Sheetz

Another place I had no intentions, whatsoever, of profiling and reviewing was Sheetz. Why? Well, technically it's a gas station. BUT, it has a cult-like following. Sheetz is a fairly local gas station chain that specializes in MTO food, that is, made-to-order. Oh, and did I mention that Sheetz is open 24/7? In many towns, there are few places open that late, and Sheetz provides an eatery at all hours of the day and night. This exact situation came up when I was in Romney, W.Va., for a friend's wedding. Late, after the reception, Chris and I were starving. We traveled a few miles down the road to a local McDonald's, which was closed - on a Saturday at 9 p.m. We came back to the hotel disappointed. One of the workers said the only thing open that late was Sheetz. Sure enough, we headed back out to Sheetz and filled our bellies.

Sheetz is located in West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. And, it's constantly expanding. About 30 stores are located in West Virginia. I hadn't known its popularity until a friend of Chris' said what he missed about Morgantown after he moved away was Sheetz. I thought that was odd, but it was interesting at the same time. Now, Chris' town of Princeton has two Sheetz locations, and I've gone more to the gas station in the past year than I ever have. In fact, I believe Romney was the first time I had ever had Sheetz food.

Here's the jist: You walk over to the touchscreen computer ordering stations. It basically walks you through the process. You press the screen when it says to continue, and it shows you various categories, including:

• Hot and Cold Subz
• Deli Sandwiches
• Saladz
• Wrapz
• Burgerz and Hot Dogz
• Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
• Pretzel Meltz
• Fajitaz and Nachoz
• Fryz and Chicken Stripz (Select Locations)
• Breakfast Sandwiches

There is also a whole area devoted to drink orders. When you're finished adding whatever you're interested in, which is usually a lot because it's fun, you press done and it prints out a receipt. On this particular day, and it's also the first time I went to Sheetz alone, I ordered a chicken quesadilla with lettuce tomato and sour cream. I also ordered an appetizer sampler, which includes cheese sticks, jalapeno poppers and mac'n'cheese bites. Anyway, the receipt prints out and you have to go pay for it before the people begin making your food. I usually grab a drink or candy bar, then go to pay. Once you pay, the kitchen gets the signal to begin making your food. There's a sign that directs you where to pick up your food, and you simply wait. When they called my number, 222, I had only been waiting for five minutes. They handed me a bag with my food and I went back to work. It's a very simple and kind of fun process. It's convenient for where I work, and the price isn't too bad. I paid about $10 for my meal.

I had an idea of what I liked from Sheetz already. The quesadilla is huge. The first time I ordered it, I thought they made a mistake by giving me two. There are two large halves for around $5. And, it's really quite tasty. They made it fresh, so it's not like it's been sitting out all day. The ingredients are fresh, and the tortilla shell is lightly toasted so there's a bit of a crunch. The sour cream, though a extra 39 cents, really makes this quesadilla for me because the cheesy, tomato, lettuce combo goes perfect with sour cream.


 
The appetizer sampler is what you'd expect - a couple of fried finger foods. I paid an extra 39 cents for the buffalo sauce and dipped everything in that. It's mediocre. They were probably store-bought goodies that were deep-fried for a minute and sold. It's nothing too great, though the mac'n'cheese bites are something different, so they're okay. Sheetz is not a place I would willingly choose to go to - it's convenient for a quick lunch or at night when not many places are open. It does have a wide beer selection and other assorted drinks and snacks inside. Morgantown has much better options, but in a quick fix, this will do.

Grade: C