Owners Gena and Brandon Clayton stand inside their restaurant, Broken Barrel, in Stanfield on March 2, 2024. The YouTube food series “America’s Best Restaurants” is coming to the establishment July 18, 2025, to feature it in an upcoming episode. (Berit Thorson/East Oregonian, File)

‘America’s Best Restaurants’ visits the Broken Barrel in July for upcoming episode

STANFIELD — One of Stanfield’s favorite local hangouts is getting ready for its close-up when “America’s Best Restaurants” visits Broken Barrel for a feature episode.

The YouTube food series “America’s Best Restaurants” features hosts who travel the country to share the stories and spotlight the unique food of locally owned, independent restaurants. The ABR Roadshow rolls into the Broken Barrel on July 18 from 9 a.m. to noon. The episode will stream later on the series’ YouTube channel.

The show will highlight the restaurant’s popular dishes and hold an extensive on-camera interview with owners Gena and Brandon Clayton about the restaurant’s special place in the community.

Gena described the initial news that Broken Barrel was chosen for the feature as “shocking.”

“We had actually never heard of it before,” she said. “After they told us about it, we looked them up and started watching some of their shows. Then we were really excited that they chose us, especially in a small town like Stanfield. So yeah, we were excited to participate in it.”

According to an ABR press release, restaurants featured on the ABR Roadshow are selected based on customer reviews, menu offerings, social media presence and community involvement. Candidates are identified through customer nominations, internal vetting or by applying through America’s Best Restaurants’ website.

Gena expressed gratitude to the restaurant’s customers and the Stanfield community.

“We definitely want to thank the community for supporting us, for coming out and being there with us,” she said. “They’ve shown us so much love and support and stood by us through everything.”

The Claytons bring more than 20 years of food service experience to Broken Barrel. Brandon started as a janitor at a Kentucky Fried Chicken and worked his way up to manager, where he met Gena. The two later became traveling managers, training crews at other locations. Gena was working at Broken Barrel when she was encouraged to take it over, a move she made in March 2024.

Broken Barrel offers a casual, small-town bar and grill vibe and is known for its burgers. The beef comes from nearby Pat-n-Tam’s cattle ranch and is hand-pressed daily. A sure highlight for the episode is the top-selling Cowboy Burger, topped with melted cheese, lettuce, tomato, barbecue sauce, house-made sriracha, jalapeños and an onion ring.

Other popular items that may be featured include the Prime Rib Dip Sandwich, served on a fresh hoagie roll with house-made au jus, and the appetizer sampler plate, which includes mozzarella sticks, pizza sticks and jalapeño poppers. Broken Barrel also offers daily specials such as its Burger of the Month, prime rib, Taco Tuesdays and rotating ice cream creations.

The restaurant’s episode premiere date will be announced on their Facebook page. The feature also will appear on America’s Best Restaurants’ website and air extensively on social media.

Broken Barrel, 120 W. Coe Ave., Stanfield, is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and offers happy hour 2-4 p.m. To stay up to date on the latest menu and hours, customers can follow the restaurant on Facebook or call 541-449-5555.