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Gas Station Pizza


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Now I know that gas stations have sold snack foods for years, but this one made me do a double-take. Next to the gas station sign that said "Diesel: 2.49/gal." was a billboard that proclaimed, "Hot Pizza Slices Inside." :wacko:

I can only hope they don't bake the pizza on the premises.

There are two sides to every story and one side to a Möbius band.

borschtbelt.blogspot.com

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Now I know that gas stations have sold snack foods for years, but this one made me do a double-take.  Next to the gas station sign that said "Diesel:  2.49/gal." was a billboard that proclaimed, "Hot Pizza Slices Inside."  :wacko:

I can only hope they don't bake the pizza on the premises.

On the way to New York from St. Louis we stopped at a Pennsylvania gas station named Sheetz which had pizza, burgers, heros, and other foods that you ordered with a weirdly-elaborate computerized touch-screen ordering system. My traveling partner ordered a pizza which was about as good as Pizza Hut (i.e. not all that great but on the good side of palatable).

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When my brother, born and bred in Chicago, moved to St. Louis, he claimed that the only pizza he could stand was from a gas station off of I-70 near Wentzville.

"It is a fact that he once made a tray of spanakopita using Pam rather than melted butter. Still, though, at least he tries." -- David Sedaris
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Along those same lines, local Chevron stations are now featuring sushi in their takeout food section alongside their deli sandwiches.

Couldn't think of anything I'd want to eat more at 4:30 in the afternoon after having it sitting there all day long... talk about the epitome of freshness. :blink:

Edited by Mooshmouse (log)

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

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All the convenience stores around here (Missouri) sell pizza. The shells are premade, and the toppings come in little packets. They are baked on site, and are not too bad. Kinda chewy and gummy sometimes, but edible.

They have a heated display case with rotating shelves, and you can buy by the slice, or call in an order for a whole pizza.

sparrowgrass
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So we are basically talking about frozen, and then microwave-dethawed, Pizza?

No no no... around here it's much like Sparrowgrass descibes the Missouri gas station pizza scene. Premade shells (sometimes fresh and sometimes forzen and thawed with canned sauce and prepackaged toppings added. Kinda like the Otis Spunkmeyer's version of pizza - they have a little oven that holds one or two pies.

I suspect that if you get a slice when it's fresh baked it's somewhere in the De Giorno's and Pizza Hut quality range. The problem is turnover - the slices sit in that circular cabinet all day long. I was starved and setting off in a hurry on a road trip straight from work one day and bought two slices to at along the way. Huge mistake. Huge. They'd been sitting there most likely since the lunch hour and were sort of a crusty crunchy congealed mess with overbaked sauce. Didn't sit well on a long car trip.

Gas station sushi? Now THAT's scary! Brings to mind that line from an old Seinfeld episode regarding movie theatre hotdogs: "I'd rather lick the floor than eat one of those."

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Along those same lines, local Chevron stations are now featuring sushi in their takeout food section alongside their deli sandwiches.

Couldn't think of anything I'd want to eat more at 4:30 in the afternoon after having it sitting there all day long... talk about the epitome of freshness.  :blink:

I see you're from Vancouver---that probably IS sushi. If you were from I'm from, I'd say you are mistaken. It would be a Bait Shop. :raz:

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OK, what is it about Missouri and gas station pizza?

When I was in college in Fulton, MO I lived two doors down from a gas station called Casey's. They had their own pizza made from scratch - or should I say "Freshly-made", not the pre-packaged stuff described above. They actually marketed their whole pizzas for carry-out.

My senior year this was my go-to over Domino's and Pizza Hut.

Bill Russell

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My attitude towards gas station pizza is the same as as that line from The Simpsons. The Hindu convenience store owner (Apu?) is explaining the hotdog display, rotating on small rollers: "They are there for strictly ornamental purposes".

:biggrin:

Edited by Susan G (log)

I'm a canning clean freak because there's no sorry large enough to cover the, "Oops! I gave you botulism" regrets.

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So we are basically talking about frozen, and then microwave-dethawed, Pizza?

If it is like the products I have seen in a couple places they use a light bulb oven that sits on the counter. Think along the lines of Stewarts Snack line or the old drive-in theaters.

Living hard will take its toll...
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OK, what is it about Missouri and gas station pizza? 

When I was in college in Fulton, MO I lived two doors down from a gas station called Casey's.  They had their own pizza made from scratch  - or should I say "Freshly-made", not the pre-packaged stuff described above.  They actually marketed their whole pizzas for carry-out.

My senior year this was my go-to over Domino's and Pizza Hut.

If you want the best pizza in this town (that is, besides mine) ya gotta go to the Casey's. A block south of the courthouse, on the left. (We don't have a Pizza Hut or Domino's.)

sparrowgrass
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All of the local 7-11s around here (Maryland) have a hot box that sells slices of frozen cardboard pizza whether or not they sell gas as well. We also have a huge local gas station/convenience store that has a Jerry's pizza franchise in it, the pizza's a little better (operative word being little). All of this industrial pizza by the slice should only be consumed when time and/or budget require it, just quick sustenance, not really to be taken (or eaten) seriously. Someone earlier mentioned Sheetz, there's several of those megaplexes on routes 301 and 17 in Virginia, looks like a better operation to invest in than to eat at, they're always packed when I drive by.

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All the convenience stores around here (Missouri) sell pizza.  The shells are premade, and the toppings come in little packets.  They are baked on site, and are not too bad. Kinda chewy and gummy sometimes, but edible.

"Chewy" is a nickname for Chewbacca, not something I want in any pizza I eat. :laugh: Gummy? Yeah... right.

I've been to Missouri quite a bit and I know the dearth of anything Italian-ish there. But it makes me wonder why more clever lads from Brooklyn or something haven't moved out there. I only know of two decent Italians restaurant in the entire Kansas City region, for one example, and Lidia Bastianich's place isn't exactly going to be serving pizza!

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

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My attitude towards gas station pizza is the same as as that line from The Simpsons.  The Hindu convenience store owner (Apu?) is explaining the hotdog display, rotating on small rollers: "They are there for strictly ornamental purposes".

  :biggrin:

Apu is correct. Thank you, come again! :laugh:

This reminded me of an episode of "Married with Children", an old guilty pleasure of mine. Al Bundy was partial to a frozen snack called Wiener Tots. For some reason he asked his son to read what it said on the Wiener Tot box.

"Not to be taken internally", he said. No, not that, Al said, keep reading.

"This is not a food"

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The best fried chicken in my hometown (Winnipeg, Canada) can be found at a number of gas stations. It's Chester's Fried Chicken, which I know can also be found in other cities. At one gas station on my way home, the fried chicken outsells gas--people stop for take-out but don't buy their gas there.

They also have pizza (not the best, but it will do in a pinch), deep fried pierogi (battered and deep-fried, that is), and samosas.

I should mention that this fried chicken franchise has a couple of non-gas station outlets where they do take-out. However, the main outlet was cited for health violations while the gas stations have been perfectly clean!

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Actually, after reading this thread, I'm waiting for people to also talk about:

Hardware Store Hamburgers

Video Store Mexican (actually that one exists)

Pharmacy Meatloaf

Dry Cleaner Fruit Shakes

Shoeshine stand Frites

Ha! You may be joking about those hardware store hamburgers, but there really is a Home Depot here that has a Chicago-style hot dog/hamburger/Polish sausage stand in the lobby. The smell of grilled onions and grease permeates the air. They do great business with the contractors who stop in for supplies -- one-stop shopping.

And I hear there's a laundromat with a door to the adjoining tavern...lots of suds there!

"It is a fact that he once made a tray of spanakopita using Pam rather than melted butter. Still, though, at least he tries." -- David Sedaris
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I've been to Missouri quite a bit and I know the dearth of anything Italian-ish there.  But it makes me wonder why more clever lads from Brooklyn or something haven't moved out there.  I only know of two decent Italians restaurant in the entire Kansas City region, for one example, and Lidia Bastianich's place isn't exactly going to be serving pizza!

Speaking of Gas Stations and Missouri... isnt there a Gas Station that serves Barbecue in Kansas City?

http://oklahomajoesbbq.com/

Jason Perlow, Co-Founder eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters

Foodies who Review South Florida (Facebook) | offthebroiler.com - Food Blog (archived) | View my food photos on Instagram

Twittter: @jperlow | Mastodon @jperlow@journa.host

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Actually, after reading this thread, I'm waiting for people to also talk about:

Hardware Store Hamburgers

Video Store Mexican (actually that one exists)

Pharmacy Meatloaf

Dry Cleaner Fruit Shakes

Shoeshine stand Frites

Ha! You may be joking about those hardware store hamburgers, but there really is a Home Depot here that has a Chicago-style hot dog/hamburger/Polish sausage stand in the lobby. The smell of grilled onions and grease permeates the air. They do great business with the contractors who stop in for supplies -- one-stop shopping.

And I hear there's a laundromat with a door to the adjoining tavern...lots of suds there!

When I lived in SW Missouri, I did my laundry at a place called Duds 'n' Suds. You could wash your skivies, watch the game on the big screen TV, grab a burger and a beer all at the same time. Talk about multi-tasking. :cool:

Tobin

It is all about respect; for the ingredient, for the process, for each other, for the profession.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Along those same lines, local Chevron stations are now featuring sushi in their takeout food section alongside their deli sandwiches.

Couldn't think of anything I'd want to eat more at 4:30 in the afternoon after having it sitting there all day long... talk about the epitome of freshness.  :blink:

While not a gas station, the Japanese convenience store Family Mart is about to open in the US. And yes, they will be offering sushi!

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Ah... Casey's Pizza. Oh it brings back memories.

Being from small town Iowa there was a casey's in every little bump in the road.

My driver's ed teacher always wanted to stop at every casey's we ever passed for coffee, a donut, pizza, whatever fabulous food they make on premis. Always scary. There's nothing like having a driver's ed teacher distracting you while learning how to drive because he's burned his mouth on the hot cheese on the pizza.

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