Johnny's Pit Barbecue — Restaurant in El Paso

Finally decided to give them a try - wish I had tried them sooner! I ordered pickup early in the day; the meat was DELICIOUS and the sandwich portion was much larger than I expected. I'm a big eater, but I could only finish half my sandwich. (I also snacked on my friend's order, so that didn't help...)

I'm not crazy about the sauce - I like a thicker, sweeter sauce - but it was still tasty, and although I don't generally like unsauced ribs they were delicious even without any sauce. But mainly the brisket - !!! I'm just going to order it from Johnny's whenever I want to have some without turning my whole house into an oven. Every other place I've had brisket at, it's been dry and sort of flavorless, but this was just like my mom's. Made me long for mashed potatoes and gravy!

I also liked the potato salad - the texture is unusual, almost as if there were mashed potatoes in there with the cubes, and while I generally favor a mustard dressing and MUCH less celery (or at least smaller chunks), this was still quite tasty.

The staff were friendly and efficient on all three contacts I had, and cheerfully brought the food out for curbside pickup.

I would like to see a sweeter sauce option, and after looking over their menu I have to urge others to be careful - the take-out packages seem to be much more expensive than just buying the same amount of meat + sides, unless their buns are like $2 each. But I'm thrilled to have an option for buying tasty brisket & ribs from a local business instead of trying to do it myself.

Looking forward to trying some of their other...

Johnny's Pit Barbeque, on the outside is a fairly nondescript place on Doniphan Dr. That, is where average ends for Johnny's. I went there with my fiance, and we were promply greeted by a friendly, enthusiastic lady who promptly started that the ribs were still available. Music to my ears! Of course, I ordered a half rack of ribs. Perfectly cooked, just enough smoke to let you know, but still allowing the flavor of the meat to speak for itself. So darn good I didn't even take a picture! The Barbeque sauce, had just enough vinegar to open the taste buds but not enough to be pungent. Again, still allowing the meat to speak for itself. Additionally, we ordered the Big Johnny. The bun, toasted to perfection. However, it barely contained the brisket, and fixings. Brisket was smoked perfectly, just like the ribs. Not dry, not greasy. Topped with pickles, mustard, bbq sauce, onions and jalapeños. In still thinking about this sandwich a day later. Everyone thinks their BBQ is the best. I could recommend Johnny's ribs...

Bland. If you love bbq, especially if you bbq at hone with any skill, you will be disappointed. We ordered the brisket and pork by the pound. Neither had much smoke flavor, rub flavor etc. Not sure if they smoke to start and oven bake the rest but if it is smoked it didnt add any flavor. Bark was thin. Coukd really tell if a smoke ring was there.

The sauce is good. Not sweet or real spicy. A good add on for bland bbq.

The chili beans were good. Better than the bbq although again, no smoke flavor.

Cole slaw uses canned pineapple chunks which i guess is different but was very wet from to much milk/cream, etc.

Overall, very basic uninspiring bbq to be had here. The entire bbq scene in El Paso isnt much to speak of and Johnny's does nothing to improve it. People are friendly, portion size is good. Neither make up for the quality.

If you dont bbq at home or have never had good bbq you might like it. Otherwise, skip it. Try Desert Oak instead which might be the best in town but is way...