Located inside a Shell station in Mableton, TDT BBQ serves up sandwiches and heaping plates of ribs, pulled pork, sausages, wings, and chicken all smoked on site. There’s even smoked vegan meatloaf, smoked salmon, and cobbler for dessert. Plates and sandwiches come with a choice of sides, including baked beans, green beans, and mac and cheese. Make sure to watch for specials on the menu.

Just off of 1-20 in Austell, Taqueria Margarita resides next door to a Chevron station in the city west of Atlanta. Head in before or after filling up for fresh tortillas stuffed with chorizo, al pastor, or barbacoa, burritos, chimichangas, and gorditas. The tiny taqueria even sells tamales and menudo on the weekends.

Located next to a Shell gas station, this popular Venezuelan spot serves a variety of generously stuffed arepas, cachapas (cheese-filled sweet corn pancake), and empanadas on the menu, along with nourishing soups, sides of sweet plantains and yuca fries, and tres leche and flan for dessert. It all makes for an easy and filling meal while on the go. For those with time to spare, grab a seat on the small patio out front. Cylantros also includes a location in Kennesaw (beside a Shell station) and in Roswell.

The hand-painted sign on the window at this BP food mart says it all: “Street Tacos”. Pop in to order tacos, including shrimp, pork stomach, and al pastor, as well as huaraches, tortas, and tostadas with sides of rice and beans. Make sure to hit up the salsa bar for hot sauces. Dine in at the counter or take it to go.

This gas station-adjacent restaurant serves excellent hot wings paired with beef, chicken, shrimp, or vegetable fried rice and lo mein. Wings come with a choice of sauces, including extra hot lemon pepper and spicy teriyaki. Not in the mood for wings or fried rice? There’s also fried fish and shrimp combo plates and cheesesteaks on the menu.

Occupy the Hood activist Malik Rhasaan and Detric Fox-Quinlan opened a permanent location of their popular food truck, Che Butter Jonez, as a restaurant in 2021. Located next door to a Chevron station on Cleveland Avenue, the restaurant continues to serve one of the food truck’s most popular menu items: the That Sh!T Slambing burger. The menu here changes daily to keep things fresh, but typically includes halal beef, lamb, and chicken dishes. If it’s on the menu, opt for the New York halal plate served over rice or one of the breakfast sandwiches with halal beef bacon, bologna, or turkey sausage topped with egg and cheese.

Established in 1906, the Mount Paran Country Store includes just two standalone gas pumps, a convenience shop complete with a slush puppie machine, and a counter serving some of Atlanta’s best biscuits wrapped up and ready to go for breakfast in the morning. But don’t skip the hamburgers, barbecue pork sandwiches, or chicken salad and chili here. Despite now being surrounded by multi-million dollar homes in Buckhead, Mount Paran Country Store hasn’t lost its charm. Grab breakfast or lunch and take a seat on the benches or picnic tables outside. Keep an eye out for roaming neighborhood chickens.

Gas station wings are absolutely a real deal in Atlanta, and this gas station-adjacent joint serves up some seriously spicy drums and flats on the menu. Pair those wings with crinkle fries or fried okra, or go all in and order wings and a cheesesteak.

With multiple locations at gas stations throughout metro Atlanta, people can fill up their tanks and grab good Cajun-style fried chicken or wings from this Louisiana-based franchise. Order a single meal or family feast paired with sides that include jambalaya, boudin bites, and chicken cracklins. Breakfast here offers empanadas stuffed with eggs, cheese, and chorizo and BEC biscuits. Most locations are open late.

Located in Forest Park next to a BP gas station, Las Tortas Ahogadas is where to head for tacos, flautas, chilaquiles, and burritos at any time of day. The restaurant currently closes at 4:30 a.m. to restock, before reopening again at 11 a.m.

It’s not unusual during the spring and summer months throughout Atlanta (or Georgia) to see smokers set up in parking lots at gas stations, the neighborhood ACE Hardware store, or a vacant lot on the side of the road. From Texaco and Exxon stations around town to a Valero at a busy intersection in Edgewood at Memorial Drive, make a beeline any time you see a pop-up barbecue operation serving up slabs of ribs, smoked chicken and turkey legs, and messy, but oh-so-good pulled pork sandwiches.

This counter-service taqueria chain is located inside several gas stations around Atlanta. The menu includes everything from burritos and tacos to tortas and tamales. The queso blanco on the menu is pretty basic, but it makes for a quick melted cheese fix while on the go. The nachos are the move, which come loaded with shredded chicken, queso dip, cheese, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and jalapeños. 

Located next to a Shell gas station on Buford Highway in Brookhaven, this friendly counter-service taqueria serves a halal menu of Mexican-American comfort foods, including beef and chicken birria tacos, tamales, wings and fries, tortas, and burgers. Make sure to check out the weekend specials, too.

Attached to an Exxon station in Duluth, this panaderia features a pastry case filled with freshly baked cookies and sweet breads (pan dulce), including besitos, conchas, piedras, and pan de valentina ojos. Grab a tray and load up on pastries and breads, then order lunch from the counter. The tortas on the menu are a must, as are the pupusas and gorditas.

Road trips in the South should always include a stop at Stuckey’s to stock up on pecan log rolls while traveling or for the pantry at home. While the origins of this vanilla nougat confection dipped in caramel and rolled in pecans is unknown, many credit Stuckey’s for perfecting it by adding maraschino cherries to the mix, making it an instant Southern road trip classic. Check out the selection of old fashioned candies and popcorn before hitting the road again.