11 Gas Stations That Serve Great Sandwiches, According To Customers

There are many parts of a road trip that are worth getting excited about. There's the feeling of adventure; setting out into the great unknown; the curating of playlists, audiobooks, and podcasts to keep you going through the low points; and, of course, the careful planning of the food stops you're most excited to hit along the way.

Since the days of Howard Johnson's and other chain restaurants that boomers miss, the roadside eatery has been a staple of the automotive experience. In that time, tastes and food trends may have evolved, but the need to refuel the body (as well as the vehicle) with delicious, albeit questionable-quality, food that comes out quickly is as American as apple pie. But what are the best choices if you're out on the road and craving a sandwich? The answer varies depending on where you are, but these are just a few of the top options to consider when the hunger pangs start to hit.

When it comes to gas station food, there are the challengers, and then there's the champion. Tastes may vary, but few pit stop chains have built the kind of reputation that Buc-ee's has. The options are many, but the quality is consistently shockingly high for a gas station.

The breakfast fare is very good, and it's hard to complain about paying $4.59 for a quality bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit, but there are other items that really shine here. The stars of the show are the fried chicken sandwich and the tender, juicy brisket, which is cooked low and slow for 12 to 14 hours. It's flavorful, smoky, and you can get it in a taco or as a sandwich. It's an honorable tribute to Texas's signature sandwich, and it's well-loved for its efforts. For those looking for something a bit lighter, there are also classic gas station sandwiches like ham and cheese, turkey club, and Buffalo chicken — depending on location — and none of them are likely to disappoint. 

There are lots of different styles of gas station sandwiches, so which one you choose might come down to the kind of meal you're in the mood for. When it comes to hoagies, or any sandwich with specific requests, there's a clear choice: Wawa.

Wawa, a 1,200-plus location chain primarily clustered in the Mid-Atlantic and Florida, has built its reputation over the years for its wide menu, which features breakfast sandwiches, quesadillas, meatball subs, cheesesteaks, and even an affordable, secret version of chicken and dumplings if you know how to order it. The ordinary hustle and bustle of a fast-paced gas station convenience store is amplified by a full made-to-order cafe, which is usually packed with tickets from the ordering kiosks. Wawa is known for its accommodating approach to customized sandwich orders, and its hoagies and paninis have become an impressive draw for this former dairy purveyor over the years.

Some dining institutions are great because they have a specialty that they do better than anyone. Other places appeal because of the sheer breadth of their menus. When it comes to the latter front, look no further than Sheetz. 

This chain has a longstanding rivalry with Wawa, both based in Pennsylvania and operating across large swaths of the Atlantic seaboard. Sheetz operates more in the Midwest, though Wawa has started to encroach on its domain. Sheetz can be somewhat overwhelming if you don't go in with a plan, but isn't that half the fun? The made-to-order subs and flatbreads are all good-to-elite — try a Philly cheesesteak flatbread or a chicken tender sub and thank us later. Sadly, the burgers are an item to avoid, as people are thrown off by both the texture and the color of the meat, but on the flip side, the chain's meatball sub is a favorite fast food item of celebrity chef Duff Goldman.

QuikTrip is another highly popular gas station for satisfying your wildest and most decadent cravings. Boasting over 1,200 locations throughout the Midwest and southern half of the country, this chain is a big draw in Texas and its home state of Oklahoma. 

The chain is known for its barbecue sandwiches, especially the brisket. Don't sleep on the subs, though, and if you're feeling really adventurous, some swear by the concept of putting a Buffalo chicken roller in a hot dog bun and topping it with nacho cheese or ranch dressing. But one of the food items that got the most love from online reviewers is the grilled cheese. Diners were impressed by how loaded with cheese the sandwich is and how gooey it comes apart when pulled or bitten into. If that's not enough, you can add brisket or chicken, bacon, and ranch to the grilled cheese to really blow your taste buds out of the water.

Kwik Trip, not to be confused with the aforementioned QuikTrip (hey, there are only so many potential names for pit-stop convenience stores), routinely comes up in the "Why is this so good" category of gas station food reviews. There are over 900 locations, almost all of which reside in the upper Midwest, with Wisconsin and Minnesota taking the lion's share.

Kwik Trip offers a variety of delicious foods for any taste, including garlic Parmesan wings, mushroom and Swiss cheeseburgers, and ham and pizza. The chain has put a lot of stock in creating a surprisingly good fried chicken program, with both the tenders and sandwich getting rave reviews from customers. According to one Facebook commenter, the fry batter here "puts KFC to shame." But as much as we here at Food Republic love some high-quality, low-price fried chicken, it's when you start to get into the world of waffle breakfast sandwiches that we really get excited.

Unlike Sheetz or Wawa, Royal Farms might not be the place you go for the most variety. Instead, you go primarily for one item (well, two, including gas): the fried chicken, which is considered the cream of the crop among gas station aficionados. 

Based out of Baltimore, Royal Farms hasn't forgotten its roots. The chain offers local delicacies, like scrapple, a Pennsylvania Dutch specialty made from ground pork, offal, spices, and flour, in its breakfast egg and cheese sandwiches, along with its popular Chesapeake chicken sandwich, which loads up on Maryland's favorite seasoning: Old Bay, which has a surprisingly interesting history. There's also simpler, universally known fare. Choose your flavor for a chicken tender sandwich, and you won't be disappointed. The chicken is best straight from the fryer (what fried chicken isn't?) and has been described as a little salty and greasy, but overall, people agree that Royal Farms is the gas station you go to when you want freshly made fried chicken sandwiches.

If you're in Southern California, odds are you won't exactly be struggling to find a good Mexican restaurant. But what if you're in Southern California, craving Mexican food, and in need of gas? There's only one spot to satisfy all your cravings: Lolita's Fast Food in South El Monte.

This fast food joint tucked inside a Shell station offers tortas with choices like carnitas, al pastor, chicaron, milenesa, and barbecue pulled pork, served on sesame rolls. There are also breakfast tortas and croissant sandwiches. Started and run by Mexico City-native Cecilia Zepeda following the success of her food truck business, this unassuming destination is best known for its carnitas torta, which gets rave reviews online, as well as its breakfast burritos and chilaquiles with spicy chips. When you've got choices like that at your fingertips, it's hard to go back to power bars and energy drinks.

Look, we don't mean to reignite the whole "is a hot dog a sandwich" hot-button debate, though by law, it is if you live in states like California. When it comes to grabbing a gas station frank, there are few that come with the prestige and hype of Honor Market, formerly known as Kelly's Fuel and Provisions.

This isn't a chain, so you have to be in Yountville, nestled in Napa Valley, to experience it, but what better way to wash down an afternoon of wine tasting than by forgoing all the fancy food around you and getting back in touch with your tailgate-day roots? Of course, in Napa, "roots" is relative, as this gas station/convenience store selling 10-dollar hot dogs has hosted the likes of Kourtney Kardashian and cooks from three-Michelin-star The French Laundry, which operates nearby. The hot dog is served on a steamed poppy seed brioche bun with relish, mustard, sauerkraut, and sweet onions. The affogato is a well-loved treat to wash down the hot dog that has been described as one of the best you can get.

If you've traveled through Pennsylvania or the northern Maryland area, chances are you've passed a Rutter's: 85 of Rutter's 93 locations are in Pennsylvania, where it has become a popular pit stop location for truckers and road trippers alike. 

This chain is known for its willingness to experiment with its culinary selection, taking a page from how popular restaurants like Taco Bell come up with zany creations. The chain has tried specialty items like fried bologna sandwiches and burgers with peanut butter and onion rings on its quarterly specialty menu, some of which have proven popular enough to become full-time offerings. If those options are a little too out there for your palate, never fear — they also have less adventurous, but still fun, fare, such as a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches, subs that draw positive reviews online, and a delicious-looking pot roast sub.

Royal Farms isn't the only gas station pumping out high-quality fried chicken. Dodge's Southern Style is a restaurant with 46 locations across the Southeast, with a majority of locations in Mississippi and Tennessee. It's safe to assume the chain knows what "Southern-style fried chicken" is all about. 

Dodge's Southern Style is known for crispy, not-overly-greasy chicken and genuinely impressive biscuits, considering the setting. The breakfast sandwiches are all served on said biscuit, which sets them apart from other chains. In addition to wings, strips, and à la carte fried chicken, which can be served spicy, Buffalo, or classic, there are also incredibly fun snacks like chicken on a stick, egg rolls, pizza sticks, and for dessert, strawberry and cream cheese fried pie. And unlike many of the other gas station restaurants on this list, Dodge's can scale up for larger events, with 25-item party platters in addition to family meals and chicken combos.

In the spirit of transparency, sandwiches probably aren't the first thing you think of when you think of Casey's. This mega-chain, with over 2,800 locations throughout the Midwest and South, is really known for its pizza, which is surprisingly top-notch — especially the breakfast pizza, which features sausage, eggs, and cheese with a sausage gravy sauce.

However, that's far from the end of what makes Casey's such a culinary draw. The King's Hawaiian BBQ bacon cheeseburger sliders are a popular lunch item, as are sandwiches like the pork tenderloin, the spicy chicken, and the chicken salad croissant sandwich. Reviews describe the sandwiches as being on the plainer side in terms of toppings and sauces, but they are generally considered a good value and quality for the price. If you're looking for something on the lighter side, the BBQ ranch chicken bacon wrap, Italian wrap, and Italian chopped salads offer lower-calorie options for very reasonable prices.

Narrowing down the best and most popular gas station sandwiches is no simple feat. There are so many options, whether stand-alone or national or regional chains, to choose from.

To find the most comprehensive and well-sourced answers, I relied on a combination of my own dining experiences from the road trips throughout my life and cross-referenced that with the ample reviews across social media, blogs, articles, and employee and customer discussions on message boards. This gave me the most holistic possible view of the subject.