The Pioneer Woman Mercantile

A few weekends ago, three of my besties and I decided to get out of town for the weekend.  We needed to reconnect and have a girls’ weekend so we headed up northeast of Oklahoma City.  We spent the night in Bartlesville where we had drinks and appetizers at The Painted Horse and then moved on over to Soho where Helen experienced her first time at a hibachi grill (at Soho).  We’ve been dreaming about their hibachi noodles ever since.

The next morning bright and early, we got up and headed over to The Pioneer Woman Mercantile in Pawhuska.  We’d heard that folks are literally driving in from all over (even across the country) to see her new Deli and general store.

The Merc (its shortened version of the name) takes up a full block from one small town street to the next.

The Merc is a restored 1910 building that once housed the Osage Mercantile, an old time trading post.  Ree and Ladd have restored the building and it’s quite charming to visit.

Upon walking in, most of the bottom floor to the right of the main door is the general store and is laden with an almost overwhelming bunch of fare. Walking straight ahead will take you to the Deli/restaurant portion of The Merc.

Don’t forget to sign the guest book on your way in!

It goes the entire length of the building to the other end.

There is Pioneer Woman memorabilia like Charlie (her recently passed away basset hound) stuffed animals, some of Ree’s books. and tons of other fun stuff.

I loved the dishes. Ree is my dishes soulmate. Mr. Wonderful has warned me not to buy any more dishes or the cupboards will literally fall off of the walls because they can’t hold anymore.  I’ve told him there must be something we can do.

And these made me swoon. Made to look like paper plates, they were actually plastic plates for picnicking or cook-outs.

We’d heard the lines get pretty long, closer to lunch, so we immediately headed into the Deli/Bakery to grab breakfast. I would describe the restaurant as gourmet diner comfort food.  It has a good southern home-cooking menu with nice touches like compound fruit butters for the pancakes along with salted caramel syrup (drool).

I appreciate that The Merc partners with our local coffee friends Topeca Roastery from Tulsa, and I had to try the Spicy Cowgirl which was a delicious combination of espresso, chocolate, cayenne and sweet cream and served cold over ice. My only wish is that it was served in a mason jar or a real glass but maybe had I known, I should have asked for that?

I would normally never take a picture with a wadded up straw wrapper but it was GIRLS’ weekend and I was pretty bad about my normally good photo shooting this weekend. Plus it POURED rain and was dreary and dark.

All three girls (other than me) ordered the Farmer’s Breakfast which was made up of Crispy Bits Potatoes, eggs, apple wood smoked bacon, country sage sausage and brown sugar glazed ham.

It also came with a side of biscuits and homemade blueberry/blackberry jam.

Feeling guilty and still a little sickly over our over indulgence the night before, I leaned towards ordering something a tad bit healthier – the Mean Green Breakfast Burrito – stuffed with spinach, eggs,  mushrooms and cheddar.

This was really good (especially the salsa!), and I felt somewhat redeemed after the night before except I did eat a few of those fried potatoes.  I would say that if you plan on trying to eat healthy at The Merc, your choices are going to pretty limited, especially at breakfast, but there are a few options. Here’s the lunch menu and dessert menu as well which may offer a few more good-for-you choices(well, not the dessert, HA!).

I’m guessing if you follow her show and are a fan you know that “cowboy approved” means you’re getting chicken fried steak and gravy, mac and cheese and the likes and it’s not going to be vegan or low-fat or low cal fare for the most part. If you love down home southern cooking, this is the place for you!

Upstairs runs most the length of the building again but also holds the Bakery line where you can grab cinnamon rolls, baked goods, candy, bagged coffee and more.

Afterward we took the hush-hush tour of The Lodge, the place where Ree shoots her Food Network show but it’s advertised on the Merc’s website so I think it’s ok to share- but lemme tell you,  it’s a drive!  You know those directions where you turn left at the broken fence post and then take a right at the giant Oak tree? That’s about how we found it! But we were thrilled to see some of the wild mustangs featured often on her blog.

It was neat to see The Lodge as well.  Even these guys who I’ve seen on the blog and the show. They had been out on the rain but I still wanted to let them hop in the car and take them home.

I was vetoed by the rest of the group. That whole wet dog smell and all. But aren’t they sweet?

We saw the set/cooking station.

Those stained concrete counters, the stove, ovens and everything is wonderful. And this…

The drink station…hi Joy!

We saw the big ol picnic style table where the family sits down with guests on the show.

The fireplace was a hot commodity that day because let me tell you man, it was cold and rainy that day!

We walked down the hall and saw the guest rooms and the test/prep kitchen and the stock room.

What a fun-filled day we had at The Merc.  Now to go back again when it’s not raining cats and dogs!

Another time 🙂

The Pioneer Woman Mercantile
532 Kihekah Ave
Pawhuska, OK 74056
918-528-7705

Looking for directions to The Mercantile? See the map below!