A Week with the Pioneer Woman Day 6

A Week with the Pioneer Woman Day 6: Road Trip to the Mercantile!

 Pawhuska, Oklahoma is Pioneer Woman country. You could easily argue that the Drummonds put Pawhuska on the map in the 21st century by opening the Pioneer Woman Mercantile. Shortly after opening, the Mercantile was reportedly serving three times the population of Pawhuska every day.   The small Oklahoma town is about a four hour drive from my home, and I decided to take a day trip to visit The Mercantile with my wife and daughter in mid-March, when our daughter was on spring break.Armed with a great playlist, we left early in the morning and enjoyed a great ride together, talking and singing all the way down. Turns out there aren't many Starbucks along the way! We arrived a little after 11, later than we'd hoped. No surprise, there was a line that literally went down the block. 

We weren't going to come all this way and not eat here, so in line we stood. About 45 minutes later, my daughter and I decided to run to a nearby Chinese restaurant for an appertizer (see photo). 

  

 

On our visit, "downtown" Pawhuska looks like a lot of county seats in the Midwest: old, tired, and possibly on the verge of collapse without some sort of new lifeblood. Along the same block as the Mercantile is an artist gallery, the Chinese restaurant, a store with saddles and cowboy gear out front, and a lot of empty storefronts. A triangle-ish building immediately across the street from the Mercantile is being converted into either a hotel or lofts. The Mercantile might be the shot in the arm this town center needs to help it come back to life.

My daughter and I were able to sit down and eat appertizers at the Chinese restaurant, then walk around and take some pics along the block, and still make it back to the line in time to stand for about 70 more minutes. Thankfully, my wife didn't want any of the appertizers (last time I use that, I promise), so we didn't have to go all the way to the back. 

It was approaching mid-afternoon by the time we made it inside the restaurant. Just inside the doors is a carry-out line where you can get sandwiches and other treats. Under an old "National Biscuit Company' sign from the exterior of a building is a coffee bar.  Right away I saw why it took so long to get through the line: there just aren't that many seats at tables inside the restaurant part of the Mercantile. Having made so many of the recipes in The Pioneer Woman's cookbooks, I was excited to sit down and eat some of the food coming out of her restaurant kitchen.

 

Once we were seated, we ordered a round of sweet teas (served in canning jars). I was also curious to try the Spicy Cowgirl coffee, which features cayenne, chocolate, and sweet vanilla cream. It was indicative of what was to come: good, but not overwhelmingly so. Very often in restaurants I play the game of "do I cook better than this?" Often the answer is yes, which is why I cook so much at home. Plus, it's much cheaper and I know what's going in the food my family eats. But I had high hopes that this meal at The Pioneer Woman Mercantile would be something special.

There were a lot of choices that looked appealing on the menu. I selected the Chicken Fried Steak, potatoes, and gravy. The menu made it sound fantastic. "This is the cowboy dish of your dreams!" the menu hyped. "This is real beef ribeye, pounded, breaded, and grilled to crispy, tender perfection with a flavor packed cream gravy and the richest mashed potatoes you'll find anywhere."

I knew that Ree Drummond was a great writer, I'd read (at that point) all four of her cookbooks and enjoyed the stories contained within the recipes and the asides. What I found was that the writing on the menu wasn't so much fact as a standard to which the cooks at the Mercantile could aspire. Alas, what landed in front of me was a huge let down.

For a $22 lunch plate and given the menu hype, I couldn't wait for the first bite. So imagine my disappointment when it was dry, brittle, and incredibly chewy. I reasoned that surely I'd found a fatty seam on the beef and there must be better parts somewhere else on the plate -- but it never really improved. The gravy didn't salvage the dryness of the overcooked steak, and the potatoes were a bland accompaniment. It was a major disappointment. Simply put, I've had better versions at diners and truck stops for half the price.

Being ever the optimist, I thought that surely dessert would be the salvation of the meal! We got two deserts to split among the three of us: a strawberry shortcake featuring a mini-bundt cake, and a pecan pie. We each took a bite of the strawberry shortcake. I took a second bite, and left it more than half uneaten. The cake was so dry that it was almost inedible, and the combination of juice from the strawberries, the strawberries themselves, and the strawberry cream icing couldn't rescue it. The pecan pie tasted just like pecan pie, and we did enjoy that. I'm not a huge fan of pecan pie, but I did think this slice was tasty and sweet, with a nice crunchy top and sweet filling. 

Overall, we were very disappointed at both the length of the wait in line and the food we were served. I think our waitress suspected that disappointment, and never asked what we thought of the meal. 

Despite our disappointment at this visit, I will say that every restaurant has its startup and growing pains. Perhaps an hour earlier, or a year later, all of these dishes would've lived up to the hype in the menu description, or the expectation that had me drive four hours for a taste. I'd be willing to go back and try it again if my travels take me in the general area, but I won't make another trip exclusively for this destination given our first experience.

 Upstairs at the Mercantile there is a beautiful seating area with windows on two sides. There are copies of Drummond's books to peruse (and purchase), plus an ice cream fountain and a sweet shop. Big glass windows allow you to see into some of the sparkling clean production areas.  Downstairs through a separate entrance, or accessed after you pay your restaurant bill, is the Mercantile itself, which features all sorts of things to buy for your kitchen and home. 

On certain days of the year, you can also go out to the Drummond Ranch and visit the Lodge where the Pioneer Woman films her Food Network show. Perhaps the deciding element in driving down to Pawhuska was that we could also visit the ranch while we were there.  I'm so glad we did! On the final entry on my 'week with the Pioneer Woman' I'll post photos from the ranch and surrounding country.