5 Great Gas Station Eateries in the West

If you’re planning a road trip, you might be resigned to eating three meals a day of greasy fast food. But think again: The West is blessed with gourmet eateries that you can enjoy without veering far from the interstate or highway. 

Inside gas stations and rest stops, these surprising restaurants offer delights like house-made huckleberry fudge, hash browns topped with smoked brisket, and freshly fried mahi-mahi tacos. Plus, many offer necessities to get you to your next stop, such as extra fishing or camping gear, kids games, or a six-pack of local craft brews to enjoy around the campfire. 

Here are five unique places to try standout gas station eats in the West. 

The Thumb in Scottsdale, Arizona

This popular North Scottsdale fuel station and car wash is worth getting off Loop 101. A cheeky sign declares that this is “Just Your Average Gas Station...” though it’s clearly so much more. Owner Kipp Lassetter built The Thumb with a smokehouse “to make the ordinary extraordinary and the mundane less boring,” general manager Joe Berman says. With its craft brews, neon red “The Thumb” sign, ornate glass chandelier, and hightop bar, the Thumb rivals your local gastropub. It seats up to 200, with four indoor seating areas and a spacious outdoor patio. Snap a photo in front of the 5-foot Arizona mural or the 700-gallon aquarium tank featuring the fish species from Finding Nemo. 

Favorite dishes include Tom’s brisket stack, which tops two hash brown cakes with pecan and hickory wood-smoked brisket, over-easy eggs and chipotle aioli. The roux sauces in the bistro are made from scratch, along with some of the spice rubs; the rest are locally sourced, as are the coffee and ice cream. Another must-try: the chorizo burrito on a fresh 20-inch tortilla, big enough for two. For dessert, head to the bakery area for five-square-inch cinnamon rolls that don’t skimp on butter. 

While you’re dining, enjoy the car show. “We get more super cars and muscle cars than most people will see in five lifetimes,” Berman says. Part of what draws these flashy cars is the high-end hand wash, which uses fresh towels and microfiber mitts. 

Kevin’s Fried Chicken in Murray, Utah 

Pop into this hole in the wall, tucked inside a 7-Eleven gas station, 7 miles south of central Salt Lake City and just off Interstate 15, and you might be surprised to find a lunch line out the door. The locals come here for crispy, tender, well-seasoned fried chicken sandwiches on fresh bolillos with ranch dressing, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos, as well as the flaky, hearty potato wedges or “logs.”

The fried chicken is freshly made in oil changed several times a day, and you can choose white or dark meat, including a leg, thigh, breast or wing. A meal of four chicken tenders, three wedges, a biscuit, a side and a drink runs you just $13.75. For sauces, you can select from ranch, barbecue, ketchup, hot sauce, honey mustard or housemade fry sauce. If you’re there early, power up on Kevin’s special breakfast of homemade buttermilk biscuits and gravy topped with chicken tenders. There’s also chimichangas for breakfast.

It’s simple and perfect here: a few tables and chairs, fountain drinks, and the intoxicating scent of savory fried chicken. Come often enough, and they’ll even remember how you like it. “We get a lot of foot traffic being in a gas station, but we have many repeat customers that only come in for us, and we tend to form kind relationships with those customers through small talk and remembering what they like to order,” says Steven Nguyen, whose mother, Donna Nguyen, owns the place.

Whoa Nellie Deli in Lee Vining, California

Cruise past picturesque peaks and campgrounds on Tioga Road, at the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada, to arrive at this family-friendly seasonal rest stop and restaurant with a scenic view of Mono Lake and Dana Plateau. “People would come down Tioga Pass with their brakes smoking and burning and people would see them smoking and say, ‘Whoa, Nellie,’” co-owner Denise Molnar says of the deli’s namesake. 

Constructed in 1996 by the Molnar family, who still run it, Whoa Nellie will soon celebrate its 30th anniversary of providing sustenance to weary road trippers traversing the Yosemite-Death Valley-Las Vegas route. When you arrive at this stop near the intersection of U.S. Route 395 and Highway 120, you might even find a bluegrass band jamming outside. There are 12 indoor booths, but if the weather’s nice, opt for the wide green lawn with a generous sprinkling of outdoor tables. Pick from gourmet comfort food like fried mahi-mahi tacos with mango salsa and ginger coleslaw; tioga taquitos with lobster, crab and cheese; baby back ribs in wild berry barbecue sauce; and grilled pork chops with apricot and wild berry glaze. Nellie’s also has burgers, pizza, pancake breakfasts, mango margaritas made with real mango, and rotating local brews from Mammoth Brewing Co. and June Lake Brewing. 

In the store, shop for locally-made soaps,Yosemite souvenirs, or a giant sequoia tree growing kit. You can also replace a ripped tent or forgotten sleeping bag, while kids will want to press a penny. Take note of the deli’s seasonality and call ahead. It usually opens the last weekend in April and closes in early November, depending on the weather.

Huck’s Grill in St. Regis, Montana

If you’ve never tasted huckleberries in a milkshake, barbecue sauce or fudge, heed the billboards on I-90 directing you to “the best shake ever” at Huck’s Grill in the St. Regis Travel Center. “People will make a loop through Glacier just to come visit us for our huckleberry milkshakes and the gift store,” general manager Crista Anderson says. The sweet, tart, Montana-grown berry is the star at this stop en route to Glacier National Park, though it shares the limelight with two aquariums, two casinos, and a 6,000-square-foot gift shop full of local wares.

Charge your electric car, exercise your dogs at the dog park, and then head inside to shop for barbecue seasonings, spirits for around the campfire, or firewood. For kids, there are toys, games, and puzzles for sale, plus a penny press and two aquariums, including one you can crawl inside for a 360-degree view. 

At Huck’s, tuck into a cozy booth to enjoy a bison burger or chicken club with huckleberry barbecue sauce or a turkey wrap with huckleberry vinaigrette, plus huckleberry lemonade. If you need a sweet treat to keep your energy up for the drive, try the huckleberry sundae or a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich with, you guessed it, huckleberry ice cream. If you’re in a rush, grab your shake from the to-go window. Dolly V’s next door slings homemade huckleberry fudge, ice cream and espresso drinks. 

Dateland in Dateland, Arizona

Hungry road trippers who stumble into this travel center on I-8, on their way from from Phoenix to San Diego, are immediately flooded with the heavenly scent of date oatmeal squares, date walnut bread, and four kinds of date cookies, all baked on-site. 

Gas up and let your dog rest in one of the outdoor kennels (grab a key from the counter). Take shelter from the sun at a table inside, and cool off with some homemade date ice cream or a date shake made with medjool dates harvested from the 1920s grove outside, plus your choice of blends: cactus, banana, vanilla, peanut butter, chocolate, strawberry, pineapple, and mango. Prefer the dried fruit straight up? There are many varieties available, including medjool, khadrawy, halawi and honey, along with chocolate-covered ones, naturally. 

If it’s breakfast or lunchtime, Dateland also offers breakfast burritos with eggs and your choice of chorizo, ham, sausage or bacon, plus beef, chicken chipotle, and steak and pork adobada burritos with beans, potatoes, or rice. Before you hit the road again, load up on pecan-stuffed medjools and coconut date rolls, date jams, date barbecue sauce, and even edible packaged insects like ants and tarantulas (there are insect lollipops, too). In the gift shop, snag toys and books, Southwestern-themed apparel, jewelry, hats, souvenirs, and wall decor like suns, geckos, and cacti.