New Favorite Thing: When Convenience Stores Dream...

A regional specialty?

Cruising through Scarsdale, NY, enroute to Pennsylvania, I had the pleasure of gassing up at the Sheetz convenience store. Coming, as I do, from Truckstopland, where clean roadside bathrooms are rare and gas station food is mythical, I was shocked... shocked, I tell you... at the convenience store Disneyland that was Sheetz.

Initially, of course, I was simply sucked in by the giggleworthiness of the name. (Although MissK was gunning for a pitstop at the equally goofy "Ho Mart"...)


Many thanks to MissK, my semiprofessional hand model.

But lo! What's this? You can put in an order for food on a touch-screen while you fill your tank. Genius! And, as a nice bonus, they mark the low-fat items, just in case you're really not interested in a side of cardiac blockage along with your fuel.


The aisles are alive with the smell of jerky...

Inside, the place was a candy-colored world filled with a robust run of refreshment regulars alongside fast food favorites. And whaddayaknow... the bathrooms were spotless and high-tech — auto-flush, auto-soap, auto-towels. No auto-footrub or auto-stylist, sadly.


Take me down to a place called Fizz City...

Hey, you know, it's not cuisine, but you've gotta stop for gas sometime. Might as well make it fun.