Head Country Bar-B-Q Restaurant

Been wanting to try this place for years since their sauce was so famous. I think it’s called Danny’s now. To distinguish it from Head Country BBQ products, which are sold nationwide in grocery stores, etc. This is the place that supposedly started it all. They do sell the sauce in bottles you can buy. Shoot, try all of them on your food first before you make a choice. I combined a couple on brisket to make even a better sauce for the moment.
It’s good food. Had the brisket this time. Can see the smoke; can taste it, too. Tender. Friendly folks behind the counter. TOO MANY choices. Had the all you can eat so I could try more than just the standard «two sides» and they were all good from beans to deviled eggs. Other daily specials.
Clean…but not TOO clean a barbecue place. Lots of local folks obviously come here. It was busy but not TOO busy on an earlier Saturday. Good place to enjoy lunch and early football on a Saturday!

I grew up in this BBQ sauce and nothing else even comes close! IMHO it is they have the best sauce and rub on the planet. Make sure to grab ya some before you leave. Good food with great down home people make this joint a 4 star place.

BBQ is decent, not the best in Oklahoma. Service is good.

I was in Ponca for a week and I must have gone here three different times. Head Country BBQ sauce is Oklahoma’s BBQ pride and joy. The restaurant is great, they smoke everything in the morning and it gets busy around 11 AM. What people really seem to enjoy is that the chef takes your order and prepares it in front of you, sides are ordered down the line. It’s not Hibachi or anything but it’s a special moment when your ordering pork shoulder. Only thing I didn’t like is that there were not any napkins on the table. And I looked like a 3 year old eating spaghetti with my hands. Didn’t even look for napkins … just went straight to the restroom.

I ordered out from them. Meat was good, the rest you could get from a can or Walmart deli. No, Walmart deli is better. I ordered Cherry Cobler and got a little tiny scoop for $ 2:75. I asked for sauce, bread and pickles. Got none of it. Not even barbecue sauce. And they charged top dollar. I go there for the meat and barbecue sauce. Well at least I got some very expensive meat. I will not be going back. Shame on you Head Country!
Dana Campbell
5 807 162 205

Beef RIB — perfect when fresh. Moist, dry rub, fall off the bone, good smoke ring, medium smoke (not burping it for hours), just enough fat to keep it flavored (not too chewy or oily). Add sauce to preference. ⁵⁄₅ stars.
Brisket sandwich — decent moist-​ness, decent smoke, minimal fat. ⁴⁄₅ stars. With sauce — ⁵⁄₅.
Turkey sandwich — shaved, gotta get it fresh, very light smoke flavor, needs sauce, moist. B/​c this is hit or miss depending on when it comes out, and the light smoke flavor. I give it 3.5÷5 stars. But it’s really good with sauce and fixin’s (onion and pickle with sauce) — it then gets ⁵⁄₅ stars.
Chicken sandwich — they dice this up, weird, but it works (I’d give anything for pulled chicken). It’s good though. ³⁄₅ stars. Dressed — ⁴⁄₅ stars
SAUCE — texas style, i grew up on it. my fav of course!
deviled eggs — gotta get it, nothing special against other eggs but it compliments the BBQ. ³⁄₅ stars.
Slaw — average, goes nice to add a vinegar component to your meal. ⁴⁄₅ stars
Beans — average, ³⁄₅ stars
Fried OKRA — ah yea! this is made to order, so always fresh and hot! Out of one small (about 15 — 20 pieces) maybe 2 are that dreaded okra «stringy» bite. Better than fries!
Overall good little joint, my favorite Beef Ribs out of 5 states. Okra is the best here too, if you’re into sides. Get some great sauce and spices for home cooking.
In the tour, this place is Third.
Tip: they have a drive-​thru window AND smoke your turkey for holidays! The smoked turkey was FABULOUS! (Even had a smoke ring!)

I make a point stop here every time I am in the area.
Excellent tender brisket. And that’s not something you get just everywhere.
Anyone can make juicy pulled pork. Moist tender brisket is difficult.
I have always had excellent food here.
And the sauces are, obviously, outstanding.
Worth a trip away from I-​35.

I avoided this place because of reviews from friends. I got the ribs 15 mins before they closed and the kid pulled a new rack out and cut 4 ribs from the center. They were seasoned well and tender. There was no smoke flavor though. The beans were good but came a little cold because they scoop outa bunch a servings and you pick them up as you pass through the line. I recommend not setting out so many in advance. The potato salad was one of the most disgusting things Ive ever eaten. I spit out the only bite I attempted. I will say this however, this was not boxed potato salad which a lot of places try to serve you. I appreciate there effort, but I cant ever try that stuff again. I compared my potato salad experience with a friend who ate here and mentioned he was not a fan of it either. Overall, I’d come back, but certainly would avoid the potato salad.

I ordered the sampler so I good get the ham, sausage, brisket and ribs. The ham had no smoked flavor, the sausage had a good taste but no smoked flavor. The brisket and ribs had a good smoked flavor. The sauce was good. Overall it was a good place to eat.

Worst meal we ever had there. The bbq pork was very fatty. My hamburger was put together with thw bun and cheese and microwaved and still managed to be raw inside. Not rare. … Raw.

I ate there for lunch today and was really impressed. I had the Brisket/​Rib combo with an extra Hot Link thrown in for good measure. The ribs and brisket were awesome, but the Hot Link Sausage was the best I’ve ever had. There sauce is great too. My favorite was the Hot.

As far as sauce goes, there is none better. Anywhere that I’ve been. And ive been to several joints in KC St. Louis California Texas and Illinois. Just haven’t found a better sauce. The people who work there at HC restaurant in PC are pretty much the unhappiest bunch of people besides the ones who work at Taco Stop. And HC’s sides do suck terribly. Never fresh. But the meat is ok I’ve had better. But the sauce is absolutely grand. So I never eat at HC any more just buy their sauce and have my brother make me some good ol pulled pork, brisket, and burnt ends!

Meh, it’s alright… i heard a lot about it so i expected to have the best bbq ever but it was nothing spectacular, just your basic bbq really

Head Country sauce is excellent. It is tangy without overpowering the meat, I would recommend it as a regular in your BBQ sauce pantry. However, good sauce does not fully make a good BBQ restaurant. The décor is nice and there is ample seating. The portions were meager and controlled. The server who dished out my pork weighed it in front of me. I understand the need for controlling food costs in a tight economy, but please let me have the illusion that I am not being limited. The portion size was ¹⁄₃ of what I would get at Oklahoma Joe’s or Gates and Sons yet cost the same. The pork tasted good, but the beef my dad purchased was fatty and of poor quality. Dad said that the beef was only fit for the dog. That was hyperbole, but it was not worth the menu price. The fries and beans that I had for sides were good.
The cafeteria-​style serving crew that night (5÷25÷12) were kids who were more interested in socializing than cleaning. The trash bins were overflowing, and my napkin turned black when I cleaned up a small spill on the floor. There was ample staffing, but most employees tended to stay behind the counter or in the kitchen. One was eventually spared for dining room duties, but only after I had squeezed my disposable dinnerware into the overflowing trashcans.
As a Kansas Citian, I (like most residents of this fine city) know good BBQ. Head Country sauce is sold in stores here. That is a testimony to the quality of the sauce. That quality sets a standard for the restaurant that it does not live up to. I can get better BBQ in Newkirk or better value for my money at several other places in Ponca City. Head Country should be a reason that folks leave I-​35 and stop in a great, but overlooked town. At this time, I can’t recommend that. Hopefully changes will be made and I can write a new review in the future.

Family from out of town are always requesting Head Country BBQ sauce & Championship Seasoning. The brisket and ribs are finger licking good. The food and sides are nothing fancy, just BBQ done right. Every time we go it’s clean and the service is quick. Definitely a Ponca City highlight.

WOW!
That’s all we could say when we took our first bites at Head Country Bar-​B-​Q. My dad, sisters and I were road tripping through OK from Dallas to Kansas and I heard about this place on a travel website for OK. I knew it’d be a little detour off of I-​35 but from the reviews, I guessed it would be worth it. Boy, am I glad we made the 30-​minute round-​trip detour!
We all tried different plates but it’s a simple setup: check out the menu on the wall, pick your favorite meat combo plate and tell the guy behind the counter what you want. Veggies come in pre-​filled foam or plastic cups (single servings) and aren’t bad. They make their own coleslaw (it’s good), they buy the potato salad, and the baked beans are decent. Fries are also an option and you choose from white or wheat sandwich bread. But you don’t want to hear about the sides, do you?!
I got a combo plate with hot links, brisket and ribs. Oh lawdy mercy! Every single bite was delicious — moist, flavorful, smoky. I have to qualify this by saying I’ve grown up in a family that shares the middle name, Bar-​B-​Q. Seriously. And Head Country has won me over, heart and soul.
The turkey was not dry at all — amazingly moist and flavorful. The ribs were perfect — no exaggeration at all. The brisket was just as you always imagine and hope it to be when someone says «we’re having brisket». The hot links were a little different than what I’m used to but also very good. The pork shoulder was also very good, much like the ribs. Everything was perfectly complemented by one of three sauces: original, smoky, hot. Don’t pass on the sauce!
The location is very unassuming so don’t be thrown off by it. The inside is welcoming and warm, as is the staff. Don’t pass this place up or miss your chance to indulge!

Great BBQ! Great Folks!
I love the yard bird the best, only available on Thurs though.
For those of you from out of town get some sauce and spices for the road!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Head Country BBQ !!!

Never had better ribs. Ever.
Also, Danny Head is a National Grand Master BBQ Champion, and his spices are sold at Williams Sonoma.

OK, so I’ve never actually been to the head country bbq restaurant, but i’m sure it’s FUCKING amazing as their BBQ sauce is the most amazing shit I’ve ever had. I’m DEVASTATED, absolutely DEVASTATED that they do not carry it in California. I’m from Tulsa, but moved to SF about 3 years ago and have to order it online (which isn’t a problem), but when I’m out (as I am right now), I wish I could just walk to the local grocery store and get a pint of it. I love the SHIT out of this BBQ sauce. The hot kind is the best. It’s SO spicy, it’s just the right consistently and tastes wonderfully D I V I N E! It’s a thinner BBQ sauce, so if you like it thick, this probably won’t be your thing. Try it anyway, you may change your mind. Speaking of, I’m going to order myself a gallon now :)