Convenience Stores with the Best Food

FBM and I were discussing Quik Trip http://www.qtkitchens.com/

 in the Hot Links Thread, but not wanting to derail that conversation, I thought the question of GOOD food at stores was worthy of it's own topic.
I know Wawa
http://www.wawa.com/WawaWeb/Freshfood.aspx
is much loved back east. Up here in the PNW,  nothing sticks out.
How bout where you live?
 

Sheetz is the best around here.  They have sandwiches, wraps, fajitas, hot dogs (chili with cheddar is *the best*), salads, smoothies, burgers, pretzels.......I could go on and on.  Everything is made to order.  

Around here, the QuikTrip convenience stores stand out.  I have not eaten a lot of their food, but what I have tried is at least eatable.  In recent years, they've really upped their game with regard to donuts and breakfast pastries.  They are also the cleanest and friendliest convenience establishments I've ever been in.

I've sampled a few food items at Quik Trip in my travels, and generally they are quite edible, more so than the stuff from some other chains ( Speedway here in the midwest, for example. )

Quick Chek is popular in this part of NJ.

The fresh baked items are pretty good. I am not much of a coffee drinker so if that is the usual qualifier to CS goodness I fold.

The local stores in this area do not serve hamburgers but I have seen someone on RF mention they are pretty good for CS burgers.

FYI, the QT/Quik Trip stores aren't the same as Wisconsin-based Kwik Trip, which in Iowa is known as Kwik Star (so as not to be confused with QT).

Brad

Quick Chek hamburger thread

Another vote for QuikTrip....if you have to eat at the same place you get gas and shop, it's not too bad for a quick hot dog.  Their new Quiktrip kitchen options are OK, too..

We typically will select Sheetz for this type of thing. Pennsylvania also has Rutter's, but it's no Sheetz or WaWa.

Although, with a Wegmans off of I-83 in Timonium and another one at exit 168 off I-81 in Wilkes Barre, we seem to now get food there when traveling from DC to Syracuse, and no longer hit Sheetz.

Wawa!!!

I loved Sheetz when I lived in PA. Always fresh and tasty chicken sandwiches. I used to work for Quick Chek in their stores and office and can honestly say the food is good, but you really need someone that cares about what they're making. More often than not, Quick Chek fails that area. So I'll just ask the person working the deli to throw all my ingredients in a bag and I'll make it at home lol 

<<Quick Chek is popular in this part of NJ. >>

I have to totally disagree with anything even remotely positive about Quick Chek. There are 2 of them here in Scotch Plains,  and I avoid them, even driving out of my way to buy the Sunday papers. Around my house, we call it Slo-Chek.

The help is sullen, they places look messy, and none of the food looks the least bit appetizing.

In fact the only time I tried to get a sub there, about 5 years ago, was on a Sunday morning when no other place was open for a sub and I needed one because I was going hiking for the day.

Anyway, I tried to place my order and the rather nasty lady behind the sub counter insisted that I had to fill out a form to order the sub. I asked her why she couldn't just make the sub since I had already told her what I wanted (it wasn't a complicated sub order). She insisted and said that was the rules. I told her if I wanted to fill out a form I'd go home and do my taxes. Not sure if the subs still require paperwork to get one, I haven't tried in years.

Sorry for the rant, you hit a nerve.

Well I am glad to help you get that out after all these years!! Save an ulcer.

I guess mileage varies. Here the stores are clean. I really don't go there for meals. A muffin and a crossword lottery ticket....and all is well.

Now they have a touch screen ordering system for the subs. That might make you .

They have a very nice  balloon festival every year in Whitehouse Station NJ.

<<They have a very nice  balloon festival every year in Whitehouse Station NJ.>>

Yeah, I'll give them that. We went several times in the 90's when my kids were younger. Fortunately there were always plenty of other food options at the festival.

If I knew Quick Chek was going to be the hot ticket I would have taken a picture of the sub my son brought home a few hours ago. But here is his messy receipt. Not messy because the store is messy. He pushes yes for everything...until it is dragged through the produce section.



A blurry picture from New Jersey.  Sorry...the best of the lot. The order sheet (now the barcode) is for inventory. Not to bust horns.

It is a nice cold sub and at $2.99 a good deal.

<<The order sheet (now the barcode) is for inventory. Not to bust horns. >>

Yes, I figured the whole process (Form-filling or now screen-touching) is some sort of directive from Corporate bean-counters (or maybe lettuce counters), but in a state with, oh, 4 million independently owned sub shops and delis which seem to get by very well by simply relying on old-fashioned communication between order-taker and customer to put together a sandwich, it just seems idiotic.

Then again, I am occasionally accused of being cranky about some things which are not worth being cranky about, and this is probably one of them...

That's cool. Everyone can't love Quick Chek. Then...it would be Wawa.

 Wawa has a little bit of "everyone loves Wawa because everyone loves Wawa" thing going on.

NOOO!!!! "I love Wawa. I love Wawa. We love Wawa!" until people who have never been to a Wawa love Wawa. Then they go...and experience it. Yes...that is all. The white soothing light  does not appear when you walk in. Just for those that find it a nice part of their daily routine.

WAWA and Sheetz are my favorite but WAWA is by far the best.
 
I have visited them both on many occasions.  None are in Tennessee but my visits have been in Virginia and Pennsylvania.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Re Quick Chek: What are Portuguese Rolls?

Usually they will be a cross between a round  and long "roll" in shape. Lighter in density vs. some Italian rolls but often heavier  vs. a kaiser roll.

cool. Are they sweetish?

In general....usually not.  Mostly like a wider shorter Italian roll.

Every now and again there are some found that look a little danishish.

Here ya go...

http://www.vieirasbakery.com/

Portuguese rolls are very common in this area of NJ (Union, Hudson, and Essex counties). Nearly every supermarket and deli has them. I do find them a little sweeter than Italian rolls but not so much I'm turned off by them (I'm not big on sweets). They do have sugar as an ingredient, a lot of Italian bread and rolls do not.

Most of the Portuguese rolls are supplied by Teixeira's Bakery of Newark, which has a neat little cafe in the Ironbound section of Newark and an outlet store nearby. The NY Times had a short writeup just the other day:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/nyregion/21qbitenj.html

ken8038


<<The order sheet (now the barcode) is for inventory. Not to bust horns. >>

Yes, I figured the whole process (Form-filling or now screen-touching) is some sort of directive from Corporate bean-counters (or maybe lettuce counters), but in a state with, oh, 4 million independently owned sub shops and delis which seem to get by very well by simply relying on old-fashioned communication between order-taker and customer to put together a sandwich, it just seems idiotic.

Then again, I am occasionally accused of being cranky about some things which are not worth being cranky about, and this is probably one of them...

Back in the day they used the paper forms because it was easier to keep track of who got what. You put your name on the form and they call it out when you're food is ready. Mostly this was only happening during the busy food rush times. There was no reason to make someone fill out a form if they were the only person there. Now you're forced to go through the touch screen because the UPC is printed on the receipt. 


You think that's bad? I've already seen one of their self-checkout test stores....

Happy Day! Self-checkout means no standing behind the people who NEED to purchase $125 in lottery tickets. Wait wait is there any number they forgot? 1-800-gambler.

around DC, 7-11 rules the roost. Personally, I think they've gone downhill - the saving grace is that the sandwiches are a better fast food choice than FF (McD, BK, TB, etc.) But trying to step around all the 7-11's in DC and VA is pretty hard to do. They're everywhere!

The only thing that was kind of cool about 7-11 was when they converted some of them to Quiky Marts when the Simpsons Movie came out. One wasn't too far from my house. It was a novelty - and yes, we did eat one of those disgusting Krusty doughnuts. The pink monster, if you will.

Too bad they didn't have Buzz Beer!

I thought Homer drank Duff's.

Has anyone ever been to the Chef Point Cafe? Looks like great food and fun!

Chef Point Cafe

We tend to use Convenience Stores for limited purchase...Gas-pay-at-pump (now and then), cheap sodas (Nehi and Big Red are 79 cents for a 20 oz at our local store), and Lotto tickets.

   I do have my Powerball and Hoosier Lotto cards filled in in advance to prevent some Roadfooder from having a Coronary because they have to wait while I darken the 'Quik-Pick' marker on the card, while their 2/99 cent hot dogs get cold(er).