Bucket List Road: Railhead BBQ

After a decade at Oklahoma Today, Editor-in-chief Nathan Gunter is filling in the spots he's missed with his series, Bucket List Road.

When one of your favorite chefs tells you what his favorite restaurant is, you go there. That’s just a rule of life, right? So what on Earth was I thinking waiting the better part of a decade to try some of the best barbecue in Oklahoma, even after one of this state’s most revered food preparators told me of its greatness?

I dunno. I dunno what’s wrong with me.

But let us go back about a decade, to when it fell to me to organize Oklahoma Today’s food coverage. Back then, that meant thinking of a theme around which to arrange a dozen or so fifty-word restaurant writeups in the back of the book, and in one issue, I thought, let’s ask great Oklahoma chefs what their favorite restaurants are!

I got a nice mix of wonderful new recommendations and major props for some old favorites. But none of the people I interviewed for the story gave me an answer that made me jump back and take pause—that is, until I got Jonathon Stranger on the phone.

Jonathon is, of course, one of the brilliant chefs behind Oklahoma City’s fabulous Osteria restaurant as well as having been the creative mastermind behind such Frontier Country delectability as Bar Cicchetti, En Croute, and Wander Folk Spirits. So of course I had to know what his favorite restaurant was, and where the other chefs I spoke to were thoughtful, careful, or even hesitant to answer, Jonathon’s answer came so quickly I almost missed it.

“Oh, it’s Railhead BBQ,” he said without skipping a beat.

I’d never heard of it, so I asked him to tell me what was so great about it.

“Their fried chicken is hands-down the best,” he replied. “They have excellent hot links and bologna, and they make sauces from scratch.”

He then proceeded to give me a pro tip: Since that incredible fried chicken takes twenty-five or more minutes to prepare, he always calls ahead to let them know he’s coming so they can get it started. I was so excited and impressed by this recommendation that I arranged to have our friend and contributor James Pratt photograph Jonathon at Railhead—that photo ran in our May/June 2014 issue.

Fast forward to winter, 2022. Eight years later, on our way to visit the ghost town of Ingalls (LINK TO THAT BLOG HERE), Karlie and I decided to stop procrastinating on Jonathon’s recommendation and stop by Railhead for lunch.

And here’s where I have to wonder again what is wrong with me, because after tasting Railhead’s amazing food, I cannot comprehend a single reason why I waited this long to try it.

Find daily specials at Railhead BBQ on the dry-erase board. Photo by Nathan Gunter

We started with an order of fried pickles, as suggested by the cashier, and boy am I glad we did. Fried pickles can be a challenge, because it’s easy for them to turn mushy, but these were crispy, hot, greasy, and oh-so-tasty (though a single order was plenty for both of us; we’d recommend a double order for a group of four or more).

Railhead BBQ serves perhaps the perfect fried pickles—crispy, juicy, and greasy. Photo by Nathan Gunter

I wasn’t really in a fried-chicken place, so I ordered the brisket sandwich. Karlie got the pulled pork. Both meats were tender, smoky, and flavorful without being fussy or tasting like a scratch and sniff sticker from an elementary-school fire-safety coloring book (an unfortunate comparison I’m too-often forced to recall at barbecue places). But as we all know, great smoked meat is nothing without sides. Karlie’s mustardy, creamy potato salad was perfection, and my giant side order of crispy, greasy, Platonic-ideal fried okra could’ve kept me full and smiling for the rest of that day and into the next.

Railhead BBQ's brisket sandwich can be had alongside some of the finest fried okra in the state. Photo by Nathan Gunter

As a sucker for all things spicy—seriously, if you see me eating with sweat pouring down my face, you’ll know I’m communing with God—I was eager to try out their hot barbecue sauce, which delivered the flavor without disappointing on the heat.

But I must tell you of the dessert, because the little Styrofoam bowl of blackberry cobbler that came to the table—it was quite possibly the best bit of cobbler I’ve ever tasted outside my mother’s kitchen. I don’t know where Railhead is getting such fresh blackberries in the middle of winter, but I’m just going to assume they have some divine supply chain reaching straight to the right hand of the Father, because oh my goodness were those blackberries so perfectly tart and sweet and dark and messy. And the homemade ice cream that topped off that perfectly flaky, buttery, rich-but-not-too-rich bit of crust finished the whole thing off with a sweet kiss. I defy you to find a better bite of cobbler (and if you do, bring it to me right now).

The best way to cool down from the hot sauce at Railhead BBQ is with fresh cobbler and ice cream. Photo by Nathan Gunter

So Jonathon, I apologize—I should’ve followed instructions sooner. Mostly, though, I apologize to me, because I could’ve spent the last eight years jamming on Railhead’s unbelievable ‘cue. But while I can’t change the past, I can make sure my future is one filled with smoked meats, crispy fried okra, and oh so much of that cobbler.

Written By

Nathan Gunter

A sixth-generation Oklahoman, Weatherford native, and Westmoore High School graduate, Nathan Gunter is the magazine's editor-in-chief. When he's not editor-in-chiefing, Nate enjoys live music, running, working out, gaming, cooking, and random road trips with no particular destination in mind. He holds degrees from Wake Forest University and the University of Oklahoma. He learned how to perform poetry from Maya Angelou; how to appreciate Italian art from Terisio Pignatti; comedy writing from Doug Marlette; how to make coconut cream pie from his great-grandma; and how not to approach farm dogs from trial and error. A seminary dropout, he lives just off Route 66 in Oklahoma City.