Some of My Best Friends are Barns

Scott Hardie | November 8, 2011
Not being much for shopping, I never entered Pottery Barn in the mall when walking past, but I used to assume it was some kind of kitschy, pseudo-country home furnishings store, something not far removed from a Cracker Barrel. When perusing the gift registry of friends getting married this weekend, I discovered that they're a lot more upscale than I thought.

Similarly, I used to pass by Dress Barn stores for women and think that they must be warehouse-like discount stores full of cheap clothes for bargain hunters. Tonight we idled in front of one while driving. At a glance, the store looked much nicer than I had assumed.

What is it about the word "barn" that makes me think the store's contents must be crappy? Is there such a thing as being barn-ist?

Samir Mehta | November 8, 2011
[hidden by request]

Erik Bates | November 8, 2011
[hidden by request]

Steve Dunn | November 8, 2011
I'm pretty sure Samir is thinking of Hickory Farms for cheese and every company on Earth for "sometimes racist policies."

Samir Mehta | November 8, 2011
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | November 8, 2011
I avoided Cracker Barrel for years out of some kind of liberal white guilt for the whole Confederacy thing, which is ridiculous enough already, but I don't even have relatives from the South; my family tree counts General Sherman. I imagined walking in there and, I don't know, hearing "Dueling Banjos" and being stared at like I was going to be mounted and told to oink like a piggie. When friends finally talked me into it, my fears, obviously, were unfounded: Cracker Barrel is indeed well-steeped in a "poor 'n Southern" corn-pone aesthetic, but it's harmless. The food in the restaurant is comparable to Perkins or Bob Evans, and the store is kitschy, many of its wares not intended (I think) to be taken seriously.

If there's a "Southern" chain to avoid, it's Waffle House. Watching my breakfast being prepared inches from a mountain of filthy dishes should have spurred me to the exit. The three days of painful food poisoning that followed were my punishment.

Samir Mehta | November 8, 2011
[hidden by request]

Steve Dunn | November 8, 2011
Haha, Samir, I originally thought you were confusing Cracker Barrel with Hickory Farms and Waffle House.

Waffle House is the chain that stands out for me as the magnet for race discrimination claims.

Steve West | November 8, 2011
Whatever happened to Stuckey's?

Scott Hardie | November 9, 2011
When I think of racial discrimination, one restaurant comes to mind: Denny's. Their problems haven't been any better or worse than Cracker Barrel or Waffle House or other chains, but for whatever reason, they've made an impression. Is it because they're from California and not "Southern," so I have different expectations? I dunno. I guess I don't have a problem eating at places that discriminate, because I eat at the Denny's down the street about every 1-2 months. It being one of the few options for late-night dining around here has something to do with that, but to be fair, they've worked hard to improve the quality of their food in recent years, even the cheap stuff. Too bad they keep discontinuing items right after I discover that I really like them.

I want to say that I avoid Chick-fil-A because of their campaign against gay marriage. But really I just avoid them because I don't like their food.

Scott Hardie | November 9, 2011
Whatever my prejudices about Pottery Barn and Dress Barn, I don't think I ever assumed the worst about Barnes & Noble.

Steve West | November 9, 2011
I miss The Red Barn restaurant chain (sorta).

Erik Bates | November 9, 2011
[hidden by request]

Lori Lancaster | November 9, 2011
[hidden by request]

Steve West | November 10, 2011
I haven't agreed with Fred Barnes for years. Now I know why.

Scott Hardie | November 13, 2011
I want to like Golden Corral. It has a big variety of food, and it's cheap and convenient. But it's just not very good; everything is so bland and flavorless. We don't have very many Old Country Buffets and Ponderosas down here; Golden Corral seems to have cornered the marketplace.

I too can respect a place that closes on Sundays because of their beliefs even when I'm frustrated by the inconvenience. Kelly needs leather supplies from a shop in Tampa on a regular basis, and she drives an hour to Tampa every Sunday for Amtgard, but guess what day of the week that store isn't open.

I was a little hard on Cracker Barrel, so Samir, let me be clear: It's worth visiting once, to see what it's like and so you can say that at least you tried it. It's not bad.

One of the interstate exits in Bradenton has a Cracker Barrel, Waffle House, and Sonny's BBQ all on the same block. We call it the Redneck Trifecta, or the Rednecta. And there's a Harley Davidson shop next door for good measure.