Cracklin’ Jack’s

Oh my god this is poorest managed place in the history of restaurants. The potential is there but there is NO management. The food holds great potential to make this great, but the staff is all pissed off, the so called manager is not capable of managing a lemonade stand.
Ron, you are one employee away from fixing the place… hire a real, experienced Manager. There is no direction, no guidance and obviously no one gives a damn.

Great service! Waiters gave honest recommendations and were on point with the service. What ever the onion vittle was… it was amazing mixed with the potatoes! Good food!

There tonight with a group of people. The meal was to my surprise, VG!!! Service was great for us 11 pp. The Chicken fried steak was the freshest, most tender pieces I’ve ever had. The batter was very fresh, can easily cut these pieces with a fork! And of course the white (sausage?) gravy was perfect. The many side dishes (vittles) can be replaced many times if you prefer with your meal. It was served in place of a salad for an additional $ 7.99. On the table was a bowl of very creamy Cole slaw that was excellent and bran and corn muffins in another bowl. Some friends had the BBQ ribs which were excellent and the meatiest white meat chicken tenders (from the chicken breasts) that were great. Another had a basket of fried oysters that looked good also. Generous portions at very reasonable prices. My ONLY complaint was that we all sat down just as this duo started on their guitars and singing and it was offensively too loud, difficult to hear others talk around the table, too noisy given the small area. Looking forward to going back but not on a night they’re playing music. But you won’t be disappointed here. Enjoy!
Came back the next day for lunch and again enjoyed another meal (Chicken Tenders) posted the pictures. My wife enjoyed the Chicken Fried Steak that I had a night earlier. I’m hooked on this place. Looking forward to my next visit for the ribs!

Have normally had acceptable meals here. Our last visit proved troublesome for me. Based on friends raves I tried the fried chicken dinner. In the past I’ve usually have ribs. Chicken was greasy and over cooked. Either the fryer wasn’t up to temperature or they pre cooked a large batch and had it sitting under lamps. Grease was pooling on the plate and on the pieces. Service was slower than normal which added to the disappointment. I’m sure we’ll try it again at some time.

I don’t mind paying for good food, but I felt that this place was extremely over priced for the quality of the food. The mashed potatoes tasted like they were instant and overall nothing was very good.

Southern style cooking and a lot of food are the themes here. They start you off with homemade Coke slaw and muffins which are pretty good. Vittles are next which is typically an assortment of side dishes. Lastly is whatever you ordered. The fried chicken is good and so are the ribs and cat fish.
Attitude of waitress a bit poor and I deducted a star for it. Hearing her f bomb customers after answering the phone is awkward. I get you don’t want to answer the phone but we can hear the f bombs afterwards!

Great down home southern style home cooking! The «vittles» (sides) arrive before your main entrée & they just keep bringing you more until you say stop!

Fried fried fried food… if that’s what you want. This is your place. nothin fresh about it. Old musty smelly place. Had the Frog legs. Tough tastless

Had been to the original location and had a GREAT experience… since its moved, we went for lunch and were super disappointed with the service! It ruined the whole experience.
On the food side, the side dishes are ALWAYS amazing and the seafood sampler was perfection!

If you are looking for southern cookin with generous portions that will stick to your bones, this is the place.
We have tried their baby back ribs, spare ribs and brisket and found all three exceptional. All have good dry seasoning and bbq sauce is on the table, if you want to go wet and messy. The cornmeal fried catfish is outstanding and is only surpassed by the fried chicken. Sides are good with hush puppies and corn muffins as standouts. Collard greens are nice as well.
Service is good and friendly. That also have music in the lounge area most evenings during tourist season.

If your looking for canned food
If your looking for reheated
If your looking for the worst meal you’ve ever had
Your in the right place folks
If you want to throw up your in for a treat
Exploding asshole that’s the cherry ontop
Crackling jacks is really crackling cans
There is clearly no value in this place and meal!

Just found what appears to be an insect leg in my turnip greens. The waitress tried to convince me it was a stem. It had a femur and a claw at the tip, with special news down the tarsus. Gross! I took a photo and hastily threw money at her and left.

I had heard good things about their fried chicken when they were at their previous location, so I was looking forward to having lunch there today with my friend. We both are in the hospitality business, so although this may seem harsh, it will be honest.
1^st, the building is set back, yet visible from 951. It is a 45MPH speed zone, and the turn onto the leading street (25^th SW?) is sharp and sudden, so plan ahead with the turn signal or you will be rearended!
It does not appear the interior changed much from when it was Porky’s, but I came here to eat, not look at the décor.
The waitress arrived quickly and took our order. Although very pleasant, my only recommendation would be to have better menu knowledge and server training. When asked what the sides were (the fried chicken comes with 2) she pointed where they were on the menu. I think saying what they were would have been a better touch, for to ME it made it look like maybe she didn’t know what the selections were.
I started with a cup of the chicken gumbo. Very tasty, with just the right amount of spiciness. 3.5 out of 5
I ordered the 3 piece fried chicken with fries and slaw. ($ 11.99) It came with one leg and two breasts. The skin was great 4.5 out of 5, but the meat was very dry 2 out of 5. When I got to the white meat, it was even more dry and I left them on my plate. At the end of service, the waitress asked if I wanted to take them home. NOT THAT I WANTED THEM TAKEN OFF THE BILL, but when she didn’t ask why I was leaving so much food on my plate, it didn’t offer an opportunity to comment on my opinion of the food.
This place has potential, and I hope if management/​owner reads this, it is taken as constructive criticism.

If your looking for a true old Florida feel, this is your spot! The menu has a nice variety of everglade staples such as gator, frog legs, fried chicken, catfish, pulled pork, ribs etc.
Not knowing how large the portion sizes were, I immediately ordered an appetizer of frog legs and gator to start off with. Followed by an entrée of frog legs, gator, and catfish. With another entrée of consisting of pulled pork, ribs, and fried chicken.
Every entrée comes with an endless side of vittles, WHAT… ENDLESS, YES! They include mashed potatoes, 2 types of gravy, creamed onion casserole, beans, coleslaw, collared greens, and cornbread. I walked out with 5 boxes of food!
Definitely hard to tip back a few brews with all the heavy food, but at $ 2.00 a bottle for miller lite I couldn’t pass it up!
Something for everyone is on the menu, great bang for your buck! Everything that old Florida has to offer, such a wonderful place and experience you won’t forget.

After reading fellow Unilocalers reviews and having to go to that part of town decided to give it a try. It’s a family style restaurant with fish, ribs, vittles place… large portions, served family style sides, corn muffins and sweet tea. I had a combo baby back ribs and brisket both good sides greens and cold slaw really good. Nice interior they have recently moved to new larger location 4 miles north of original location. Fried catfish is their specialty, fried chicken, fresh grouper, but you also get grilled items. Everything seems to be made fresh on site they also have a meat smoker… Tammy was my waitress she was great you can tell she enjoys her job… Really a nice place to eat… it gots on my Will Be Back List
It is a local will love it place!

I will NEVER go back here. While their fried chicken is good, nothing else is.
I got ½ bbq chicken, and it wasn’t cooked. I didn’t notice because of all the bbq sauce smothered on it. When I took a good look at it, it was red and bloody… also didn’t notice because of the bbq sauce.
I could get SALMONELLA! When I returned the food, they said they were still going to charge me for the vittles. I don’t care about crappy vittles.
Make sure you look at your food before eating it, and AVOID this place

This place was better than I expected, maybe a 3.5 out of 5.
Before I ever stepped foot in this place I envisioned a camo wearin truck-​nuts kind of hang out. I was wrong. Cracklin Jack’s definitely has more of a Southern, family/​home style vibe going on than I anticipated.
Generous prime rib cooked perfectly, tasty fried chicken dinners, huge sweet shrimp fried with hush puppies and clams, Southern style sides or ‘vittles’…oh wow! My only regret is I ordered fries as my side instead of mashed potatoes. They even serve frog legs and gator… don’t come here expecting to eat healthy.
Service can be lackadaisical.
Don’t drive by… find this place almost right at the intersection of Golden Gate prkwy and 951. Very strange location. They even have outside seating available for those nice (few) cool days we have in Naples.

Cracklin’ Jack’s is undoubtedly a great local hangout. As of late, I think the word has gotten out and I see a lot of out-​of-​state tags there in season. However, I don’t think this hinders the locals one bit. The place has parking spots designated for trucks with trailers, and a happy hour to make anyone want to sneak out of work early. I just hate to unleash the secrets, but here goes: $ 2 domestic drafts, $ 2.75 wells, $ 3 house wines. There. *washes hands*
Now, for the food. I hear the bbq is great, but I went the seafood route. We first ordered a generous portion of fried green tomatoes. They were super tasty. The green tomatoes had a nice tart taste to balance the batter and ranch sauce. The batter tasted great, but I thought the tomatoes could be cut a bit thicker or the batter down a little bit more. Needless to say, they were a nice introduction to some more good food.
We then ordered our respective seafood baskets of glory. You can get a Pick Two for $ 13.99 or a Pick Three for $ 16.99. It also comes with fries, coleslaw and a hushpuppy. What? I know. Redonkulous. I ordered fried oysters and frog legs. It was a massive generous portion of everything fried with its midas touch. You also have a chance to make every bite a new one by elevating the flavor with a cocktail sauce, mustard sauce, and a butter sauce. They all go well with everything, so you can imagine every permutation of batter/​meat/​sauce.
I can tell you that we enjoyed our meal, but wasn’t prepared for all the fried food. I’ll have to remember to balance it off with some bbq next time. Service was good, and they kept up with our refills. I would definitely say this place is worth the drive over to 951 for some cheap drinks and good times.
22 – 2015

Dinner at Cracklin’ Jacks feels at once like a natural fit in South Florida, and still, a break from the routine of the standard offerings in the region. The menu is broad, and if you can fry it, they likely have it. I found Cracklin’ Jacks first as a fan of Weisenberger Mills in Midway, Kentucky noticing that this outpost just outside the Everglades was sourcing some of the best corn meal and grits from water mill along the Bourbon Trail. That kind of particularity to quality ingredients was attractive and gave me the sense that Cracklin’ Jacks would not be simple cafeteria fare but would take seriously making a high quality interpretation of old favourites.
The vittles are not really the star, here, I’m sorry to say. While the greens were good and the white beans especially tasty, a plate of pickles and raw onions were simply unappealing. The cornbread is good – a bit sweeter and more muffin-​like than I’m used to, but still very tasty. And while these plates are ‘all you can eat’, once Jack gets busy, you may have a hard time getting more before your fish is out of the fryer.
For me, the star was fried catfish. The batter – that delicious Weisenberger flours mixing with a bit of cayenne for a beautiful crunch and spice – and moist, juicy fish inside. While Cracklin’ Jacks offers up gator, as restaurants in Florida are wont to do, alligator tends to be chewy and salty even in the most careful of preparations. When we left, my dad and I spotted a hulking fried chicken and a rack of ribs that seemed like more of a dare to be eaten than a normal dinner for one. The chicken in particular looked divine – a big, plump bird – and I for one will be back soon to give it a try.

I was reading reviews about this place for three years. I wanted to go so bad but never seemed to be able to put it together. I go to the address on Unilocal and find out it has moved 3 miles north of where I was. OK. I found the place and it was exactly what I expected. I must warn any person who could not get a hint from the name this is not a vegan, gluten free, self sustaining, place.
I had the fried chicken and it was good not great. The price you pay includes the «vittles» which I have spelled victuals my whole life. I am so glad they took the lead in changing a goofy word. My vittles included mashed potatoes, slaw, sliced onion, pickles, collard greens, corn bread, brown gravy and white gravy. All served family style. It is not possible to eat all this food. And Mrs. K. and I did not dent the meal. Way too much unhealthy food and I loved every bite. Oh did I mention corn bread? Oh I did. It was the best corn bread I have ever eaten. Why? It was corn bread with a ton of sugar almost a pastry. Warning you cannot just eat one.