn't the only place the plant-based sausage debate was happening, either. On Twitter, one user posted a couple of stand-out comments in a thread that has been retweeted nearly 7,000 times and liked over 115,000 times.
"Everyone's having a normal one on the Cracker Barrel Facebook page," said the user, who added their thoughts in subsequent tweets about the brouhaha. "Also just funny how these are the same people who yell about businesses being able to make their own decisions, yet here they are getting mad that they are doing just that."
On July 21, Cracker Barrel announced it upgraded its all-day homestyle breakfast offerings with a new menu format and new selections. Amongst all the less controversial new items it now offers, including Stuffed Cheesecake Pancakes and Spicy Chicken Sausage, it also added the Impossible Sausage to its Build Your Own Breakfast menu as an option.
Cracker Barrel also said this addition marks the first time it included a plant-based protein on their menu "at a time when more than ever, consumers are seeking plant-based options that are better for them."
When reached for comment on the new menu item's reception on social media, a Cracker Barrel spokesperson told TODAY Food, "We appreciate the love our fans have for our all-day breakfast menu. At Cracker Barrel, we're always exploring opportunities to expand how our guests experience breakfast and provide choices to satisfy every taste bud — whether people want to stick with traditional favorites like bacon and sausage or are hungry for a new, nutritious plant-based option like Impossible Sausage."
All in all, the internet saga can be summed up by the most-liked statement in the now-infamous Facebook post's comment section:
"I bet some of you went absolutely wild when they added Diet Coke to the menu way back in the day," wrote Facebook user Crow Truett in a comment that has been liked over 1,900 times. "Probably wrote some completely unhinged letters to the editor for your local paper. Imagine being so angry over a restaurant with a large menu adding a sub-choice to an item they already carried. 'Excuse me waiter, I ordered a steak, but the table over there ordered a salad. I'm leaving and never coming back!'"
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I'm trying to imagine why anyone would be upset because a restaurant added something to the menu that they personally don't like, and...I got nuthin'. People are crazy.
Aint social media great?
It shows some people are not happy unless they have something to complain about. Until the media stops making these complaints a bigger story than it is this trend will continue.
Wholeheartedly agree with the first part of your statement, but the media is a for profit business and like any business it will do what it needs to make profits (can't fault them for doing so)
Morning Sandy...
Wonder what they would do if they put Vegemite on the menu??
That would stuff em completely...
people that would be so easily enraged over this restaurant's menu addition already have the american version of vegemite between their ears.
They'd consider it a declaration of war by you Aussies, taking over a Great American Institution.
Never considered Cracker Barrel to be a great American institution.
I wonder about those that actually eat something that looks more like axle grease than anything edible.
YUCK!
Morning Arky...it's the best thing out since sliced bread...
What more could you want? Loaded with vitamins, made from brewers yeast, smells devine and tastes even better...
The country runs on it..if there was ever a shortage then there will riots and the Government wouldn't last a day..
When we go overseas that's the first thing we pack..or we get withdrawal symptoms.. it's more valuable than gold..🐨🐨
My brekkie...when only the best will do..
Not a hash brown or pancake in sight...
Toasted muffin, butter and veggie..bliss..
Something tells me you don't have a Cracker Barrell next to the hospital where you get your colonoscopies
Looks divine.....
So I can now dictate what restaurants can serve??? Awesome!
No more ranch, mayo, or sweet tea!
Good luck in Arkansas with that one....
Wouldn't work here in Virginia, either. As for me personally, I hate ranch, but love my sweet tea.
Wow what an amazing example of petty, stupid emotional 'thinking'.
I've surfed their Facebook page a bit, reading the comments. They are both enlightening and frightening.
I mean, I'm not a big seafood person, but I don't rant about their Friday fish fry and stamp my feet and tell them I'll never be back.
OMG they have mashed potatoes. How dare they, I am never going there again...
Snowflake
They also have meatloaf! And it's better than mine!
My God people are idiots. Who the fuck cares if they offer a vegetarian option. Smart move Imo.
Yet then some assholes have to say, how dare they, like it is the only option available.
Right? If you don't want the vegan sausage, order the pork sausage that's still on the menu and also cheaper.
Same as I don't order the dumplings because I don't like dumplings, but don't whine about dumplings daring to exist.
Much ado about nothing. What does Yelp say, inquiring minds want to know.
I don't know about Yelp, but friends-of-friends who have tried it say it tastes all right, but would not fool them into believing it's meat-based.
I don't often visit our local Cracker Barrel, and hardly ever for breakfast. I prefer my pancakes and eggs to theirs, and their portion sizes are ridiculous. So I'm not likely to try it anytime soon.
I did try Burger King's Impossible Burger, and it was all right. It had too many condiments, trying to hide the taste, which made it a bit soggy if you didn't eat it really fast.
where I live, cracker barrel is the bottom rung of sit down restaurants. oh look, it's an over priced gift shop, no, it's an over priced restaurant...
It's a small town. We don't have many sit-down restaurants. The mom-and-pops are only open limited hours due to inability to hire staff. Some aren't doing lunch anymore, and dinner only some nights until 8 or so.
We got out of the habit of eating out very much during the pandemic, and since everything opened back up, we stayed out of the habit due to limited choices. Probably better for our health and wallet, but not so good for the local economy.
You are lucky. We are overrun with chain restaurants.
TBH, it would be nice to have a few more choices for dinner, even if they were chains. Some of the places I like best in town are only open for lunch, and I don't always have time to eat out. I do try to eat at those on my days off, or when the office goes out for lunch as a group for birthdays and so forth. They're locally-owned, and I'd like to see them stay in business. But it seems like our dinner choices keep dwindling, so a chain would at least give us something other than Cracker Barrel or a greasy spoon.
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devangelical is not the topic here.
We also have about 100 Mexican restaurants.
I don't go out to eat anymore. Too many people around that think catching a virus is a joke. The last time I kinda ate out I got a takeout order from the Olive Garden.
You must be a small town. Everyplace here is open and running. Some may need more workers yet they are all open full time.
Just one shopping center has Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Five Guys, Mugshots, Buffalo Wild Wings, a Chinese buffet (can't remember the name), Outback Steakhouse.....
One that interested me is a new place called Pedro's Taco and Tequila bar...Haha
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We have one Tex-Mex that's part of a regional chain.
Yes, it's a pretty small town. Which I like, until I'm hungry, too tired to cook, and can't think of a place I'd like to eat that's open.
We have a few Chinese restaurants that are takeout only, one buffet, and one sit-down (or takeout).
We have most of the fast food chains, and a Starbucks I've never been to.
The chain restaurants you mentioned, we'd have to drive about 30 miles to get to. We used to have a Five Guys, but it didn't last long.
One of them, I think it was Mugshots, had a peanut butter hamburger....
That just doesn't even sound good.
Sounded gross to me...It was a quick pass...Haha
One thing I have been craving lately is a good steak. They are just so expensive now and I am not good at cooking them myself.
My son makes a pretty good steak, when I can find good meat at the grocery store. There's one in the fridge now. I'll ask him to fix it for dinner tomorrow.
Tease...
Done right that sounds delicious. Done wrong......
I really don't think there's a way to do that right.
Cook your burger (you don't know what it has touched!) Top with Peanut butter mixed with some chili sauce, oil and vinegar or mayonnaise, and some horseradish, all over fresh basil, thinly sliced onion and arugula Yuuuuuuum-Yum!
Get yourself an iron skillet. Ask somebody's gramma how to season it.
Then....after you've seasoned the skillet and the steak, sear it on both sides at high heat for 30 seconds. Finish off in the oven at slow heat.
I did pork chops one night like this and finished them off in my air fryer (my new stove has an air fryer built in). Best pork chops I ever cooked
I cooked that steak last night in an iron skillet with butter. It turned out delicious.
Yes, I seared the pork chops first with some butter. I added fresh rosemary and something else. Anyway, they were delicious
One of my college friends said that with enough butter, salt and pepper he would eat horse shit.... never called him on that, but I should have....
Morning...some people have nothing else better to do or think about...They got their 15 minutes of fame and hopefully they are never heard from again...
If you don't want it don't bloody eat it.. it's not hard people...
Meanwhile in the real world across the Pacific my cat hacked up a furball this morning...now that's newsworthy..
Mine, too. Five o'clock in the damned morning. At least I found it before I stepped in it barefooted.
Yep know that feeling ever so well...gross especially when it's cold..🤮🤮🤮
Do your cat's hair balls resemble turds?
Morning..yep...
LoL the video, it's perfect and accurate.
He is right on the money.
I sent Cracker Barrel an email asking them to add manoomin to their veggie menu. I guaranteed them that they would have every Native American within 500 miles will show up to chow down and that will really piss off the righties, minority veggie food at their favorite restaurant.
I'd eat it.
That would be a great add. I’ve loved manoomin or wild rice since I was a child.
Most of the Ojibwe bands in MN and WI sell it online. There are two kinds, what we call patty rice which is wild rice grown in a patty-type environment and the wild rice that we harvested from lakes and rivers in the area.
The patty type sells for around $6 a pound and the real deal sells for around $12 a pound.
The stuff that is sold in stores they call wild rice isn't really wild rice and the difference in taste between the store-bought and the real deal is huge.
I need the real stuff man!
Haha
Get ready and I'll take you out to harvest wild rice. Harvest time is coming up in the next couple of weeks.
After we finish harvesting it we then have to go through preparing it to eat. After all that is done, I'll teach you how to spear fish for Walleye and the results is below.
Now you are just making me hungry...
It doesn't even compare. I love wild rice and chicken after harvest!
Exactly, there really isn't any comparison. Once you've had the real stuff nothing else is worth eating.
That looks delicious!
I think some see this as the start of something to get rid of eating meat, another new threat to go with other things or they may try to secretly replace meat with it.
I won't order it in a restaurant nor would i order liver or Brussell sprouts,
I hope the BBQ joints never try this (Charger said after eating a slice of brisket he got this afternoon)
Until somebody tries to pass it off as real meat I don't think it will be a problem but then there will be hell to pay.
Mmmm Brisket Ahhhhh
Brisket and tomato from the garden, washed down with a cold beer.
We have 2 good BBQ places,
Well, they smell really good when I've driven by, but I haven't tried them. I hear good things.
Does anyone believe the majority of these complaints against Cracker Barrel are coming from liberals and progressives? I think it's pretty clear that this is coming from one ideological section of America, right wing conservatives. It's just another example of how they can't just let others enjoy their vegetarian or vegan lifestyles same as they can't let lgtbq Americans just live in peace. They have to complain and boycott the restaurant when it offers a vegetarian sausage option, defund libraries because they made lgtbq books available and were outraged when a calligraphy teachers dared have the students copy a line out of the Koran.
I've had the impossible sausage patties and they are quite good. If I had not know they were meatless and had a bite along with eggs and hashbrowns, I likely would not have been able to tell the difference. The only real difference I noticed is there wasn't any gristle or cartilage, but I suppose there may be some rural folk who love chewing on those rubbery little bits. So clearly these folk have never tried it before and are just raging at the 'new threat' they see from the 'left wing liberal progressive animal loving tree hugging vegan gluten free 'woke' crowd who recognize the peril our climate/planet is in from human activity which is anathema to them, thus they reject it out of hand.
This is just another emotional reaction. I suspect the core of the emotion is based on the presumption that this is the beginning of some mass conspiracy to take away meat.
I don't even know how many complaints were received, out of the reported 3,600 comments, do you? They serve an average of 63,000 customers a day, so 3,600 comments in 2 days, some of which were positive, is less than 3% of their customers. Even if negative comments were running 2:1, that's less than 2% of their served customers and it might be less than that.
Do you really think that there will be a boycott?
just more proof that conspiracy nuts will believe virtually anything...
I stopped going there when I learned that they sold more than crackers.
You can have my hamburger when you pry it from my cold, dead, hands...presumably after the heart attack I had from all that cholesterol I consume
AHHH, a fellow member of PETA. people eating tasty animals .....
kill'em and grill'em...
I think that is likely what is on some peoples minds , ordering one thing and having it substituted with this .
i will admit i tried the impossible meats when they first came out , and i found they were not to my liking , tasted too much like chewed up regurgitated cardboard to me, tried to give what was left to the dogs and they gave me the stink eye .
if the dogs could talk i would have thought i was married again .....
Exactly, some reporters wanted a story to write about. I just went on to FaceBook and saw many more favorable comments and very few negative ones.
“I just went on to FaceBook…”
ah…the definitive arbiter.
Should I have used Instagram like the seed does?
Filter the comments for BMI and watch 'em disappear.
Vegan sausage is what the customers finally upset about?
I would have figured that at some point the customers would have noticed that the name of the restaurant is a sarcastic insult.
Whatever. There's still Rube Tuesday for those who have had it with Cracker Barrel.
I'm not paying $15 for breakfast, even if it does come on 8 different dishes.
I think I paid more than that for pancakes, eggs, bacon and a cappuccino yesterday.
And this from a local diner that has served me rotten meat in the past.
Two eggs with choice of Breakfast Side plus Thick-Sliced Bacon or Smoked Sausage. Served with Biscuits n' Gravy. $9.49
what about the OJ, coffee, and tip?
This joke is a little dated but..
Breakfast is the most deadly meal of the day.
Eggs and butter have cholesterol; sausage and bacon are high in nitrates; and OJ? OJ will kill you.
Right? I would have thought is was the bad food in general. Impossible sausage may be a welcomed and needed addition. That and oatmeal. What breakfast serving restaurant doesn't serve oatmeal? Cracker Barrel. Nope, can't do oatmeal...but they have grits...and large rubbery pancakes. Cracker Barrel is the home style meal I remember my dad cooking. When I yearn for a taste of my youth, I go to Cracker Barrel, and have a meal that screams leftovers.
To me, their pancakes are too heavy, like they used too much oil or shortening on the griddle and ended up deep-frying them by accident. I prefer them a bit lighter. I have never been able to figure out the appeal of grits. I like bacon and eggs, but I can fix that at home just as easily as driving to Cracker Barrel.
They do have pretty good coffee. And biscuits, which are something I haven't mastered. And I love the hashbrown casserole.
Our Cracker Barrel's problem is inconsistency - one week, all is fine, and the next, there aren't enough servers, food takes forever, and may be cold by the time it gets to your table. Last time we went, we were at our table half an hour, and nobody ever even took our drink orders, so we left and went to a mom-and-pop, which was crowded and a bit slow, but at least they acknowledged our presence.
Yes, went 2 mornings with out of town friends, first was good and next morning was all fouled up and they did not charge for 2 breakfasts and they brought something else,
I don't care for grits, whatever they are I think it is somekind of fake
They are healthier than home fries but certainly benefit from some cheese. Cheese grits.
An emergency pantry meal that doesn't completely suck is grits with sardines.
Certainly a breakfast side as opposed to the main event. ("Please sir, some more food.")
Barrel of crackers with meatless sausages. Isn't that just another way to describe right wing conservative Trump sycophants?