El Paso failing at BBQ says Texas Monthly

Is El Paso a barbecue desert? According to a new article on Texas Monthly’s BBQ blog, the Sun City doesn’t stack up with the rest of Texas.

Texas Monthly’s full-time barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn made the trip here looking for a hidden gem, and said he was let down for barbecue in West Texas.

In the article posted Tuesday on tmbbq.com, Vaughn said “Two weeks ago I went back to the area, with a positive attitude and a mission to find good barbecue. After trying eight more joints, a couple of which were new, I left with only a new pair of Luccheses for my troubles in El Paso.”

ABC-7 went out to some of the places mentioned in the article, like Rib Hut and Tony’s the Pit Bar-B-Q. We heard from owners and customers alike with some surprise and disagreement, but some people said that El Paso is lacking when it comes to the realms of ribs, brisket and sauce.

“I mean it’s good here in El Paso,” said one man eating at Tony’s. “But it’s not — I mean, you go down to Central Texas or San Antonio and the Woodlands, and it’s just really incredible barbecue.”

El Paso may not have as strong a tradition of slow smoking as the rest of Texas, but businesses said they’re surprised, and don’t deserve the bad rap.

“You know, we’ve been in business for 30 years, and I think our customers speak for themselves,” said Brenda Hayes, owner of Rib Hut.

Hayes said says she strongly disagrees with the article. Particularly with the USBC bowlers in town from around the county, she says she heard plenty of compliments and never any complaints. Every Wednesday, staff at Rib Hut said they say they can go through more than 800 pounds of beef ribs for their rib night special.

Over at Tony’s the Pit Barbecue on Myrtle Avenue, third generation owner and manager Christina Vargas said El Paso barbecue actually is different. In her experience, El Paso’s offerings are spicier that what you get in central and east Texas.

“It’s sweet,” Vargas said. “The barbecue sauce, it’s kind of like a — I don’t know, like a caramel. It has a sweet taste to it.”

Customers in the stores visited by ABC-7 said they supported El Paso BBQ, but not everyone thought the article was wrong.

ABC-7 also reached out to the author of the article asking about his judgement of El Paso. Vaughn said he wanted to find a good place to recommend to all of Texas, and is still hoping he will in the future.

You can read the article and decide for yourself at tmbbq.com.