Ardovino’s Desert Crossing

This place gets 4 stars based purely on atmosphere! What a great place. Where else can you experience a wedding, fine dining, and corn hole? You can get sophisticatedly drunk at this place.
Food, oddly enough, I like their seafood the best. They must get it from the Gulf of Kansas. The pork chop however, not impressed with the sweet taste of it. My girl LOVED it but I’m from the real south and we don’t do sweet pork chops. Beer selection was great and so was the wine. Definitely a fantastic place and a must try.
Now, time for the live music!
****ATMOSPHERE****

I can finally say I’ve been to Ardovino’s Desert Crossing to eat (shout-​out to their pretty awesome weekly Farmer’s Market!) and it exceeded all expectations. If it’s a Saturday, I totally recommend checking this place out for the market, a little exploration, and some brunch.
Their brunch menu has a good variety of different dishes and a lot of their ingredients are locally sourced or homegrown and made in house. You can imagine what that means price wise, but I will say that portions were appropriate and the quality was fantastic so you definitely get what you pay for.
My better half and I, both started with a cappuccino because we’re fancy (and we couldn’t go straight to the mimosas because of the weird alcohol laws in the area that prevent anyone from serving you alcohol before 10 AM on a Sunday). Served with two handmade brown sugar cubes and lots of foam. Coffee flavor strong! And one sugar cube was quite enough for me.
I ordered the Trailer Park Biscuits and Gravy with poached eggs. Oh my! The gravy was a spicy white gravy with green chiles. The biscuits were fluffy and yum. I would order this again. Honestly, everything I saw come out of the kitchen looked phenomenal. Before we were done eating we were able to get mimosas and rather than get a regular mimosa, we opted for their Prickly Pear Mimosa because prickly pear. It’s a unique flavor. Not as sweet as I imagined, but that’s a good thing.
Everyone at Ardovino’s from the host to our server was awesome. All seemed really happy to be there and put a smile on my face. This is a great brunch spot. I can’t wait to come back to Ardovino’s to check out the dinner. Also, like any brunch spot, you’re totally okay in your Sunday’s best or (nice) workout gear, but I would recommend the former for dinner.

First time here for breakfast and I was impressed. For $ 11 I ordered the «Naked Eggs» consisting of; Two eggs, toast, sausage, potatoes, bowl of fresh fruits, and delish raspberry jam. Everything was quality and tasted homemade. What took it over the top was prickly pear mimosa’s and the wait staff was top knotch! Can’t wait to go back!

I loved everything about this place, the atmosphere, service, and food. Absolutely perfect.

Disappointing is how I would describe my experience at Ardovinos. First off, let me say I loved the wine tasting at the front. Amusingly, I went to Ardovinos solely based on the wine tasting Unilocal event. It wasn’t an event though. In fact, the wine makers and the restaurant host seemed confused when I said I was here for the Unilocal event. And it was just me there talking to the wine makers. Shrug.
Anyways, the wine tasting involved four wines from a small New Mexico vineyard. I appreciated the full pours (sniffer glasses these were not) for each wine I tasted. I mean seriously, I had a legit buzz by the time we were done. I ended up purchasing the White Zinfadel (a wine I have little experience with but particularly enjoyed at a very reasonable cost of $ 14).
After the wine tasting I figured I had driven all the way out here to the boonies I might as well try their food. So I asked to be seated in the main dining area.
The ambiance and classiness of the establishment is readily apparent. Cool, electric blue walls divide the eating area from the waiter work stations. The windows reveal a beautiful view of the mountain (and rush hour mesa traffic twinkling brightly in the night). My first thought was what a pretty restaurant and this would be a great date place.
Unfortunately, the service and food did not live up to the initial impression. I started dinner around 545, and I was literally the only patron in the restaurant for about 10 – 15 minutes. Yet it took the waiter forever to come to me. I had to ask for water. I had to ask for a food menu. And the waiter just had a chilly unfriendly presence. I honestly couldnt tell if he was trying to exemplify the prim and proper atmosphere, but it came across as unfriendly to me.
I liked the diverse selection of wines available (although most required you buy a whole bottle but that’s not unusual). Based on recommendations of the wine tasting folks, I ordered the calamari and the house pizza.
I was shocked when the calamari came out in literally under two minutes. While I appreciate speed of service there is no way that calamari was cooked for me. And it tasted off. The calamari had a very old seafood smell to it, was rubbery, and extremely dry. I have an upset stomach this morning and I highly suspect that dish. The pizza came out and it was hard not laugh when the pizza was presented like some fine cuisine (the waiter had a metal top that he lifted to reveal the pizza). It was just too much.
The pizza itself was just ok. There are so many other good pizza places in town that I was just very underwhelmed (despite the presentation). Honestly, I felt the size, toppings, and overall quality was on par with a higher quality frozen pizza.
While I sat and waited for my check. And then waited for waiter to take my credit card. I observed the host ask two males at individual tables to take off their hat. I was conflicted by this. On one hand I respect a restaurant for maintaining its standards. On the other hand, it just really added to the air of pretentiousness that, at least for me, was not justified by the quality of food and service.
I am quite willing to give Ardevino Crossing a second chance as its easy to believe I just caught the waiter and kitchen on an off night. But I was disappointed with my experience. Despite the emphasis on presentation I found the prices very reasonable. While some of the dishes were on the high end of the spectrum, most of the dishes were very reasonably priced. I mean the special was only $ 18 which is unusual to see at the «fancier» places.

Remember how I said some of the best places to eat always seem to be the farthest away? This place is no exception; they’re located on the outskirts of Sunland Park. They’re also most definitely worth the drive.
As with most new places I’ve never even heard of, I didn’t know what to expect going in. I originally happened by this place because they were featuring a wine tasting. That said.
It was a little surprising that said wine tasting only featured four wines to sample. Then I remembered this was New Mexico and thought, «You just came from El Paso, you idiot. This isn’t California. Now taste the damn wine and be merry!»
This guy seemed to be very passionate about his wine, I can say that much. As to how knowledgeable he was about wine, I couldn’t tell ya. Honestly, I know surprisingly little about wine, other than the fact that it comes from grapes and I love to drink it (but mostly reds).
The wine tasting alone was enough for me to sit in and have dinner. And since I suspect this was the whole reason for them to offer samples without charging an admission fee or validating ID upon entrance, I figured it’d only be fair to throw them a little business. Because their clever ploy worked.
Even though I had the option to sit at the bar, I opted to sit in their dining area. The first thing I noticed immediately upon entry is how classy the decorum was. It was SO classy, in fact, that I was instructed to remove my hat whilst dining. Didn’t see that one coming. I didn’t mind [much], but it only made me wonder… had I sat at the bar, would I have been able to keep my hat on? Also, how come it’s okay for the dude at the table across from me to wear jeans in a setting like this? Ah well, no big deal. Time to sample the food.
Tonight they featured French onion soup as their soup of the day. And let me tell you… it was arguably the best French onion soup I’ve ever tasted! It was subtle, yet seasoned beautifully. Not too salty, not bland at all. It featured toasted bread smothered in Swiss cheese in the middle. But the broth did a fine job of keeping the bread just soft enough not to be awkwardly hard as a rock a midst soup. The flavors blended like harmony. I almost thought I heard harps playing in the background from the moment I took my first sip.
For my main course, I chose the Pasta de Mare. Because… seafood. Three letters for this dish: OMG! Where do I even start? Well.
It’s tough for me to describe the sauce they used for this pasta dish. Because it’s nothing like anything I’ve ever experienced before. It wasn’t quite Alfredo, but somewhat reminiscent of it. It, too, had a subtle flavor to it that complimented all the other ingredients perfectly. Now, I DID add a dash of salt and pepper to taste… only for the sake of tailoring it to my palate’s preference. But ultimately, this is easily the best seafood pasta dish I’ve tasted in a long, long time.
The scallops were perfectly seared and tender. As you can imagine, few places get this protein right. They also give you two extra large shrimp: delicious! And finally… lobster claw pieces… all over a bed of linguine. There was zucchini, too… though you could barely taste it. The entire thing came together like a symphony. I was impressed with the portion size as well. It wasn’t overwhelming at all! Hopefully, the photo I took did it justice.
Though this is my first visit and I don’t care much for the location, the latter is mainly due to the fact that the surrounding streets leading to the highway are ostensibly bogged down with endless miles of construction work. Despite all that, I wouldn’t be the least be surprised if an updated review gets posted by moi.
Overall rating: I’m totally taking the wife here for date night in the near future!

We went for the NYE dinner. With a price tag of $ 100 per person for dinner (not including drinks) I had very high hopes. The food was terrible! The menu gave an option for several main dishes, I ordered the «quail breast». What I got was one quail wing and 2 legs. If you are familiar with quail it is very small and hard to get meat off of a whole quail and Anybody that has prepared it in the past should know that there is ZERO meat in the wings. So basically I got a little meat on the legs and that was it. My husband ordered the «bison short rib pockets» his dish consisted of 3 wonton looking things with a LITTLE bit of meat inside. Needless to say dinner was disappointing and then to top it all off we were «cut off» by the bar staff at about 1am with the excuse that they wanted to make sure everyone got home safe. I am pregnant and the waitress and bar tender knew that because I had asked for cider to toast at midnight and told them why. My friends parents were with us and they had not had a single drink. The true reason they cut us off is because a lot of the other guests had started to clear out and it was clear that the staff didn’t want us staying too late because they wanted to go home. After we made it clear that nobody was intoxicated and there was no reason to cut us off the manager started offering free drinks and the bartenders were obviously concerned they would get in trouble. Needless to say will not be going back to this place.

I’ve been seeing the reviews on Unilocal,so we decided to come in for brunch. Upon our arrival, we were plesently suprise by how nice the restaurant is and the warm customer service! The food was great, made with fresh and quality ingredients. We will definitely be back soon!

Very classy with great food. I’ve attended several events here and gone with friends for dinner, it’s always a great choice!

We went for brunch, which was delicious. My husband had the eggs Benedict and I had the Belgian waffle. Both of us enjoyed our meals. We also tried the prickly pear mimosa, which was served in a regular wine glass. A little too much juice for my husband as he felt it was too sweet but it was delicious as well. Service was on par.

Food was nasty. 1 of our plates came out with tin foil on the pork chop!!! Will not be coming back…

I started coming here a few years ago and now make Ardovino’s a brunch stop every time I’m in town. Come here for great food, sharp/​friendly service and a walk back in time. I think the prices are quite reasonable — especially considering the Texas-​sized portions (if you disagree, come visit me in New York sometime).
First and foremost, you have to love the history of the place. Ardovino’s has a story that goes back to the late days of Prohibition. Its location on the murky tri-​border area (TX, NM and Chihuahua) obviously contributed to its former days as an unregulated gambling saloon. You can read more background on the articles hanging about the place.
The brunch menu includes your standard breakfast fare and lunch items, with salutes to the founder’s NYC Italian-​American roots (ie wood-​oven pizzas and Italian twists on the omelette and and ‘cubano’ (Cuban sandwich with mortadella)). They also make heavy use of local products, which I always applaud. My fave item is the Monte Cristo Rey sandwich — fresh carved turkey, smoked pork, melted cheese, avocado and local blackberry jam piled sky high on ciabatta. It just screams welcome to flavor country
The ambiance is a real highlight. While a family restaurant nowadays, the front of the places doubles as the Mecca Lounge — a cool, old school-​kinda bar with old relics from the joint’s former days (playing cards, dice, etc) strung about the place. The dark wood coffered ceilings and firepit exude a certain warmth, while outside views over the desert Rio Grande Valley give you a sense of place. The outdoor grounds feature an old windmill and livestock (egg laying chickens, local flowers and agave) and are fun to walk around if you have an extra 10 – 20 minutes to loiter.
Service is sharp and friendly. I’ve always come with big groups and left happy. Strongly recommend

First off… this is more like a 2 Dollar sign place for most of America… the prices really aren’t that bad.
This is one of the very few times in which I would say, that though the food is good (out of seat of your pants great), you come here anyway for the ambiance. Nestled in the hills of the New Mexico side of El Paso. .you get an amazing view, some the best service I have ever had (as in can compete with European fine dining)… and a unique social experience (we ate outside).
Be warned… portion sizes are Texas sized (even though this is New Mexico).
The few downers are:
1. The mysterious fly that would not go away (and could not be killed)
2. The train roars through — maybe that adds to the charm for some

It is an interesting locale in the city of El Paso. Right on the border of the desert and the city is this place with a great view of westside El Paso and Sunland Park, NM. It is large and has an excellent bar with a nice selection of spirits and the bartender can stir up some fine drinks. As for the food, it’s good. One of the few places to get good Italian food here and the ambient is really nice. Great for meetings, get togethers, dates, post-​funeral pondering, etc. Staff is great and even the area outside the restaurant is eclectic and very interesting to check out before or after you go to this place. And if you are a railfan, you can get a great view of the Union Pacific trains heading east-​west around the mountains that divide the US-​Mexican border.

I’ve been here two times now. The first time was just for drinks, and the other was a full dinner. The location is pretty cool, I’m not from El Paso but it had a nice view of the area and there was a great sunset when I visited.
I had the gnocchi for my meal and it was phenomenal. Very creamy and the gnocchi themselves were cooked perfectly.
I can only give it ⁴⁄₅ because we had a fairly unprofessional waiter (he was new, but still) and the salad we ordered for the table was much smaller than explained and smaller than it costed.
Overall cool place and good tasting food

Great experience. Recently went for the first time to celebrate our anniversary. Reservations for 6:45p but happy to accommodate early arrival. Excellent wine list and lovely local grown vegetables throughout the menu. Spinach salad was great. Gnocchi in a cream sauce with peas and chorizo was to die for. Husband loved the Red Menders Tender (red wine marinated tenderloin) with smashed cauliflower. They learned that it was our anniversary and provided a meal ending surprise with my dessert (fruit tart); plate decorated with our years married and a candle. Nice touch.
Spectacular views of the Franklin Mountains as the sun set from our table. Excellent service, checked in often, great manners and table etiquette and allowed us to take our time to enjoy our meal and each course. Would definitely go again. Great place to celebrate a special day.

First and foremost, the dinner menu is simply overpriced for the quality of food. Pasta dishes run 15 – 20 $. My wife and a friend’s wife ordered the exact same cannoli dish. I should’ve taken pictures as they didn’t look anywhere close to similar. My wife’s plate was basically a pile of chunked up meatballs with red sauce and cheese covering it. Her friend’s plate was covered in sautéed veggies and a thin red sauce.
Including myself, two of us ordered the $ 41 ribeye. Both were overcooked and stringy, tough meat. Outback Steakhouse wouldn’t serve such meat. My friend chose to eat his, but I sent back my steak that came medium well after I asked for medium rare. There was maybe a 1/​16″ slightly pink line runniing through my steak. By the time I could find our waiter, who had disappeared, and have him take my steak back my party was halfway through their meals.
Apologies were offered and my overcooked steak was taken away. After several more minutes, our waiter advised that my steak would be here in five more minutes. When a new steak arrived, I couldn’t believe that they had the gall to serve it to me. It was maybe 10−12oz in weight, slightly charred on the outside, and RAW inside. Again, for $ 41, I said NO. I was nothing but polite about the matter but the manager soon arrived. Rather than apologize, he began to question me about my problem with the steaks. He said they could just put the second steak back on the grill and cook it more. At this point, I said «No Thank You. My entire party is done with their meals.» The look on his face was not pleasant. He turned to walk away and as he did so, he said «Well, the first one was medium rare.» I replied «No sir, it was not.» I’m sure he heard me, but he continued to walk away.
We later confirmed with our waiter that the gentleman as indeed the manager. We were polite but informed the waiter how rude we thought his manager was and how poorly he handled the matter. Members of his own staff apologized for the food and the Manager’s behavior.

I had brunch here recently with family, and the food was excellent! The eggs and hash browns were quite flavorful, and the coffee was excellent. The service was very good as well.
The only black mark I can say the place had was that to our left, there was a large window, and when they raised the blinds, a small swarm of flies emerged and then remained on the window, and toward the end of the meal, they began to pester us. They need to take care of this issue. Other than that, it was a good experience.

Read a very interesting review on this place in the New York Times — part of their 36 hours in [INSERT CITY NAME] series.
That review was very praising, but still short of the excellence that we observed. Heard other diners similarly telling each other what a great meal they’d had. All fresh, really interesting use of spices and chiles, good blend of flavors, textures and ingredients.
Outstanding and unique food, in a very curious but agreeable setting. Nice patio are and good indoor seating with views of the mountains. Full bar and, apparently, some evenings there is live entertainment — probably a good bet.
All that and it’s only about 10 minutes from downtown El Paso. If you’re in El Paso, this is definitely worth the trip.
Brunch:
Prickly pear mimosa … sweet, refreshing, perfect.
Caramelized grapefruit — fresh, light, sweet and unique
Posole — great pork, nice trimming of radish slices, cilantro, lime, cabbage and a poached egg
Mixed vegetable crepes — whole wheat crepes, spinach, squash, mushroom, goat cheese, with potato cakes
Breakfast spaghetti — spaghetti, scrambled eggs, sundried tomatoes, prosciutto and a sunnyside egg
Wanted to save room for dessert but the food was to satisfying and filling … not over-​filling
Homemade tea and water.
$ 40
Our server, Jennifer, was terrific and it was a great last meal during a visit to El Paso for a Valentine’s Day weekend getaway.
Highly recommended.

I love the food here! It’s top notch. Plus the fact that there can sometimes be live music. Only thingI don’t enjoy is waiting so long for a table but that’s because other people like this place a lot too.
Reserve a table ahead of time!
But you can have a drink at the bar while you wait.
The filet mignon was delicious!