#i also keep thinking about when kirk ordered a chicken sandwich and he still got those cubes

[ragabonde]

whenever i get those mixed cut melon pieces at the store i always pretend I'm eating those multi-coloured food cubes in TOS

[billboronkay]

Cooking with Gasoline

    If there's one thing road warriors know, besides we have too way too many people.  Seriously, do you really need all of your kids.  One wasn't enough?  Two, OK things even out when the two parents die but at this point, going .500 is losing.  Got to get some wins and in this case, we win by losing...but that's another issue for another time.  

    OK, the other thing road warriors know is while traveling, the best car food usually comes from gas stations.  Sure, we lost full service at the pump except for a couple states that don't let you pump your own gas...seriously New Jersey, I can fill up and get on my way in the time it takes some of your attendants.  On top of that, why can't they screw the cap past a click so I feel like it's sealed?

    From personal experience, I believe Subway was the Captain Kirk of gas station cuisine,  boldly going where only 10hr rotating hot dogs and microwave burritos had gone before.  Subway's 1983 infiltration into the petroleum world shocked some and was laughed off by many.  Still, the sandwich artists could not be stopped, the only hope was to keep their plastic gloves away from the pumps.  This was a game changer, so the game got more teams.

    Gas stations figured they could make the sandwiches themselves, and keep all the dough (I know, couldn't resist...sorry).  Sheetz was the first true combo gas station/deli that I remember in Northeast Ohio.  I recall laughing at someone when they recommended going there for lunch.  I also remember being impressed with the grilled chicken sandwich they brought back.  

   Of course, then grocery stores started tying in discounts with gas stations and realized, if they had their own gas, they could keep all the...ok, dough doesn't really work there.  Neither does oil.  I'll work on it.  So Kroger started their Kroger gas stations.  Giant Eagle started GetGo, not sure why they didn't just have Giant Eagle gas, unless they realized what a weird name Giant Eagle is.  There may be a good story behind the name but I really don't think it's worth researching at this point.  By researching I mean typing it into google.  Unlike Kroger gas stations, GetGo was more along the lines of Sheetz...combo gas, convenience store and deli.  Pre-made subs, wraps, salads along with a made to order deli.  The gas/sub gauntlet had been thrown.

    All was well and good, until traveling east and stumbling across Wawa.  What's with the weird names for all of these places?  Wawa takes it to another level.  Seriously, and possibly sadly, Wawa has not only become a source for good road food, but conversation among travelers.  Seriously.  

    After experiencing Wawa, Sheets and GetGo have fallen down a few notches.  We've come to expect quality gas station dining.  Even some Flying J's and Pilot's have stepped up (ok, they're owned by the same guy who was ripping off truck drivers...allegedly but he is being punished by owning the Cleveland Browns.  

     Still, I had a loyalty to a specific GetGo.  When I am in Cleveland, I will often get a carry out salad there to bring home.  It's huge and with grilled chicken would usually come out to about $5.50.  Great deal.  

      Best time to go was just before rush hour.  In & out in no time with a great meal.  I was there so much, I noticed I was usually getting the same gas station chef.  Until one late afternoon, when it was someone else.  Much slower, smaller and all the ingredients divided rather than mixed in (actually makes a difference in salad distribution...hard to mix in the container).  Writing off as a fluke I went another time, same thing.  It hit me, the difference wasn't as much the gas station deli as the gas station deli worker.  This was crushing yet uplifting at the same time.

      Maybe I've been too hard on GetGo and Sheetz.  Maybe it's not just the Wawa name (as weird as it is).  Still, unless you're always going to the same gas station, you have no idea what you'll get.  

      Today, I mourn the loss of my favorite GetGo deli worker.  Sure she's probably gone off to something bigger, like graduating high school.  I should be happy for her and part of me is, but at what cost?  She takes with her dreams of a bright future and my vision of what a gas station grilled chicken salad is supposed to be.  Sure, there'll be other gas station deli's and who knows what advances in petroleum foods lie ahead, but because of the experience, I now approach eating on the road with a much more skeptical eye.  Except for Wawa's, I swear, regardless of where I've been they've always come through.  They really need to expand west.