I ordered the same breakfast from Cracker Barrel and Bob Evans, and my favorite chain didn't have the best pancakes

The Grandma's Sampler at Cracker Barrel comes with buttermilk pancakes or French toast (I chose pancakes), two eggs, and a sampling of breakfast meats (bacon, sausage, and ham). Because I knew I'd be comparing it to Bob Evans' ham, I asked for three slices of ham instead.

The meal also comes with a choice of breakfast side, and I think the only right choice at Cracker Barrel is the hash-brown casserole. 

Because I had my husband with me, we ordered the biscuits and gravy, a side of regular hash browns, and a side of bacon for a fuller sampling. I also got a Diet Coke.

With a 20% tip, we spent just over $35 on everything.

Cracker Barrel's pancakes were the star of the show. I don't know that I've ever had pancakes from a restaurant (let alone a chain restaurant) that were as fluffy, thick, and tasty.

The syrup — which came in a single-use bottle that I'm not environmentally jazzed about — was also heavenly. The pancakes perfectly absorbed the syrup, so each bite was rich with maple flavor.

The server told me I actually could've ordered more pancakes as my side dish. Next time I go back, I might do just that.

When I took my first bite of the hash-brown casserole, I audibly moaned. It was cheesy, greasy, crunchy, salty, and so tasty. The onion took the casserole to another savory level.

We also ordered regular hash browns for comparison, but there was no contest. If you have the choice, go with the casserole.

My one complaint is that the casserole portion was quite small, especially when compared to the similar side dish at Bob Evans.

It's kind of hard to mess up over-easy eggs, and Cracker Barrel cooked them perfectly.

I like to crack open the yolks and dip the toast in. But when I went to do that, I realized our server never brought the toast that was supposed to come with the meal.

Ever the introvert, I was going to let it go, but my husband eventually asked. Within seconds, it appeared on our table.

But the toast was a bit of a letdown. It was very hard and really only useful for sopping up runny egg yolks — so I guess I lucked out the first time around. 

In my opinion, this is where Cracker Barrel's meal started to fall short.

I had my choice of sugar-cured or country ham, but I knew Cracker Barrel was known for its country ham, so I opted for that.

Though the ham was tender, it may just taste like the saltiest thing I've ever eaten. It didn't have much flavor beyond salt and I couldn't finish it.

I'm glad we also ordered a side of bacon. It wasn't anything super special, but it at least wasn't overly salted. The texture was somewhere between slightly crispy and slightly chewy.

Since there were two of us, we figured an order of biscuits and gravy would make the meal go further. But, in my opinion, the biscuits tasted a little stale. They also came out cold. 

Like the ham, I thought the gravy tasted overly salty. It also wasn't super hot, which didn't help with the cold biscuits. 

The serving size was quite small, but we didn't finish the dish anyway.

The comparable sampler meal at Bob Evans is the Farmer's Choice, which comes with your choice of breakfast meat (I got country ham), two eggs, and three hotcakes or two slices of French toast (I went with hotcakes).

The meal also comes with hash browns, but for a surcharge, you can upgrade them to loaded hash browns. I thought that would make for a fairer comparison, so we splurged. 

In keeping with our order at Cracker Barrel, we also got a serving of biscuits and sausage gravy, plain hash browns, and bacon. As a Coke fan, I was disappointed to find that Bob Evans serves Pepsi products, but to keep absolutely everything as close as possible, I got a Diet Pepsi.

After a 20% tip, our meal cost $42. At $7 more, Bob Evans would have to deliver superior food to make it worth it for me. 

Having been let down by Cracker Barrel's ham, I wanted to get Bob Evans' breakfast meat out of the way.

The portion was smaller — it came with one slice of ham instead of Cracker Barrel's three — and I wish there had been more of it.

The ham was tender and juicy, and it seemed to soak up actual flavors from the grill. It made me think of Easter dinner.

The bacon, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. It was hard — not crunchy or crispy, but hard. 

The hash-brown casserole at Cracker Barrel was divine, so I didn't think Bob Evans' loaded hash browns would have a fighting chance.

But you could taste every ingredient from the potatoes to the slightly melted cheese to the crunchy bits of crumbled bacon — which was actually good in this format.

The hash browns had a nice golden-brown color, and they were crunchy on the top and bottom but pillow-soft in the middle.

In a head-to-head challenge, I'd choose Bob Evans' loaded hash browns over Cracker Barrel's casserole any day. The regular hash browns at Bob Evans were also superior, in my opinion.

You get a lot more bang for your buck at Bob Evans when you order biscuits and sausage gravy. There were fewer biscuits, but they were bigger, and I got more gravy here than at Cracker Barrel.

The biscuits themselves weren't anything special, but the gravy was mildly spicy and had more flavor. I could actually taste the sausage.

I ordered the eggs over easy again, expecting a runny yolk. But when I cracked open the top, they were nearly fully cooked.

There was no yellowy goodness to soak up with my remaining hash browns.

Bob Evans serves up three pancakes — not two like Cracker Barrel — but they were much thinner.

The hotcakes didn't have a lot of flavor (even with syrup), they were a little mushy, and they didn't soak up the syrup quite as well.

Next time, I'd try the brioche French toast instead.

Both Bob Evans and Cracker Barrel had strong points in their breakfast samplers — and both also had room for improvement.

If you're after a savory meal with some depth of flavor, go to Bob Evans. But if you're craving fluffy pancakes, head to Cracker Barrel.

When I'm looking for a little of both, I think Bob Evans is the safer choice. It was definitely the winner of this particular comparison, even if it wasn't by a landslide.