Ree Drummond Has A Restaurant — But You Have To Go To This Small Oklahoma City To Eat There

Ree Drummond is a bit of an unusual celebrity chef, the kind without an empire of branded restaurants. You can't walk through an airport without spotting Guy Fieri's name, and even names that got famous teaching home cooking, like Giada De Laurentiis, usually open a few destination spots in places like Las Vegas. But perhaps true to her country spirit, Drummond has kept her business local. She owns only one restaurant that opened in 2016, in her family's hometown of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, which isn't too far from the Drummond ranch.

Drummond's restaurant is part of a larger shop called The Mercantile, which is the name of the old renovated building she and her husband bought in 2012. Located on Main Street of this historic town founded in 1872, The Mercantile (also called "The Merc") contains a general store that sells plenty of kitchenware and gifts, along with an attached bakery and deli.

While the bakery serves a classic selection of baked goods like pies, cookies, and cinnamon rolls, the deli is a bit of a misnomer. It is more of a real restaurant, not just a meat counter, and serves as the only spot where you can get a sit-down dining experience curated by the Pioneer Woman herself. Just make sure you plan your visit well. Despite being in a small town, The Mercantile is estimated to get more than 6,000 visitors per day, and it does not currently take reservations.

The Mercantile Deli menu features some country classics along with a few more unique creations. Breakfast is served all day, and features mostly traditional recipes like French toast, biscuits and gravy, and breakfast scrambles. If you want a taste of the Southwest, there is queso, chili, and a prominently advertised chicken-fried steak. You can even get some of the Drummond family's picks, as her husband Ladd's favorite chicken sandwich is available, featuring a grilled chicken breast with cheddar, bacon, honey mustard, and bread and butter pickles. No reason to get too fancy if you're doing it right.

But if you want something a little more special from your trip to Pawhuska and The Mercantile, Drummond has plenty in store for you. The stand-out is spicy pulled pork that uses Dr. Pepper (which Drummond uses in her ham glaze). The pork flavored with the Southern-favorite pop (or coke) is made with sweet onion and chipotle chiles. It also gets made into a truly over-the-top melt sandwich, being topped with three kinds of cheese, shaved ham, and a Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce. If that combination of sweet and meat is up your alley, there is also an appetizer of chicken strips breaded with a mix of Cap'N Crunch and Corn Flakes.