Bad Brad’s Bar-B-Q

Great selection of meats and fantastic sides. Always busy for lunch and dinner says something about the place. Decent prices based on pretty healthy portions given.

I was in the mood for good BBQ & lots of it. A friend of mine recommended Bad Brad’s in Pawhuska. I immediately googled «Bad Brad’s Pawhuska» & clicked on the menu link listed under the 1^st result:
My husband & I perused the menu & I was immediately sold on the promise of calf fries. Not something I normally consume & but suddenly I was craving them pretty hardcore & totally willing to make the hour & a half drive for them. The dinners sounded lovely & the cost was acceptable. My husband & I were off!
The ride was absolutely lovely. When we arrived at Bad Brads, I was excited. It was a house with picnic tables set up outside, a parking lot full of trucks backing up into a wooded area & an old man grilling steaks. I was convinced that I was about to experience the most legit BBQ ever. Man. Was I in for a big disappointment.
Upon entering the cramped entryway, we were seated in the back of the dining room. The waitress was a surly, unfriendly & disinterested middle aged woman. She gave us our menus & took our drink orders. While she was away, we noticed that the menu was not what was on
. When our waitress returned I began to say,“the menu online…” but was immediately cut off with, «That’s not this restaurant. That’s another Bad Brad’s. We don’t have any of the same items». I couldn’t BELIEVE how rude & dismissive she was. I also couldn’t believe that this was a KNOWN issue & that I surely wasn’t the only person to have been confused by the website online, yet they hadn’t made an effort to establish their own presence online. Perhaps «bad​bradspawhuska​.com» would work or the more appropo «thesh*ttybadbrads.com».
So we drove over 1.5 hrs. for a food item that wasn’t even on offer. Had we still been close to Tulsa, I’d have given the waitress an earful & found another establishment to whom I would spend my money. However, we were starving & I was still hopeful. I ordered a 3 meat plate, counting on leftovers for lunch the next day. The plate came with a choice of 2 sides. I asked the waitress what 2 sides she would recommend. I commonly ask wait staff for their recommendations at places I’ve never been before. The cow of a waitress seemed really thrown at my asking for her thoughts. She responded with, «well, it depends on what you like» to which I said «I like everything»! I’m a fat girl & find some cheap self deprecating humor to be appreciated by most folks. Not this woman. She rolled her eyes & explained that the «potato salad was mustard based, the coleslaw was mayo based, the cowboy beans were spicy & the baked beans were sweet». Then she stopped. There were many more «sides» listed on the menu but I figured that since she hadn’t mentioned any of those, they weren’t available choices. I’m not a big fan of potato salad, coleslaw OR baked beans but I figured if ever one should get such things, it would be at a roadside BBQ joint. I figured they’d be homemade & incredible. So, along with my ribs, brisket & polish sausage I ordered a side of potato salad & baked beans. My husband ordered bologna, pork loin & hot links with french fries & onion rings (it as at this point that I realized the other sides were allowed, but the waitress had run away. So I was stuck).
Now would be a nice time to mention that 2 tables of local folks were seated and ordered well after us… yet, they were served a good 10 min. BEFORE us. They were also given a basket of crackers & a bowl of butter for their bread. I didn’t want those 2 things, but it would’ve been nice to have been offered them. Just sayin’.
So we finally received our meals. Awful. Just awful. The plates were of the styrofoam variety, split in sections. 1 paltry amount of CANNED baked beans, 1 sad amount of PACKAGED potato salad, 2 ribs, a slice of brisket cut into fours & ½ a sausage topped with a flaccid piece o’ Wonder bread. Seriously? Seriously. My husband’s fries & onion rings were store bought frozen. Limp, cold & unappealing.
There was nothing exciting about the food. It was food. It wasn’t delicious. It wasn’t special. I was so disappointed in the fact that not even the baked beans or potato salad were homemade. I don’t even know if the meat had even met a grill or smoker. I could’ve picked up something better & cheaper in any grocery store.
Our waitress ignored us for the remainder of our time there. Never dropped off a bill, never informed us that we would just have to pay at the front on our way out. Our bill totaled just under $ 40.The most I’ve ever spent for such a small portion of sh*tty food.
Also, let it be known, I have never given such a horrendous tip in my LIFE which is REALLY saying something, considering my husband is British & we’ve lived in the UK for a number of years where tipping just isn’t a «thing».
The Bad Brad’s we found online is located in Stillwater. We will be visiting THEM but never again will my shadow darken the doorstep of Bad Brad’s in Pawhuska.

Oklahoma BBQ… what’s going on here?
Got some Memphis stuff going on, along with some TX BBQ and then you throw hot links and bologna on there for good measure.
Asked for marbled brisket — got dry stringy meat covered in sauce
Tried Hot Link — why?; mushy sausage of unknown meat origin and where’s the SPICE?
Chicken — was this smoked?
Fried Okra was ok. Cornbread… well they give you a lot of it

It’s a little bit of a drive for the MAB to get to Pawhuska but is usually worth it. The 3 meat combo is great and the ribs are top notch. The cowboy beans are some of the best around. And even tho the side portions are small the meat part makes up for it. The ribs are plump and juicy and I’m sure those pigs never missed a meal. Solid 4 star.

Eaten here twice. Slightly below average BBQ. But probably one of the best places to eat in the Pawhuska area.

Well, I realize I probably just had a bad experience because several friends had lunch here just this week and liked it. But I went for an evening meal because I’ve been hearing about Bad Brad’s for years. It took a really long time to get our food and overall service was mediocre.
Unfortunately the brisket was unbelievably tough and the smoked «chicken breast» was a pressed together piece of chicken not real breast meat. My friend got Polish sausage which had good flavor but the casing on the sausage couldn’t be chewed and really couldn’t even be cut with a knife. The baked potato was good.
We were both definitely shocked. Not sure what happened, but don’t think I will be driving over that way again soon.

4.5 stars! (¹⁄₅ off because I’m a semi-​vegetarian — but I might consider turning full carnivore for this place.). Fried Okra! YUM! Chicken sandwich! Yum! The meat is smokey and so tender it practically melts in your mouth. Baked beans were delicious, very sweet. And the cornbread! Mmmmm… Also tried the 3-​meat plate. Sausages were delicious (everything was).
Service was friendly. All smiles. And I loved the décor and ambience. Hardwood everywhere with lots of old photographs.
Oh, and the cobbler at the end — we had peach (loved it!).
Highly recommended.