Austin's Best Bar-B-Q

Best Bar-B-Q and Best Restaurant In The West/ Upper Valley

El Paso's Best Bar-B-Q!

Presented to the County Line By Senator Gonzalo Barrientos

Queen Of The Hill

With her wide smile, swinging ponytail and energy of a cheer-leader, Dee Dee Halsey pops into the foyer at the County Line on the Hill. Her shiny brass name-tag reads "Barbecue Queen," but not the float-riding, crown-on-her-head kind of queen. Halsey is hands-on royalty, unafraid to mess with smoky pits and the hunger of thousands of her people.

With its 20-mile views of the Hill Country off Bee Cave Road, this meat-lovers’ paradise is where Halsey reigns supreme as a general manager in what has been predominantly a man’s barbecue world. She’s well-seasoned under her ever-present apron. For 19 of her 25 years with County Line. she has been a GM, fixing the bean pot as well as the five-meat-smokehouse combo.

It's Always Been About The Beef

Thirty years ago some local guys - all native Texans and University of Texas students or grads, decided to turn an old speakeasy into a smoking ‘cue spot, high on a hill where a meat-lover could gnaw on a T-Rex-size beef rib and gaze at the Texas landscape for miles.

"What made us different," says Bruce Walcutt, president and County Line chairman of the board, "is I wanted to do barbecue with energetic waiters and a mixed beverage permit in a place that had a lot of character." He found his site in the old Moose Head Lodge, a spot built in 1922 that had experienced many names and uses over the years. In 1975 Walcutt partnered with Ed K. Norton III, Rick Goss, Rocky Goss, Randy Goss and Skeeter Miller. The fellas focused on cooking brisket 18 to 24 hours over natural green oak and then serving only the heart of it, the leanest part.

Brisket With A Beat

...we shuffled over to The County Line. More sit-down restaurant than no-frills dive, it’s a great place to treat the entire family, as most dishes are served family style. Not only did we devour lots of beef ribs and tender brisket, we also saved room for bread. Yep, that’s right. the secret-recipe white bread is perfect for sopping up extra sauce.

The Great Summer Barbecue

Such is the strict etiquette of meat, which makes Texas barbecue as exacting a culinary science as any Cordon Bleu classic. "The thickness of the smoke ring," Goss said, pointing to the strip of pink-tinged meat just under the crusty edge of the brisket, "will tell you how long the beef has cooked." The ring on my meat was a wide rainbow, and the slices of brisket, carved thin and fork-tender, were so delicately smoked that they didn’t need the jars of sauce sitting on my table. The traditional Texas sides — pinto beans, coleslaw and slabs of bread - also barely distracted from the essence of the meat, though natives would notice if they were missing.

A Weekend In Austin With Dennis Quaid

"The County Line has great ribs, man. We're talking pork baby back ribs - that's what we're talking when I say ribs. There's something about the sauce, the way they cook them, the wood that they use - good oak. There are two County Lines."  Dennis Quaid

County Line Voted 5th Best Restaurant in Texas
Texas Highways - Reader's Poll December 1998

Also written up recently in the "Times of London" September '98 & "The New York Times" November '98 as THE Place for Barbeque!

Going Out
On the Waterfront

...Of course, you don't always have to order seafood with your water view. In resolutely meat-eatin' San Antonio, you'll find more fajitas than flounder in the restaurants packed along the Riverwalk, that idyllic mile-and-a-half stretch of the San Antonio River that lazes through the center of town. Locals themselves will caution you to dine by the Riverwalk for the view rather than the food. Since last January, however, they've had to qualify that statement by adding, "you will get great barbecue, though, at the new County Line."

They're referring to The County Line Restaurant, which is an outpost of an Austin shrine that specializes in slow-smoked barbecue-succulent brisket, ribs, sausage, chicken and even peppered turkey breast-all served in huge portions at ridiculously low prices.

...After a wonderful lunch, go for a stroll on the river. See The Alamo. Work up an appetite. You need to be in a Texas mood to sit down to a hearty dinner at The County Line. The retaurant serves succulent barbecue in trail-hand-size portions. Fire up your taste buds with an order of Pepper Puppies, a baker's dozen of spicy jalapeno hush puppies served with Wild Pork Sauce.

To sample the best, order a family style dinner. It comes with a choice of three meats (chicken, sausage, beef ribs, or brisket) and two sides (beans, coleslaw, potato salad, side salad, French fries, or garlic mashed potatos). When it comes to food, The South Bank has a golden touch.

The Great Southern Dine-In
...Where Tex Meets Mex

...You don't think we'd let you get away without some Texas barbecue, did you? Both County Line on the Lake and County Line on the Hill are best bets for succutions of smoky barbecued brisket, hefty beef and pork ribs, juicy sausage and chicken, and plenty of fixings-all served amid 1940s roadhouse decor and picturesque outdoor decks and patios.

The secret to their success? County Line smokes their meat for about 20 hours daily, resulting in the most mouth-wateringly tender barbecue you'll ever devour.

Must-eats: County Style, the all-you-can-eat platter. You'll get a mound of meat (beef ribs, brisket, and sausage) and generous bowls of potato salad, coleslaw, and beans that'll be refilled as long as you can eat.