Small Bites: Gas station gastronomy

An argument against modern convenience.

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“Small Bites” is about exploring the broader world of food and drink in Madison through approachable and specific experiences.

I’m heading to Italy for work today, and once again, in 2024, the Internet is busy publishing stories about how good gas station restaurants are throughout the Italian roadways. I feel like these stories pop up regularly as a somewhat known food secret, but I’m always fascinated by local foodways in other countries. In Japan, for instance, I had the best shrimp tempura of my life for $4 at a fast-food train-station outlet. In Paris, when grabbing a premade butter and brie sandwich for a train ride, I was floored by the incredible options, all affordable, all made fresh that day. I may not run across an Autogrill—known for sandwiches, pasta, and a meat and cheese counter—while wandering Florence in my spare time, but I can’t help but have it at the top of my tourist list (the Uffizi and David can wait). 

Sure, Autogrill has its detractors, but that doesn’t change the fact that Italy has an entirely different relationship with the concept of food than America does. In a culture where ingredient quality matters for every meal, industrialized food supply in the Tuscan countryside is a completely different game than what we find in Wisconsin. The “hot food now” available at Kwik Trip is hard to even recognize as food when you consider all of it was prepared in a massive industrial facility and distributed by a major distributor, arriving frozen with a simple “heat to eat” concept. That is to say: sure, you can grab yourself a piece of fried chicken or mashed potatoes or a sandwich, but who made that food and when exactly did they make it? Not to mention the abhorrent politics of our state’s cult-favorite convenience stop—it’s hard imagining anyone truly happy with their Kwik Trip gas station lunch. 

That doesn’t mean that Dane County residents are shit out of luck for convenient food. Both Casetta and Alimentari make incredible sandwiches if you’re out and about, and both The Mediterranean Joint and Banzo are great ways to satisfy my falafel cravings (which have been my default go-to lunch for the last 20 years of my life). But the allure of Autogrill in Italy is something else—it’s a version of convenience that doesn’t skip out on the details of food quality, available outside of the city center wherever you may be traveling. The closest thing we might have in the United States are the East Coast staples Wawa and Sheetz, though I think it’s easy to argue that both of those chains are only marginally focused on better food quality. 

Chains aren’t the only option at Italian gas stations, however. Plenty of rest stops along the highways have locally owned small restaurants that are renowned for incredible home cooking and hospitality. Dane County has a few of those gems, too. 

For me, it’s hard to beat Pikkito in Middleton and King of Falafel on South Park Street. Both are attached to gas stations on a thoroughfare, both spots have incredible food served reasonably fast for affordable prices, and both places rely on rotating fresh chicken over a heat source for their menus.

At King of Falafel, the restaurant’s namesake dish more closely resembles the wraps that kept me fed on a budget in my days in Chicago. For under $10, you get freshly fried falafel made to order and wrapped tightly to take with you. But it’s not just his falafel that is fresh. According to The Cap Times, co-owner Adel Benmeftah marinates the chicken for his shawarma and lamb for his gyros himself, avoiding the pre-stacked meat cones that you can often find at cheaper to-go spots. 

At Pikkito, you can clearly see a dozen or so chickens rotating on the rotisserie spit right behind the counter. I like to grab a sandwich (which comes topped with yellow pepper sauce and fried potato sticks) when I’m on the go, but you can also snag a lunch deal for $9.99 that combines 1/4 chicken with black beans, rice, and plantains if you’ve got time to sit. And because the chicken is slow-cooked ahead of time on the rotisserie, food comes out fast. 

Both restaurants would be incredible takeout counters on their own, but it’s undeniable how convenient it is that they’re both attached to gas stations near highway onramps. The Beltline has no shortage of fast food chains conveniently located near all of its exits. But for anyone zipping around town on errands or heading out on a trip, both Pikkito and King of Falafel offer a delicious alternative without sacrificing convenience. Often, in the US, we’re told we can only pick two between cheap, fast, and good. I’ve only got one question: how cheap and how fast do you really need your food? 

Both Pikkito and King of Falafel spend hours and hours on prep work so that your lunch only takes five to 10 minutes to prepare. There’s an inherent respect for food in both of these places that requires dedication, care, and time. It’s hard to put a price on that, and even harder still for that price to be under $15. The default American modus operandi is to prioritize convenience over everything, but convenience is a sliding scale that comes at an increased societal cost—is your grab-‘n-go chicken really worth giving more of your hard-earned dollars to Derrick Van Orden, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and countless other Republican monsters? Or do you have an extra 10 minutes of your day to truly enjoy your lunch prepared by people who truly love the food they’re serving you?

For me, it’s a no-brainer.