Danny Evins, the lightning-rod founder of the down-home restaurant chain Cracker Barrel, died on Sunday of bladder cancer at age 76. While his chicken and dumplings will live on in Interstate rest stops across the country, here in New York City, he might be best remembered for some less savory offerings. more ›

Great, one more thing to worry about at fast food restaurants: bodily fluids being used as condiments. A woman got her order of fries with a side of human blood at a Cracker Barrel in Texas this week, prompting the restaurant to apologize and send the woman a $100 gift card, because, golly, that blood sure was delicious! more ›

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has decided to "unvite" Cracker Barrel from visiting Brooklyn. Last week, politicians, community leaders, and even our readers were up in arms about Markowitz having the Cracker Barrel folks up for a courtesy visit, to bring some Southern chain-style cooking to Brooklyn. Markowitz alluded to some of the chain's past problems with gay and black employees when he said:

"I do not believe they are ready for Brooklyn. It is our greatest source of pride that Brooklyn's diversity of races, faiths and ethnicities is unrivaled anywhere in the world, and any company that is interested in doing business in Brooklyn must respect and celebrate that diversity. We have no plans to meet with Cracker Barrel."

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Possibly sounding even more of a death knell in Brooklyn than the invasion of hipsters or an Ikea, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has invited Cracker Barrel representatives to look at the biggest borough as a possible venue for a new restaurant. Of course, the Southern chain's history of discriminating against, oh, blacks, women, gays and lesbians, has some city politicians up in arms: City Councilman Charles Barron tells the Daily News (who points out that Barron is a former Black Panther), "Is Marty out of his mind? That's ridiculous! I think it's insulting to our community that he would open his arms and take them on a tour without even consulting us. Does he know their reputation? Does he know their history?" Markowitz, slightly nonplussed, said, "I didn't know about their past; I've never been in a Cracker Barrel. I've already called and invited them. I can't now pick up the phone and say, 'Go, get out of here.'" This sounds like an awesome glimpse into what goes on in Borough President's offices: Cold calling companies to visit without researching them thoroughly. more ›