Gourmet Gas Station Grub

Ah, the open road. You know you are really and truly on a road trip when you pull into your first gas station and start gorging on gross snacks. What if, however, those snacks weren’t gross? There are only so many Corn Nuts and pieces of beef jerky a person can eat, after all. Some gas stations across this great land of ours have eschewed the gross in favor of the gourmet. Here are some fancy-pants gas stations that serve fancy-pants grub.

El Carajo International Tapas and Wine

This Miami BP houses a tasty secret. The attached restaurant doesn’t serve hot dogs or slushed ice. It serves tapas and high-quality wine. That’s right. You can get a decent bottle of vino instead of the treacly sweet “cappuccino” from that weird machine.

el-carajo.com

Fast Gourmet

If you are a Washington insider, you could spend your time at any number of bars or restaurants where the political sausage gets made. You could also spend your time at Fast Gourmet, which is housed in the back of a Valero gas station. You’ll definitely eat better.

www.fastgourmetdc.com

Chef Point Cafe

Your car shouldn’t be the only thing to get filled up at a gas station. This humble Fort Worth-area Conoco station is home to Chef Point Cafe, which boasts some of the best gourmet burgers and fries in all of Texas.

www.chefpointcafe.org

Whoa Nellie Deli

Yosemite National Park, in addition to bears and trees and stuff, houses this trendy sandwich shop that is attached to a Mobil gas station. Whoa Nellie is known for live music, outdoor seating (of course) and a bevy of interesting grub like lobster taquitos and buffalo meatloaf.

www.whoanelliedeli.com

Saxapahaw General Store

Delicious sandwiches? Check. Locally sourced ingredients? Check. Shell gasoline to power your automobile? Check. This North Carolina staple has got it all, except stuff that isn't those three things.

saxgenstore.com

Seoul Food D.C.

Another spot for the fine folks who keep the trains running on time. Seoul Food is housed in an Exxon station and features a ton of fantastic Korean food, along with some Korean-Mexican fusion just to keep the kids guessing. Also, in case you didn’t realize, you can also buy gas.

www.seoulfooddc.com

Parker's Market Urban Gourmet

This Savannah branch of Georgia gas giant Parker’s features an organic market with produce, beer, freshly baked bread and just about anything else you would normally buy at Whole Foods. However, it must be noted, Whole Foods has zero presence in the gasoline industry.

Parker's Market Urban Gourmet

Uptown Chevron Food Mart & Car Wash

With a name like that, one could make the assumption that gas, well-done Hawaiian comfort food and car washes were on offer at this Maui favorite. One would not be wrong.

www.uptownchevron.com

Green Spot

Hanging around Dallas and looking to get some biodiesel fuel and an expertly prepared veggie burger? Why make two trips? Green Spot has got you covered. There’s also an art gallery on site so you can, in effect, kill three totally unrelated birds with one stone.