There’s a real general store here in Twin Butte, along with a fine Mexican restaurant

I’m deep in the heart of southern Alberta ranching country, sitting in a character, low-ceiling diner and listening to a country soundtrack. So of course, at Twin Butte Country General Store, l’m dining on… steak? Burgers? Um, actually, Mexican cuisine.

There’s a story here, about how a transplanted southern Californian, Larry Davis, renovated this historic general store, started cooking primarily Mexican food and then turned things over to his daughter, Jeny Akitt, who carries on the tradition, along with hosting good live music from touring musicians. Just trust me, it works.

The lunch/dinner menu includes enchiladas, chimichangas, burritos and tacos. But I’m here at breakfast, deciding on a Mexican scrambler but abandoning my initial choice of a “senorita” size for the more manly full size, with a side of grilled tortillas. This combination of scrambled eggs, melted cheese and chorizo sausage over nice home potatoes arrives in a little, scalding cast-iron skillet, ensuring everything stays hot for the duration of inhaling. Why don’t more breakfast places do this?

A Mexican scrambler served piping hot in a cast-iron frying pan

Twin Butte is along a gorgeous stretch of Highway 6 that winds through lightly treed foothills and front-range mountains south of Pincher Creek. Most folks follow it hell bent for Waterton Lakes National Park. But it’s worth pausing, however briefly, at this little slice of Mexico.

Twin Butte Country General Store
Highway 6, Twin Butte, Alberta
Daily 10 am-10 pm, closed Tuesdays in winter