eatery

One UK city has been named one of the “best places to go in autumn in the UK”.

Canterbury is frequently hailed as Kent’s crown jewel, boasting a bustling city centre packed with eateries and a history you can feel in every cobblestone.

The county’s only city was crowned one of the “best places to go in autumn in the UK” by Conde Nast Traveller. Following this recognition for the city, journalist Millie Bull – who calls Kent home – visited Canterbury once more to discover why.

Having been there a handful of times, Millie admitted that she has consistently departed wishing she’d “spent longer exploring”.

Reporting to Kent Live, Millie said: “In autumn, the city’s historic architecture is highlighted by browning trees and shorter days.

“In October, Halloween decorations adorn shop windows and in November, the smell of chimney smoke wafts through the city streets.”

Millie continued: “Occupied since Paleolithic times, the city’s long history is hard to ignore. The city wall, which was founded in Roman times and rebuilt in the 14th century, is one of the first sights visitors will see.

“The Westgate, a medieval gatehouse, stands tall at 60 feet and is the largest surviving city gate in England. The gatehouse was built in 1379 and is now one of the city’s most distinctive landmarks.

“Walking around these spectacular monuments and Canterbury’s narrow, cobbled streets is like stepping back in time.”

Millie recommended that first-time visitors to Canterbury should definitely experience a section of The Pilgrims’ Way.

This ancient pilgrimage route stretches from Winchester to Canterbury or Southwark to Canterbury, covering a whopping 138 miles through woodlands and fields.

She added: “Visitors can attempt a section of the route from the village of Wye to Canterbury which is 12.5 miles long.

“It takes roughly one to two days to complete and begins at the church of St Gregory and St Martin in Wye and takes you through beautiful woodland, river banks and into the city of Canterbury.

“The route ends at Canterbury Cathedral where visitors can walk the Cloisters and kneel where the shrine of Thomas Becket used to be.”

But if history isn’t your cup of tea this autumn, Canterbury boasts a wide range of shops to keep you entertained. Millie suggested: “The posh Fenwick department store has everything from designer bags to homeware, food and drink and an epic toy section.

“Some of my favourite shops in Canterbury are Superstore Vintage, Bird and Blend Tea Co., and Violet Elizabeth.”

When it comes to dining in the city, Millie recommended Café des Amis; she said it’s a must-visit.

Millie elaborated: “Despite the name, Café des Amis offers some of the best Mexican cuisine I’ve ever eaten. Reasonably priced with a three-course set menu for £26 available Monday to Friday from 12pm to 6pm, the food is delicious, the service is impeccable and the vibe is relaxed.

“If you’re not big on wine, they have a fantastic selection of cocktails as well as tequilas.”

For something a bit out of the ordinary, Millie recommends the UK’s largest cat café, Canterbury Tails, where “a fully plant-based menu is served up alongside 27 furry felines”.

Masked goons are terrorizing American cities. The U.S. inflation rate is the highest it has been in over four decades. Gaza is starving to death. The Cracker Barrel unveils a new logo.

If you guessed which crisis is not like the others, then you’ve spotted the latest source of outrage fueling the right-wing media universe, where trivial distractions from Trump’s failures and the Epstein files are the name of the game.

In a kerfuffle as layered as the eatery’s hash-brown casserole ($4.79 for a side dish, $15 and upward for an entree-sized portion), the folksy-themed establishment, which first opened its doors in 1969, is once again fodder in a one-sided culture war.

The crime? The chain’s classic gold and brown logo now features the chain’s name in a more minimalistic font. Gone is the eatery’s unofficial mascot, that folksy fellow in coveralls who enjoys leaning on a wooden barrel.

“WTF is wrong with @CrackerBarrel??!” said Cracker Barrel regular-in-spirit-only Donald Trump Jr. when responding to a post on X where the user shockingly blamed DEI for the restaurant’s monstrous decision.

“Cracker Barrel is done,” wrote the Federalist’s Sean Davis. “Woke executives killed it, wrapped the corpse in a rainbow flag, and then made it do a little puppet show in New York City for the entertainment of all their woke little friends.”

Not exactly a puppet show, but the Cracker Barrel did host its “A Taste of Country, Anytime” event Thursday in New York City with country music star Jordan Davis. The chain purported to bring a “country hospitality experience to the big city,” complete with “entertainment on the front porch, rocking chairs, classic Cracker Barrel games and crave-worthy food.”

Clearly a ruse for yet another Pride parade or Latin American gang invasion.

The deception started on Aug. 19, when the Tennessee-based chain in a press release announced changes to its logo and menu as part of a campaign titled “All the More.” The rebrand features new menu items, restaurant remodels and an “enhanced brand look and feel.”

“We believe in the goodness of country hospitality, a spirit that has always defined us. Our story hasn’t changed,”  said Cracker Barrel Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Moore in a statement. “Our values haven’t changed.”

But their signage has changed, and that in itself signaled a threat to a way of life that we need to rediscover, you know, in order to make America great again.

Nostalgia for a time that most of us weren’t even alive to see is part of Cracker Barrel’s appeal. Renowned for its Southern comfort food and down-home appeal, generations of Americans have wandered through the establishment’s general store decor and dined on its Southern comfort food. But like any business, it needs to keep up with the tastes and demands of new generations, and apparently Gen Z, millennials and even Gen Xers aren’t buying black licorice and candy corn like their predecessors once did.

It’s hardly the first time the dubiously-named dining establishment has faced accusations that it’s going gay. As the Bulwark pointed out, there was 2023 e-outrage over Cracker Barrel’s acknowledgment of Pride month, which included a rainbow-themed rocking chair and some corporate-speak about “diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at Cracker Barrel.”

“We take no pleasure in reporting that Cracker Barrel has fallen,” the organization Texas Family Project wrote at the time. “A once family friendly establishment has caved to the mob.”

When the country is in chaos and entangled in man-made catastrophes abroad, it’s easier to rail, risk-free, against a manufactured crisis. Fox Business News led its Friday news lineup with a Cracker Barrel report, but not about the logo redesign: “Cracker Barrel over the past decade has worked closely with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), changing its company culture to be more inclusive and LGBT-friendly ahead of its controversial store rebrand,” reads the lede.

It’s yet to be seen if a sizable swath of America will forgo the Signature Saucy Chicken Sandwich in protest, constituting another national crisis to chew on.