Top 10 Gas Station Snacks

Gas. Oil. Water.

Forty years ago, gas stations were called service stations, and that’s what you got. You’d sit in your car and the attendant would fill ‘er up with gas, check the oil and water, chat about the weather, you’d fork over a few bucks and then ease on down the road.

Today you can still get gas, oil and water for your car, but so much more for yourself! The possibilities are endless! Space and time are limited here, so enjoy the TOP TEN SNACKS you can find in a gas station. This list is certainly not definitive, but it’s based on my years of careful observation as a trained, professional snack critic.

In college I worked behind the counter at a gas station for half a summer, and the only person I ever saw eat pickled eggs was a homeless guy named Wig who washed them down with 40 oz. bottles of malt liquor. Maybe there’s a “Wig” in every neighborhood, ’cause someone’s eating these things. I’ve heard they’re popular in midwestern taverns, so maybe you have to be pickled yourself to properly enjoy them.

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Snack Review: Kardea Nutrition Bar

OK, so these are all about heart health and “natural cholesterol management.” If you want to know about that, go read their website. My business here is how they taste, because if they don’t taste good, who cares how healthy they are? If I want to eat something healthy that tastes bad, that’s why they invented vegetables and whole grains, thanks very much.

Anyway, I can’t tell you more, because I stopped reading the website myself before it stopped me from trying these at all. For some reason, phrases like “More Viscous Soluble Fiber than Heart Healthy Oatmeal” don’t fill me with anticipation of deliciousness. “Viscous” just isn’t a word that I want anywhere near a description of my snacks, you know?

The manufacturer had kindly sent all four flavors for me to sample. I decided to try the cranberry-almond first because it was post-dinnertime and that flavor sounded most like dessert.

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Snack Review: Pringles Spicy Guacamole

First of all, I just want to make it known that I really really don’t like guacamole. Every time I’m in a restaurant and an entrée comes with guacamole, I immediately ask for it to be made without this green goop while I am placing my order.

I don’t know what it is about guacamole that I don’t like, because really, I’m not sure that I’ve ever tried it. If I had to guess, it would be the appearance of it that turns me off. Even thinking about guacamole makes me shiver.

Which is why I decided to review Pringles Spicy Guacamole. I needed to get over my fear of this food and figured that eating it mixed in with a chip was a good way to start.

Upon lifting the inner seal, I was struck with something that smelled like sour cream and onion, but grosser. I can’t really describe the smell because I was heaving on the inside just thinking about eating one of these.

The color of the Pringles chip was the exact same color as guacamole; I guess they needed it to be realistic. Finally, I decided to put one of these in my mouth after much consideration. I popped it in, closed my eyes and chewed quickly.

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Snack Review: Sahale Snacks Nut Blends

Growing up, travel and exploration were some of my greatest pleasures. As an adult, it frustrates me that the trappings of a halfway-conventional life (work, bills, family, etc.) along with exorbitant gas prices, make getaways of any distance darned near impossible. In lieu of letting the vagabond within go mad, I sate my wanderlust as a jet-setting armchair traveler, continent-hopping via the Travel Channel and the local Borders. When possible, I also like to send my taste-buds around the globe.

Ready to send my palate on a new journey, I was thrilled to find Sahale Snacks Nut Blends at my local Ralph’s. Colorful photos on the front of each $3.99, 5-ounce bag resembled upscale trail mix. As a fan of trail mixes - upscale or not - I was intrigued. I was further convinced by equally colorful descriptions of the snacks on the packages’ backsides, which promised to transport snackers to all corners of the culinary world. Only four out of six blends were in stock, but I reasoned that was a varied-enough itinerary. You’re probably all curious about how my trip went, so here goes!

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Snack Review: Coconut Toothpick Cookie

I am irresistibly drawn to coconut. A richly flavored coconut dessert is one of the few things that can distract me from chocolate. I saw these Vietnamese cookies in a local Thai market (snackers, praise the melting pot that is America!). The ingredients were only tapioca starch, sugar, and coconut cream. Wow, I thought, basically coconut cream as finger food. This could be great. And only $1.49. How could I pass them up?

I got them home and upon closer inspection, observed what might be a problem for some people….

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