Barrels of Crackers

More from USA Today, what's the world coming to?  Kirsten Powers gives us the down-home version of Charles Murray's "Coming Apart":
We really are two Americas. But it wasn’t always so. Dave Wasserman of The Cook Political Report points out that Donald Trump won 76% of counties with a Cracker Barrel but only 22% of counties with a Whole Foods, a 54-point gap. Yet in 1992, when Bill Clinton won the presidency, the gap between those same counties was only 19 points.
There is a sense among many “Cracker Barrel” Americans that they are not only expected to accept rapid cultural changes, but they are obliged to never even express a reservation or ask for more time to adjust. The choice is full-throated embrace or nothing.
I denounce myself. I confess that I'd love to have a Whole Foods here.  Actually, we don't even have a Cracker Barrel.

23 comments:

Grim said...

We don't have either of those things in my county -- the most expensive restaurant in this county is, I believe, a Huddle House (which is like Waffle House in most respects, but less upscale).

However, there is a Cracker Barrel in Banks County, which isn't too far away. It's only there because I-85 passes through, though. I have no idea where you'd have to go to find a Whole Foods.

Tom said...

Very punny title you have there, ma'am.

I'm feeling like a sophisticated urbanite, now. My small town has a Cracker Barrel, and I only have to drive to the next county for a Whole Foods.

Texan99 said...

Ha. Not even Corpus Christi (45 minutes away) has a Whole Foods. I'd have to go to San Antonio or Houston (3 hours away). It's enough to make me fantasize, sometimes, about those "Blue Apron" services, but my husband categorically refuses to have anything to do with them, and he's probably right.

E Hines said...

Whole Foods is overpriced and too loaded with cutesy organic peanut butter, organic shampoo, and other overdone froo-froo. We get our free range-fed beef from a ranch in southern Oklahoma; the rancher and I meet in the middle for deliveries. Whether or not it's materially healthier than corn-fed beef is an open question, but it sure tastes better--and smells different from corn-fed.

We get the rest of our groceries at Walmart. And our dining out is, by lazy choice, centered on ordering in from Skilman Wok. And an occasional trip to an Abuelo's.

No need for Cracker Barrels, but not the disdain for them we have for WF.

Eric Hines

E Hines said...

and smells different from corn-fed

I meant to say while being cooked. My ENTER button rose up and smacked my pinky.

Eric Hines

Texan99 said...

Say what you like about Whole Paycheck, their produce department puts an HEB to shame, and a Walmart, too, that being our only other grocery store choice here. You can also count on their cheese department. I couldn't agree more about the silly dry-goods, though.

Grim said...

...Skilman Wok. And an occasional trip to an Abuelo's.

I've never heard of those restaurants. Are they local chains?

E Hines said...

Well, as you know, T, produce isn't food, it's what food eats.

Skilman Wok is a Dallas area chain. Abuelo's is broader than regional, but it's not nationwide. The closest restaurants to you, I think, are in Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina. http://www.abuelos.com/locations/

Eric Hines

Grim said...

I'll have to remember next time I'm in Knoxville. I've got lots of family up there.

E Hines said...

The Abuelo'ses here have been outstanding. I've never had a less than outstanding meal there, and the two occasions they messed up in the 15 years I've been here ('cos nobody's perfect), they took care of the problem promptly and knocked 50% off the price--even though I considered the problem barely a big enough deal to mention.

Eric Hines

Assistant Village Idiot said...

Whole Foods just came in this year. It's about ten miles from the Cracker Barrel, which has been here for 15 years, and another ten miles beyond that for the other WF in the state. As you may imagine, those are both very purple counties. We don't tend to patronise any of them. We do go to a similar Fresh Market for its weekly loss-leader sales on some good-quality meat. They have lots of other stuff there, including high-end steaks and fish, but we seldom partake.

jaed said...

Whole Paycheck is one thing, but I'm not sure one can claim to be in civilized lands without a Trader Joe's within striking distance. ;-)

Texan99 said...

No Trader Joes down here in the benighted South, to my knowledge! The upscale groceries are WF and the gold-plated variety of HEB, called Central Market. Five times as much produce choice, and no slime on the veg. The meat is a little silly; we'll stick to pork butt on sale for $1 a pound, not the shade-grown Montessori-schooled ambiguously gendered organic heirloom chicken.

Dry goods are no problem. I can order them from Amazon. It's the stuff that has to be refrigerated. Speaking of which, it's 25F this morning! That's a major freeze for us.

Tom said...

shade-grown Montessori-schooled ambiguously gendered organic heirloom chicken

L
O
L

11 degrees here this morning. Looks like Grim's part of the world is gearing up for a little snow as well.

Here's a brief history of snow-related chaos in Atlanta for your enjoyment:

https://weather.com/travel/commuter-conditions/news/atlanta-snow-2014-winter-storm-leon-traffic

Grim said...

There is a Trader Joe's in Athens, Georgia. I'm guessing that they opened it because of the University.

Gringo said...

I went to a Trader Joe's once. I was not impressed. The only thing that stood out for me was its frozen Indian prepared meals, which might be a choice if I didn't want to cook. Wine- as I don't consumer much, it wasn't an issue for me. Fresh produce was limited.

Whole Foods. Expensive chi chi. Their baked goods are tasty. They no longer make Italian Cream Cake, which was very well done. They also stopped carrying soy flour in bulk, which didn't please me.

Sprouts is a local lower cost alternative to Whole Foods.

I mostly use HEB, Wal-Mart, and a local Mexican market which has good deals on fresh meat and produce.

AVI, any Market Baskets near you? My sister used to live near one.

Grim said...

We get most of our groceries from Ingles, which is a highland Southern version of Kroger/Publix/Giant/whatever. (The lowland Southern version is called Piggly Wiggly). My wife grows a lot of what we cook in her garden, though, vegetable wise.

It did snow this morning, but it's almost gone already. It was nice to see it.

Cass said...

The Trader Joe's in Athens is cringe-worthy :p

My kids do shop there sometimes, but it absolutely amazed me to see all the UGA students in there buying expensive treats. Man, I never had that kind of money when I was that age.

We have Wegman's here. It's the best store I've ever seen for produce, and they stock pretty much everything (including a gazillion kinds of fresh oysters). I can't make myself shop there every day - it's kind of overkill. But it's really nice for holidays, and I do like to stop in every week or two to buy fresh produce, at least when the local farmer's markets aren't open.

Texan99 said...

My HEB tries hard. But it's a small market, so if they stock something perishable that doesn't sell, they take a bath.

One thing we have here that's really great is a shrimp market with a fresh catch every morning, not a trace of black anywhere in the tails. If you call ahead, you can get them to leave the heads on some. Elsewhere in town there are reliable fresh oysters.

Texan99 said...

Special stuff for holidays, farmer's markets, ahhhh! Not here. Even if you shop at places like that only for special occasions, you don't realize how important they are until you live somewhere that lacks them completely for hours in any direction. For my normal carrot and onion intake, any grocery store will do. If you want to make an unusual recipe, you need a grocery store with a broader base.

Still, even my tiny-town HEB carries things that would have been considered miraculous 25 years ago.

jaed said...

Gringo, the things I like at Trader Joe's are cheese, nuts (fresher than I've found elsewhere), and some of the quirkier things like cookies and vanilla paste. The produce section is tiny, it's true (they didn't used to offer it at all). The selection tends to be limited, but what they have is generally good and cheaper than elsewhere.

I live two blocks away from a small local chain store (the chain is small, not the store), which is sort of like Whole Paycheck in approach, but cheaper and not as chi-chi. They do have a killer salad bar/stirfry bar, and a deli and some nice prepackaged meals. Produce is excellent quality but gives me sticker shock ("I just paid HOW MUCH for three turnips?" [faints]), meat and fish likewise. I like them mostly because their service is better than any other grocery store around here, plus two blocks away.

We may have an ice storm today and tomorrow. I'm torn on whether to hope for one—they're beautiful, but they do tend to damage trees and cause power outages.

E Hines said...

chi chi

I had to look that one up. Interesting. What the straight dictionaries (American Heritage, and others) had was not the same as what Urban Dictionary had.

Eric Hines

douglas said...

Living literally a handful of miles from the original Trader Joe's, it's got a place in my heart. Used to be the best place for a variety of cheap beers before exotic beer was a thing. Also, hard to beat "Two Buck Chuck" for table wine. Also great for bachelors living off a microwavable diet. Nuts and cheeses for sure also. I think the original sign had as subtext "Nuts, Wines, and Cheeses". Oh, and their chocolate covered peanut butter filled pretzels may be the best thing ever.

We really liked Fresh and Easy, as a kind of cross between WF and TJs, but they folded. Mostly we go to the local small chain, immigrant owned (Armenian I think) supermarket, which has the cheapest produce which is usually good, but you have to pay attention- it's not the curated selection of produce you get at the big chains, but hey, it's about one third the price! (and that's off regular, not organic). Also a good selection of bulk nuts and sweets, and a real deli counter for meats and cheeses.