Good fun — a little difficult to get to. But well worth the effort.
It’s located on County Road 325 in Cross Creek, FL, which is just south of Gainesville. Rustic joint outside, dark and cool inside. Lots of exposed cypress (as you might expect). They still put ice in the urinals — now that is old school kiddies! An extremely retro TV plays an endless loop of the sappy black and white movie “The Yearling” starring Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman. The book “The Yearling” (written by Cross Creek legend Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings) is a much better introduction to FL cracker life back in the day.
They had live blues from Willie “The Real Deal” Green. He was awesome!
I enjoyed a soft shell crab sandwich (slathered with a spicy remoulade) with fresh (not canned) collard greens and a nice sweet tea. The crab sandwich was good, the greens better than just good. I was tempted to order a slab of the sour orange pie, but I had to get back on the road and not in the hammock. Next time I’m try that and “The Cracker Sampler,” which includes tastes of their fried gator, frog legs and more.
More soon, in the meantime visit their web site at www.yearlingrestaurant.net
Tags: Cross Creek FL, Fried Gator, Frog Legs, Gregory Peck, iced down urinals, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Sour Orange pie, The Cracker Sampler, The Yearling Restaurant
