When you’re in the heart of Alberta’s cattle country, you might expect beefy restaurant offerings beyond steaks and burgers.

Slow-roasted barbecued brisket, for example, would seem a natural. But beyond a few outliers, like Calgary’s award-winning Tool Shed Brewing, there isn’t an abundance of barbecued beef or, for that matter, pork or chicken.

So, it’s nice to find The Pit, serving in-house smoked meats in Olds, an hour’s drive north of Calgary. The Pit does the full slow-cooked roster: pulled pork, pulled chicken, Montreal-smoked meats and brisket sandwiches.

What caught my attention was a brisket burnt ends sandwich, stuffed inside a glossy bun with house slaw and BBQ sauce. To clarify, the ends aren’t literally burnt. They’re just the bits trimmed from the smoked brisket. While a tad chewier, they are certainly a more flavourful delicacy.

It was definitely a three-napkin job getting all this messy goodness past my cheeks and down the eagerly awaiting hatch.

The Pit
870-6700 46 Street, Olds, Alberta
Wednesday to Saturday 11:30 pm-7 pm, Sunday noon to 7 pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday
403-559-3748