The Popular Side Dish You Should Avoid Ordering At Cracker Barrel

There's a new Cracker Barrel menu in town, with entrees like a loaded hashbrown casserole and side items such as the fried onion petals. Most of the popular classics are still there, too, but if one of the sides has to go, it's their "dumplins." Dumplings as a side dish — bless your heart. Dumplings are made to be swimming in the pleasant stew that is chicken and dumplings; it's just not fitting to serve this standalone in such a small portion (and alongside a medley of other veggies). Chicken n' Dumplins are one of the restaurant's most popular offerings, with Cracker Barrel claiming that it serves over 11 million orders of the dish a year. Please, Cracker Barrel, give this meal the letter "g" and a dinner-sized portion.

Some don't like the shape of Cracker Barrel's dumplings, either — rectangles dotted with black pepper flakes. Of course, by "some," I mean me. This type of dumpling is called a flat dumpling, and its flatness is not the problem. Because they are rolled out, flat dumplings should have a little chew while still being tender. This doesn't seem to be the case at Cracker Barrel. Their boxy shape offers no depth to their chicken and dumplings recipe, which should feature dumplings small enough to fit on a soup spoon. Instead, Cracker Barrel's offerings are too big and too tough. And one more thing: the flat dumpling has a fierce rival in the South, the pillowy dumpling. Both of these items deserve a proper spot on the new Cracker Barrel menu.

Where I'm from, you are either Team Flat or Team Pillowy, but each type of Southern dumpling has its merits. In contrast to flat dumplings, pillowy dumplings are not rolled out. Instead, they are dropped into boiling homemade chicken stock by the spoonful. Both types, on their best days, will turn you on to the best Southern recipes for life. But serving them as a side dish? No, ma'am. Responses on a Facebook post in the Dads Dinners group gave a Cracker Barrel review that dug deep. One Facebook user told the public group that she did not prefer the "slimy noodles" that are Cracker Barrel's side of dumplings. Bang, bang!

This iconic entrée deserves the spotlight, right next to Uncle Herschel, the gentleman in the famed Cracker Barrel logo. Cracker Barrel tried to axe him for their rebrand, but the Internet went wild, and Cracker Barrel listened. He's back now, sitting next to his big barrel, full of mystery and intrigue, that has to hold something important — possibly delicious. I think you know where I am going with this... A barrel full of delicious chicken and dumplings, cooked perfectly and served in large portions with a spoon, is just the thing Cracker Barrel needs. Will they be flat or pillowy? Only the barrel knows. But little barrels full of chicken and dumplings should be a thing rather than simple side dishes, perhaps sprinkled with classic oyster crackers. Who cares about the double carbs? After all, a Southern girl can dream.