County Line Barbeque

I made my way to this restaurant based on it being voted best of city search. I have a special place in my belly for barbeque and wanted the best of what the south has to offer.

The Service: The wait staff was attentive, although the waitress was a bit socially awkward (she meant well). The restaurant was clean and has excellent seating on the river. I asked for the waitresses recommendations and she quickly and confidently recommended one of the combo meals with pork ribs, beef brisket, and sausage. She described the barbeque sauce as being sweet with a hint of orange.

The Food: The fresh loaf of dark wheat bread was a treat, coming complimentary with the meal. It was served with individual packets of honey butter. I would have preferred the honey butter served in a small bowl, as the individual packets of butter are the first clue that the restaurant may not be going the extra mile in terms of using fresh ingredients and making an appetizing presentation. A very minor point.

The meal itself came very quickly. I took the waitresses recommendation and ordered the aforementioned combination with sides of beans and french fries. The presentation was fine, they had healthy portions of each meat slathered with plenty of deep red sauce (I like a lot of sauce, so point to them).

First the good, the beef brisket, while a little dry, had a light flavor that was well complimented with the sauce. My favorite part of the meal were the spicy sausages. They had a nice firm texture with excellent flavor. They were well cooked. The spiciness of sausage melded perfectly with the sauce.

The not so good started with the sides. The french fries tasted of rubber and were cold. The flavor and temperature screamed that they had been sitting for some time. The beans were warm but completely bland of flavor. Quite a disappointment considering the abundance of meat in the beans, they appeared very appetizing but did not deliver on flavor.

Finally the ribs, a good barometer for any barbeque restaurant, they were served as the showcase on top of the other meats. They appeared to have plenty of meat and were a nice deep red black color. They had a strange combination of spices on the outside that did not mesh well with the sauce. They were overcooked and cooked too quickly resulting in tough meat. I always look for that fall off the bone tenderness when eating ribs, and they just did not even come close. Further, the ribs had not been trimmed of fat making the bite into nothing but gristle very common place. These ribs were a major disappointment in every regard.

I will continue my quest for more respectable southern barbeque in hopes of finding a better representative than this "best of city search."

Pros: Great location

Cons: Poor food quality

Posted 05/12/09

I knew before I ate here that it was not going to be good just b/c every restaurant I've eaten at on the riverwalk was not very good. They only get tons of business b/c they're on the riverwalk and the tourists don't know any better. I live in San Antonio and attended a conference downtown at the Mariott. A few of my friends who are not from around here wanted to go here b/c they wanted bbq. I warned them that they weren't going to get any good bbq on the riverwalk. Honestly, I haven't had great bbq in san antonio in my past 2 years of living here. South Carolina has the best bbq I've ever had...hands down. Anyway, to the food...I got the pulled pork sandwich since it was the lunch special. The pork was just okay, not very flavorful. It didn't taste smoked...just like it was roasted in the oven with no seasoning. The sauce was weird...definitley not my idea of a good bbq sauce. I swear, it tasted like it had apricot preserves in it. It was really sweet. Again, w/the South Carolina bbq thing...I like my bbq sauce smoky and tangy (love mustard based bbq sauce). Experienced BBQ eaters will not like this establishment. I think the rave reviews came from out of town tourists who don't know much about good BBQ. Sorry, it's the truth.

Pros: Sitting on the riverwalk is nice when it's not too crowded

Cons: not good bbq, sauce was gross, sides were gross

Posted 04/05/09

My sister in law had lunch at the Riverwalk location. It was fantastic. Great ribs and sides too, plus the atmosphere was fun. Thumbs up for us.

Posted 01/26/09

Deli roast beef drowned in cold, awful, straight-out-of-the-bottle sauce. Beef ribs too tough to give to the dog. A T-bone "big as your shoe" with flavor to match.
Being on the Riverwalk, this place is obviously not concerned with repeat business.
Save yourself some disappointment and a LOT of money, and go get a McRib instead.

Posted 12/11/08

I know Texans rave about their BBQ, but this restaurant was average at best. The brisket was dry and the ribs and beans were cold. I'm sure no Texan would believe me, but there are better BBQ restaurants in Los Angeles.

Pros: location

Cons: food very average

Posted 11/13/06

Great food, excellent service and a place you will return time and time again. The menu offers variety and I haven't found anything that is not exceptional. A definate must if you are in the mood for meat.

Posted 11/05/06

This is for the I10 location. Went on Wednesday night during their summer music series and had great fun, food and music. The baby backs were very good and available with or without sauce or with sauce on the side. The sides were excellent, especially the potato salad and it is difficult to get good potato salad in a restaurant. We were seated immediately even though they were busy and the service was excellent. Good cold beer and no rush despite the crowd. Will certainly go back before we leave the area. I think the 2 reviews preceding this one are for the River Walk store a major tourist area, the folks at this location were locals. Try this place, you will like it.

Pros: Excellent ribs and sides and music on Wednesday

Cons: None

Posted 08/30/06

Was disappointed with these "authentic" Texas BBQ ribs. Like the next review, my baby backs were tough, not fall-off-the-bone. Had to saw through them with a knife and fork. A friend had the beef brisket and it was ok, but should have been better considering it was supposed to be "slow roasted 18 hours". We thought the sauce had a certain "gasoline" quality to it. Beans were very average.
Service was prompt - maybe too prompt - like all the tourist traps on the river, the food comes up about 2 minutes after you order it. Can you say "mass production" or "heat lamp"?

Pros: Location

Posted 11/29/04

I visited this restaurant chain in 2 occasions. In both I was disappointed on the food and service (especially after hearing over and over again the radio commercials on this restaurants being The Bar B Q King. The food was cold and my Baby Backs were really tuff.

I will never go again and I wouldnt recommend it to any of my friends and relatives.

As a note, I visited 2 different locations each time I went, the one at the River Walk and the IH10 location.

Pros: Ambiance, Location

Cons: , Service, Pricy

Posted 07/13/04

There for the first time looking for a bar outside to sit and enjoy some Texas ribs - after taking a left out of the Hyatt and finding nothing to fit the bill, I headed to the right and found the County Line. It was perfect - sat at the bar (outside), had a margarita, ribs, a beer. The ribs were good, slaw - great, fries so-so. Service was friendly and promt. The tracter seats were a bit hard on my rump.

Posted 05/22/02