Smokey’s Pit Stop

EL PASO: Smokey's Pit Stop
9100 Viscount Blvd.
El Paso, TX 79925
915-592-3141
Open M-Thur 10:30-10, F-Sat 10:30-11
www.smokeysbbqelp.com

It was getting late in El Paso, but this city has barbecue joints that stay open later than I'm used to in Dallas. At about 8:30 the bar was hopping inside Smokey's, but things were pretty dead at the barbecue counter. I asked for my order to-go. I could almost feel the chewy unrendered fat getting stuck in my teeth as I watched them slice off a few pitiful morsels of brisket. I then returned to my car with little hope for the rest of it.

An over-salted beef rib and pork rib hovered just above edible. They didn't really taste smoked as much as they tasted...aged, and not gently. The brisket was as tough as I'd suspected when seeing it sliced. I didn't need more than three bites to know there was no reason to return to this joint. There seemed to be a reason that the bar side of this dual business was the more vibrant one.

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