EL PASO: Rib Hut
2612 North Mesa St.
El Paso, TX 79902
915-532-7427
Open M-Sat 11-10, Sun 12-9
www.ribhutelpaso.com
It was late night in El Paso, and none of the other barbecue we'd found in town was noteworthy. The retro A-frame design of the Rib Hut was intriguing, but the sign out front advertising a 12" cod hoagie was worrisome. I placed an order at the bar and quickly retreated to my car once my rib trio to-go order was passed across the bar. I'd had enough bad brisket, and this was the Rib Hut after all.
The beef back ribs had a pitiful amount of meat, but what I could bite into was at least decent. The smoke was evident and the seasoning was bold without being overpowering. Pork spare ribs were a bit tough and no doubt benefited from a sweet glaze, but again it wasn't bad considering what we had already eaten in El Paso. Baby backs were tender enough, but they were missing any of the smoke and had a bit of burnt on flavor from a liberally applied sauce. While being some of the better barbecue we had in El Paso, these were still some mediocre ribs overall. Maybe the cod hoagie was even better, but I'll never know.
Rating **
DISCLAIMER:
Each joint is judged on the essence of Texas 'cue...sliced brisket and pork ribs. Sausage is only considered if house made. Sauce is good, but good meat needs no adornment to satisfy. Each review can only be based on specific cuts of meat on that particular day. Finally, if the place fries up catfish or serves a caesar salad, then chances are they aren't paying enough attention to the pits, so we mostly steered clear.
-THE PROPHETS OF SMOKED MEAT
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