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The best gosh darn BBQ in this whole town! The smokey, enormous beef ribs combined with a homemade loaf of bread are to die for. Don't stop at the ribs, you cant go wrong with ANYTHING on the menu. While someone in your party might be chowing down on hearty BBQ, you could opt for a great plate of salmon that could feed two. If you want a little of more than one thing go for the mixed platter, with 3 meat options. Or you could start out with the sampler platter that gives you all the meats on one plate (including already cut beef ribs to keep you and your face clean).
And don't forget the fun on Wednesday night, which offers fun outdoor concerts with well-known country artists such as Corey Morrow!
Being new to Texas and El Paso, this place seems to be the highest rated BBQ joint so far. I wish I could agree. I have to agree with the 2 and 3 star reviewers and say that I have definitely had better and if this truly is the best BBQ in El Paso, I think I need to open my own joint.
Now onto the details. Wife is a vegetarian so she got the "Grilled Vegetarian Kebobs" with a large baked potato, beans and slaw for sides and they were good according to her. I am a meatetarian and got the "5 Meat Smokehouse Combo" which is beef and pork ribs, brisket, one teeny sausage and smoked peppered turkey breast. Sides were beans, potato salad and slaw. Potato salad was 5 star, cole slaw was 4 star, beans were 5 star, they are on the dry side, but have a great bacon flavor.
The meat. I agree with Michelle L. that the meat was clinging to the ribs for dear life. I tried to pull apart the beef ribs and it slipped out of my hands and splattered sauce all over, so I had to resort to cutting them with a knife. If you have to use a knife...do I need to say more? The brisket was smoked well, but the dry and tough over powered the smoke and flavor. The turkey was dry. The sausage was ok.
We ordered a half a loaf of wheat bread based on the recommendations here and it was hot and fresh, and very dense. We chose to only have one slice each otherwise we would have been stuffed. Good stuff.
The service was excellent and they seem to have that down here, which is why I gave them 3 stars and not 2. Of course restaurants fluctuate in that regard and you might experience an off night.
Overall, we will go back but expectations are now appropriately lowered. Right before we were seated, they sat a party of 33...and with the huge portions at reasonable prices, I think that sums up what State Line does best. Large parties, getting your grub on with some good old-fashioned BBQ and just relaxing in a cool atmosphere.
We had a break from work on a Saturday afternoon and headed out to this place a tad west of downtown El Paso.
I had the two meat lunch special with brisket and a beef rib. The beef rib was tough to get into, but the brisket was tender and juicy. $9.99 was a pretty good deal for all the food. Decent beans and fresh cole slaw and potato salad made for a good deal.
Nothing special here though. I've heard Cattleman's is the place to go around here so I'll try to get there before my work trip is over.
Go meat!
I honestly think that the State Line is a bit overrated. I came here with the bf & his little brother, and the first comment his brother made about the restaurant was that it smelled like pee. (I personally didn't smell it, and still am wondering what he's talking about).
Anyway, we ordered the Cadillac Sampler - basically all you can eat of BBQ brisket, beef rib, baby back rib, sausage, chicken + sides (potato salad, coleslaw, beans) + a loaf of bread (white or wheat), unlimited refill drinks and fresh homemade ice cream. After trying all of this, I would say that the potato salad and the bread are the best out of the list. The potato salad tasted fresh, as it should be, and the bread has that fresh, homemade taste to it.
The BBQ on the other hand, was only average. The baby back rib was rather dry while the meat clung onto the bone for dear life! The beef rib was mediocre as well. I have definitely had better. The chicken and sausage was the best of the BBQ.
The best came last in the form of homemade, churnned vanilla ice cream mixed with girl scout cookies. YUM-O! That was definitely the best and most memorable part of my lack-luster meal.
I definitely would never make the drive out to have BBQ, but maybe if I were entertaining guests, it would be fun to bring them here for the novelty of eating at the "State Line"
Awesome steak and beef ribs that look like something out of the Flintstones. A El Paso favorite.
Haven't actually eaten the BBQ here. But I have been coming almost every week for the summer country concert series. And this place is soooooo fun! Good music, friends, beers, cool evening air- what more could you ask for in a summer night?
So if you are planning on going on Wednesday night (concert night)- parking is difficult if you don't come early (before 7:30) but often cars overflow into the neighborhood accross the street. Usually this is easier for me but I always feel bad about inconveniencing the people in their homes on that street. Hopefully they are enjoying the concert so they won't be irritated!
Bring cash!! it makes it so much easier to get a beer (they only take cash on the patio. if you don't have cash you have to muscle your way up to the bar)
This place makes me want to buy some cowboy boots and dance!
ps if I ever try the BBQ here I might give another star.
Ahhhh, how I miss this place badly!!! My favorite item on the menu: Loaf of Wheat Bread. Yes, yes, I know this is a BBQ place, but lemme just say... I never, ever leave without getting my wheat bread fix. It comes our so warm and fluffy. Slab on some of their honey butter, and let it melt in your mouth... YUM~! My second favorite item: Brisket... also melt-in-your-mouth delicious! Slather it up in the bbq sauce, and savor the tender, juicy, flavorful pieces of goodness.
As soon as you walk in, your mouth can't help but water from the delicious scent of the meat. You follow the waitress through the restaurant to your table, glance at all the wonderful gloriousness of what others are sinking their teeth into, and you are overcome with joy waiting for what is to come.
Oh, State Line... how I miss thee!
I'm sorry, but this is some of the worst bbq I have ever eaten. The brisket was tough as leather and the sausage was inedible. The sides were just after thoughts. I really wanted to like this place because it was highly recommended by a local, but the food was really third rate. I am from Central Texas where there is a good to great bbq place on every corner it seems. Maybe I am spoiled, but this place would go out of business in less than a week in Austin.
I love Texas style cooking more than anything in the whole world.
The barbeque is very good. It isn't the most tender barbeque I have had, but that is not the style of barbeque being done here. The meat is sliced a little too thickly for my taste, but I love how clean and lean it is. I always go for lunch, so I have never encountered dry or not fresh tasting eats. I always order the sausage/brisket platter. The sausage is TO DIE FOR. Very yummy.
Classic Texas sides of coleslaw, potato salad, and baked beans with every meal. I love the coleslaw and the baked beans, but the potato salad could use something added to it. I prefer the wheat bread the servers bring to your table more than the loaf of bread you can order off the menu. Honey-butter that bread up, and it's ready to be eaten.
The peach cobbler is delish, and my only gripe: the lemonade is not freshly squeezed. At my house, we make sure the lemonade is freshly squeezed when we make classic Texas lunch/dinner.
Best BBQ in El Paso! The ribs here are to die for and the bread gives me a reason to live. I like coming here with a couple friends and getting the all you can eat so everyone can taste everything. Definitely worth a try.
We were passing through El Paso on our recent roadtrip to AZ. Since it was dinner time, I looked through the Texas AAA book and came across this restaurant. We chose it, in part, due to easy access from I-10.
The AAA guide raved about the bread and when we got to the restaurant, we saw some empty bowls labeled "yesterday's bread". So---much to our surprise---the bread wasn't free but we went and ordered a half loaf to see if it lived up to the hype. When we got it, well...let's say this...it doesn't live to the hype! It's ordinary bread cut thick and on the dry side. I think it would make good toast, however.
My husband ordered the brisket and I ordered the platter that had a piece of BBQ chicken, some brisket and a sausage. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the portions were not too big. We thought the BBQ was good quality Texas style. Everything was moist and flavorful.
Service was friendly and efficient. If we pass this way again, we would certainly go again but wouldn't waste our money on the bread.
Recently, a lot of new BBQ places have moved into El Paso. These new places claim they are the best in town, but I will stick with the original best BBQ in El Paso joint, even though most the restaurant is located in New Mexico. The food, especially the baby back ribs and sausage, is worth the drive to the far west side. The homemade ice cream, specifically vanilla bean, is a great way to top of a meal. I recommend you order their bread as well.
If you are familiar with the County Line restaurants then consider the State Line the El Paso equivalent.
5 out of 5, and don't forget to ask for extra napkins!
The State Line should be considered the best Bar-B-Que in El Paso, which is nice that the company expanded this way, but also sad that a Texas chain, 600-miles from ground zero can steak claim in another Texas city and reign supreme.
Still, their combinations are excellent, and the Mixed Platter (1 rib, brisket, sausage link, beans, and cole slaw) is a fantastic value for $14. Their meat is always tender, ribs are huge, and sides very complimentary of the main dishes. Their sauce (for the non-purists) is nice and tangy and plentiful.
The building itself takes from the style of the County Line and provides a very comfortable, relaxed setting for its patrons. Its also pretty interesting that half of this restaurant resides in New Mexico, while the other half sits in Texas.
A mere shadow of its former self. Used to be one of the best barbecue places on the planet, now it's just another barbecue place. If you're there on an "off" night, you can get meat that was made yesterday. Oh, trust me - I can tell when ribs were made yesterday. They freeze their leftovers (that weren't eaten, of course) and then re-heat them the next day. Their smoked sausage was excellent the last time I was there.
Years ago (when dinosaurs roamed the earth), there was a place in Ranchland called "Herman's Pit Barbecue". Now that place was REAL smoked barbecue. Alas, that place is long gone. The default was always State Line.
Still in all, State Line is probably the best of all the barbecue places in El Paso. There's always Chris' place in the Lower Valley, but it's not open on weekends.
Overall: I'd still go there for the brisket...
The biggest portions you will find anywhere of some of the best food you will ever eat. Hands-down, a great Texan BBQ.
The ribs, chicken, brisket, and even veggie kabobs are amazing. State Line gives you the freshest, warmest, biggest Texas style bread to munch on (piece after piece, not for anyone doing low-carb!) before your very large meal.
I have my first Michelota here - a light beer, lime juice, and a salted glass rim.
I love the decor, the service is great, and the food is to-die-for!
I was expecting much more than I got - in terms of flavor and flavor. The brisket was dry, the turkey was moist and good (and I didn't want it - I wanted the other 4 meats that came on my plate :) ) - the beef was ok - tender - but could have used more spice? as with the pork rib. And I think I prefer hot links to sausage - which ws cooked fine - I just was in the mood for something spicy...) the cole slaw was really good - and refreshing to the meat - but I don't really like potato salad or beans - so I only tasted them...was eh....
oh and I wished I had gotten the bbq sauce on the beef rib on the side - so I could have tasted just the beef - didn't go well on it for me - but went great on the pork ribs.
Setting: Just like a BBQ place should be, loud and busy! The walls are busy too, lots of eye candy. All in all a fun place to be. And it's kinda cool how it is right in the border of Texas and New Mexico. You can literally be in both states at once.
Food: One of the best barbecues I've ever had. I had a half rack bbq ribs and it was big. The drink was huge too! Highly recommended.
Service: Very friendly. Heck, everyone in Texas and New Mexico were very friendly to us that weekend. They all make you feel very welcome.
We went here on a trip to El Paso and Mexico a few months ago. Since it was a while back, I don't remember all the details. But it was a fun place to eat. We were only there for a few nights and it was with a group of people who kept pointing out all the chain restaurants we have at home. I wanted to make sure to eat somewhere unique to where we were so I found out about this place and dragged everyone here. Afterwards, everyone was glad that I did.
The atmosphere is totally Texas. Longhorn horns hanging in the bar, lots of people in cowboy hats, etc. As for the food, it was lots of good food for cheap. I got one of the combinations that comes with a little of just about everything. Ribs, brisket, I think some chicken, three sides, etc. Everything was quite good but not as incredible as you think it'll be when you see TV shows showing how great Texas barbecue is. And the bread was good like everyone else said.
We had a big group, the service was quite good, and we all enjoyed the food and the atmosphere here.
State Line, right there on the border of Texas and New Mexico in El Paso. Since it's right down the road from the hotel we were staying at for business, we decided to give it a try. I really liked the decor and the courtyard, and the boisterous atmosphere. The barbecue mixed plate was pretty darn good, and I've been eating a LOT of barbecue this year. The sauce was tangy and tasty, and portions were generous. Drinks are big and tasty too (this IS Texas after all). The menu has lots of other options for non-BBQ lovers.
This place is great and wonderful for small parties. The food there is excellent - great ribs, brisket and sides. If you are in the mood for traditional Texas BBQ (meaning getting really messy) go here and get the ribs. Big portions and reasonably priced for all you get.
I'm going to dissent. I don't like to, and I know that the locals will dismiss this as an outsider who doesn't know what BBQ should be. So, lemme get this out of the way: I've eaten and enjoyed good BBQ from one end of the state to the other, and I know what good meat tastes like.
The ribs, sausage, and brisket plate that I had the other night was not great. Good, but not great. The brisket was very very lean, and tough. Too lean, really. The ribs were ok, not great. The meat was not tender, and there was silver skin that had been left on the ribs.
The sausage, on the other hand, was tasty and redeemed the meal.
The coleslaw was good too. Not too much mayonaise, and crunchy, so it hadn't been swimming in dressing all day.
Service was a little lackluster, but that was not a big deal, I was just there to eat, not to dine. I got what I needed.
Also, if y'all ever make it to Austin and think that County Line looks new and interesting, note that you'll have already eaten there if you've been to State Line.
Sorry State Line fans.
If all TX BBQ is this good, then why the hell do I not live in Texas? (100-degree heat, the desert, the big hats and hair...oh yeah. Never mind.)
The bbq here is amazing. I forget what I had the first time, but last time I had the extra moist beef brisket - unbelievably good. Literally the best beef I have ever had. The waiter warned me that it was fattier than their lean brisket (wow, no kidding?), but I got it anyways. So worth the extra fat I'm now carrying on my butt.
Everything is BIG here. You ask for bread and you get not just a few pieces as per most other restaurants, but an entire LOAF, white or wheat. (Just be warned that the bread is not free - a loaf is $5, half a loaf about $2.50). I asked for extra sauce once, and got a cereal bowl's worth of it. Their water glasses are about the size of my calf.
The side dishes - seem to normally be coleslaw, baked beans, and potato salad - are a little disappointing. They're just not that tasty. But I can't see how anyone would still have an appetite for those after polishing off their meat anyhow.
And everyone is friendly here, from the hostesses down to the busboys. It's such a welcoming, down-home atmosphere, replete with old-time photos of Texas on the log cabin walls and what looks like an antique cash register in the main dining room. Such a nice change from the impersonal, run-of-the-mill Applebee's of the world.
This restaurant gives me a darn good reason to look forward to my trips to El Paso. Otherwise, I wouldn't have one.
Three stars doesn't seem like many, but keep in mind I'm a vegetarian. Even I can eat at the State Line. Good times...
What can I say about the State Line? Only that it's the best BBQ in town... heck, the world as far as I'm concerned. First off, the bread is simply amazing; don't go without trying the bread. Second, the only menu item for me is the Country Style. All you can eat BEEF ribs, sausage, beef brisket, turkey, beens, etc. The food comes out extremely fast so you're arms deep in BBQ sauce in no time. My recommendation: watch what you wear unless you want it painted with red gooey goodness. The atmosphere is western and adds to the experience. It fills up on the weekends so be prepared to wait. They also have a website where you can get their BBQ shipped anywhere in the world!
El Paso, TX
Category: Pizza
El Paso, TX
Category: Restaurants
El Paso, TX
Category: Mexican
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El Paso, TX
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