Mississippi's 5 Best-Kept Secret Gas Station Restaurants

For most who live in the U.S., visiting a gas station means filling up the tank and maybe grabbing a handful of snacks and drinks for the road. However, in Mississippi, going to a gas station can mean a whole lot more, especially given the quality of food available. If you're the type of person who raises an eyebrow at gas station food, you've clearly never been to one of the dozens of incredible joints in the Magnolia State.

There are a few reasons why gas stations became bastions of delicious meals in Mississippi. According to National Geographic, the practice dates back to the Jim Crow days, when Black motorists relied on gas stations for hot food, as many local restaurants weren't safe for them. Also, emerging Mississippi restaurateurs may have chosen the gas-station route for practical reasons, simply because it was easier to secure a business loan for a gas station than for an independent eatery.

Regardless of the reason, the results are clear: gas station restaurants have become foodie hotspots throughout Mississippi, offering distinctive cuisine such as barbecue, Honduran dishes, and chicken on a stick. To that end, we've compiled a list of five of the best, which will take you on a widely dispersed culinary journey through the Magnolia State. On this road trip, you can refill both your belly and your gas tank at each stop. For visitors from outside Mississippi, these places are among the state's best-kept secrets, though many locals already know and love them.

Kicking things off is a three-for-one special in Centreville, Mississippi. Located in the southwestern corner of the state, Vine's Quality Meats and Smokehouse is a restaurant, meat market, and gas station all in one. Best of all, it serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so no matter what time of day you're rolling through, you can get something tasty and filling to keep you going for the rest of your trip. (Note that the establishment has another location in McComb, Mississippi.)

Not only is Vine's remarkable for its diverse array of dishes, but it also has very deep roots in the state. According to Vine's website, Frank and Mary Vine opened the meat market back in 1910, so it's been serving locals for over 100 years. With that level of experience behind the counter, it's no wonder that Google reviewers rave about the sandwiches, sausages, and mouthwatering barbecue. The buffet is also a big hit, as are local dishes like chicken and dumplings. To top it all off, the seating area uses long communal tables so you can make some new friends while you eat.

From the breakfast menu, you can enjoy grits, eggs, pancakes, sausages, French toast, and cinnamon rolls. If you prefer to eat on the go, you can pick up a deer sausage dog or a boudin, a Louisiana-style stuffed sausage with rice and meat (choose from crawfish, gator, pork, or shrimp). From the lunch menu, sandwiches and po'boys are some of the highlights, although you can also get ribs or chicken if you like. Then, from the nite time menu, you can order steaks, fried fish, or seafood by the pound, as well as frog legs. On Friday nights, Vine's offers a seafood buffet from 4 to 9 p.m.

If you find yourself in the eastern-central part of the state, head to Meridian, the "Queen City" of Mississippi, a history lover's paradise. Here, you'll be able to sample the delicacies at Seafood Express, which is neatly tucked inside a Maple gas station. Although this restaurant is nowhere near the Gulf Coast, it is known for its excellent seafood dishes, such as oyster soup, blackened mahi sandwiches, and flounder fillets. However, according to customer reviews, the star of the show seems to be the po'boy, which people rave about on sites like Google. Even a New Orleans native admitted on Yelp that the po'boy bread at Seafood Express was legit, so that's saying something.

Part of the appeal of Seafood Express is that they don't skimp on the portions. According to reviews, the shrimp po'boy is stuffed, and if you order a fish plate, you can expect the fillet to take over the whole plate and likely even spill over the sides. The only downside of stopping at Seafood Express is that, according to reviews, it gets crowded. If you're expecting a serene restaurant experience, you won't find that here. At Seafood Express, the food seems to be the main attraction, not the ambience or refined service.

Next on our culinary gas station tour, we find ourselves farther north in Tupelo, an underrated city with small-town American charm and live music. Speaking of music, as you pull up to King Chicken Fillin' Station, you'll see a painted mural of The King, Elvis Presley, with text that reads "Eat Like a King." With such a compelling call to action, it's almost impossible not to go in and browse the menu. You can also take advantage of the outdoor walk-up window and order there.

As the name suggests, chicken is the star of this venue. However, you don't have to get your bird fried if you don't want to. Other options include smoked or grilled, and you can order it alone or on a sandwich. If you're going the sandwich route, one tantalizing option is to get the meat on a honey butter biscuit. Or, if you're feeling more adventurous, you can order the Mitchwitch, which includes bacon, cheese, coleslaw, king pickles, and two kinds of barbecue sauce.

But what if you're not in the mood for chicken? Well, King Chicken also serves rib tips and fish plates. Or, you can just get sides and desserts, including Southern favorites like potato salad, fried okra, mac n' cheese, banana pudding, and peach cobbler. Finally, if you're looking for a new way to enjoy your bird, try the chicken Doritos nachos, which include bacon, cheddar cheese, pickles, baked beans, and stir-fried peppers and onions.

For the most part, Mississippi gas station restaurants specialize in Southern comfort food, such as fried chicken, po'boys, and Gulf seafood. However, if you're looking for something a bit more exotic and just as tasty, La Cocinita de Jackie offers an international twist. And it's no wonder you can find it in the "cultural Mecca of the South" — Mississippi's underrated city of Oxford. Situated at the edge of a roundabout, La Cocinita is part of a gas station and car wash, and it's not even the only food option inside, as there is also a Krispy Krunchy Chicken there. However, La Cocinita may offer a better meal if you love Hispanic cuisine.

Officially, La Cocinita serves Honduran classics like baleadas, along with tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. For the uninitiated, baleadas are soft tortillas stuffed with beans, cheese, and your choice of meat. It's not quite a taco, and it's not quite a quesadilla, but it's certainly delicious. At La Cocinita, you can get yours with barbacoa beef, chicken, asada steak, shrimp, or "sencilla," which is plain. In addition to this traditional dish, the venue serves pollo con tajadas, which is shredded chicken over a mix of veggies like plantains, pickled onions, and shredded cabbage.

Although the decor is simple, it's apparent that the food here is made with passion. According to Google reviews — where La Cocinita has a 4.7-star rating — the seasonings and flavors are authentic and impactful. Indeed, fresh, excellent food can be found anywhere, and you shouldn't prejudge the quality of a restaurant by its outward appearance (in other words, the fact that it's in a gas station!).

Our final stop is also in the city of Oxford, Mississippi, for the simplest gas station food on our list: chicken on a stick. At first, these sticks may not seem like much to write home about, but they've been the center of attention in multiple outlets, including National Geographic and Southern Living. From the outside, the 4 Corners Chevron looks like any other gas station, making it hard to believe that such a delicious treat awaits inside. That is, until you notice the sign boasting its signature dish.

But what makes this chicken on a stick so special? Well, the meat itself is expertly battered and fried, then stretched across the full length of the stick, compared to other versions that are more like a kabob with chunks of meat. However, what has really cemented 4 Corners as a bastion of gas station cuisine is that it's open 24 hours a day, slinging chicken sticks at everyone who comes through the door.

Seeing as Oxford is a college town, the station gets pretty crowded after the local bars close, when college students are hungry and looking for something to fill their bellies. This restaurant proves that if you're good at making something, there's no need to mess with perfection. But if you're in the mood for fish, sandwiches, burgers, or barbecue, you'll have to head elsewhere to satisfy your cravings.

Because Mississippi has so many excellent gas station restaurants, narrowing down the list to the top five was a daunting task. However, we chose these spots for a few key reasons. First, we chose restaurants that are all well-regarded by Google and Yelp reviewers. We also wanted to spread them around the state a little bit so that if one was so inclined, they could turn this experience into a road trip, tasting different gas station bites at each stop (the only exception to this rule is that two of the venues we chose are both located in Oxford). 

Next, we wanted to highlight spots that offered unique or signature menu items. That way, if you visited all five, you wouldn't feel like each one was a repeat of the last. Overall, it seems the proprietors of these places are more focused on serving great food than on cultivating a brand or online presence — making these five secret spots feel relatively under-the-radar, all the while allowing the food to speak for itself.