The Smokey Pokey

Not my favorite. Was expecting home cooked food. Chicken strips were ala Braums. Wings were okay but the dressings were out of the Kraft packets. Brisket sandwich was solid. Stick with the BBQ.

Nice looking place. However this place has a serious issues with flies. They were everywhere. Their was juice pitchers or sauce sitting on the bar (that they use to refill sauce bottles) that had flies feasting on them. When I asked about all the flies IN THE MIDDLE OF OCTOBER they brushed it off and claimed the flies always were a bit of a problem. Now we all know where flies come from… My mind just went wild wondering where the flies were laying their eggs etc etc. Their were flies all over the place. The employees brushed it off as a normal and were totally indifferent.

Stopped in after a day at the lake as we heard there is good food here. Ordered the menu noted favorite, Puled Pork Sandwich and after waiting 45 minutes the sandwich was served. This thing was more like pork jerky with the flavor of a day old dish rag. Too bad… this place will be passed by from now on. Yuk!

Stopped in on the way to Kansas. I had the chopped brisket sandwich, and it was acceptable, if a bit dry. For a roadside stop, this is a good one, especially of you like BBQ. I was solo, so I can’t really speak to much else on the menu.

After driving an hour and a half on the long, plain, cattle populated high way with my internal «auto-​pilot» engaged I decided today’s culinary excursion should be… chicken fried steak! Why not? When in Rome? Right?
I pulled into this, cowboy, trucker style traveling plaza. Sat down at this cozy little saloon style restaurant located in the back of the Cowboy Travel Plaza souvenir store. Let me tell you… I LOVED their chicken fried steak. So far the best I have tried. Definitely will mosey my way on back, if I am ever in town.

Smokey Pokey does some stuff well, and other stuff really poorly. As other Unilocalers note, it’s a full service restaurant and bar attached to the Cowboy Travel Plaza off of I-​35 at exit 174. We stopped at the travel plaza around 2 pm on a Tuesday and decided to have lunch at The Smokey Pokey.
We were approached quickly by a server, but after that she took some time with our drinks. I was a little surprised, as there were only about 3 other tables seated. It was all you can eat catfish day (only $ 13.99 with 2 sides), which seemed to be a popular promotion. But, we all decided on BBQ. To start, we had fried pickles. The smaller size was still a large appetizer. The breading is crunchy, flavorful, and adhered very well to the pickles. I was impressed. But, and this is almost inexcusable, they serve it with 2 PACKETS of ranch dressing. Ranch is not that difficult to make first of all. They probably have all of the ingredients back there. Second, you could at least buy some ranch, put it in a cup, and try to trick me into thinking it’s homemade. But, to give me a packet that I would get when ordering a salad at a fast food restaurant was incredibly annoying. We did not open them, opting to use BBQ sauce and ketchup for dipping.
The diners at our table ordered either a brisket sandwich or a chopped pork sandwich. I tried both, and preferred the beef. I supplemented my sandwich with pickles, onions, and jalapenos from the bar in the center of the restaurant. The beef was tender and flavorful. The pork was good, but it was dry and chewy in spots. The beef was a far and away winner for me. I tried both the French fries and potato salad. The potato salad is store bought, mustard based. You’ve probably had it dozens of times. The fries were thin, fried well and seasoned appropriately. There are 3 or 4 sauces at the table. I had the hot, which had some heat, but I certainly wouldn’t classify it as hot.
It’s a large restaurant, and comfortable enough. I think they were preparing for the dinner rush, which may be why we weren’t given the best service. I’d eat here again, maybe. But, I know I won’t order the pickles and ranch packets again…

All of the hoop ha, all of the awesome reviews, I would rather eat at Bad Brads in Stillwater any day of the week. The help spent more time standing around and complaining about having to refill my cup than anything else. 6 tv’s only one playing. The place needs a cleaning. Maybe if the help would clean instead of stand around this place would not be so bad. She sold me on the fries, ehh if I wanted fries from a bag I would go to Sonic. The place is over all a decent, but food prices for what you get it way to high!

Who would think that a truck stop would be so good?
It was time for us to stop and we were glad that we found this place along Interstate 35, exit 174. They have it all at this stop for our wonderful truckers who are treated to a great little restaurant, somewhat hidden behind the usual store and gas station.
My pulled pork sandwich was terrific particularly after adding some pickles from the pickle bar, and he enjoyed his Philly steak type sandwich. I liked the fries which were way more than I could begin to eat.
We were happy that we stopped here.

Good place to eat. They are adding on to the restaurant, I’m excited to see what it’s like when they open that part. The wings are my favorite. Come in on Wednesdays and it’s all you can eat wings for under $ 10. However, the first order is usually enough to fill a big boy up. ;)