The Absolute Best Restaurant Coleslaw Comes From This Classic Southern Chain

Coleslaw may be a side dish most of the time, but a subpar rendition of it can really deflate your meal. However, a perfectly tangy, crunchy slaw can elevate your dish into the culinary stratosphere. It may not always be the focus of your meal, but its polarizing outcomes make it crucial to know where you can get a coleslaw that's well worth your money when you're dining out. With that in mind, Chowhound set out to find which restaurant slaws are worth your time.

Chowhound tasted and ranked nine chain restaurant coleslaws from worst to best, concluding that Cracker Barrel is the best place to satisfy your craving for that crunchy side dish. And while there are certainly some items that you should avoid ordering at Cracker Barrel, this no-frills coleslaw is assuredly not one of them. A creamy dressing coating and some finely shredded vegetables give you that perfect balance in both flavor and texture, and it's what you get from Cracker Barrel's selection.

Cracker Barrel is more than just its nostalgic name — it also lives up to that old-timey charm in how it approaches some of its dishes, with its coleslaw being a prime example. Rather than reinvent the wheel, so to speak, Cracker Barrel leaned into the classic components that make an exceptional coleslaw. Those main components are, of course, the shredded vegetables (mostly cabbage) and the perfect dressing — Cracker Barrel executed in these areas better than any other chain in our ranking.

One key aspect of this slaw that our review made sure to point out was that the vegetables here were shredded noticeably finer than in other options. The mixture of green cabbage, red cabbage, and carrots was described as "nearly feathery," making for a beautiful texture even before anything else was added to the mix. But this fineness also meant the salad's dressing was able to coat much more than it normally would. This, coupled with the fact that the dressing was the ideal blend of creaminess with just a touch of tanginess, meant that you could get a huge burst of flavor alongside a desirable crunchy texture. 

From texture to flavor, these qualities ultimately made Cracker Barrel's coleslaw the one worth seeking out over all others. So while there are other more nuanced tips for ordering at Cracker Barrel, there's one that should go without saying now: Get the coleslaw.