10451 72nd AvenueYou pretty much knew there was going to be at least one Kwik Trip stop on this trip…..right?
I was introduced to Kwik Trip last winter on a trip to Green Bay with a co-worker. My wife had told me about this magical place last summer after she and L went to a skating camp in Wisconsin Rapids. I figured they were overselling the place.
They were not.
Thursday was L’s big competition day at the Rec Plex in Pleasant Prairie. She had three events all before 2:00 with a little bit of a break between the second and third around lunch time.
We didn’t really have time to go anywhere for lunch but there was a Kwik Trip close. I suggested we just do that. There’s a lot of options for quick grab and go.
There are actually three Kwik Trip’s really close to the Rec Plex. I picked the one on 72nd Avenue near Green Bay Road. The gas station/convivence store looks like any other gas station you’d stop in to on your travels…until you get inside.
It’s the fresh grab and go food. There’s so much of it and such a variety. The rest of the store looks like a typical gas station but the amount of hot food ready to go puts all other gas station chains to shame. We were there right at the lunch rush so things were pretty well picked over but employees were constantly coming out and restocking the warming trays as we made our way through the store.
Don’t want a hot sandwich? It’s cool. They have cold options as well. Salads, sandwiches, cold chicken, take and bake pizzas.
I went and grabbed a couple of sandwiches. My parents had never been to a Kwik Trip and figured we were just getting typical gas station food. They weren’t really interested at first until my dad noticed the price. $3 for a hamburger?! He grabbed a couple.
Like I mentioned in the previous two blogs, we had an Extra Kid with us this weekend. Both she and L grabbed the f’real Mango Smoothies. We’ve gotten ice cream from our Speedways around Kalamazoo but they never have the smoothies. L got one every time we stopped at a Kwik Trip this weekend.
We grabbed all of our food and headed towards check out. J and I both had arms full of lunch, snacks, and drinks. L’s figure skating club has a gift card fundraiser and Kwik Trip is one of the cards we can buy, so we bought both a gas and grocery card before we left Michigan. We refilled the grocery card several times getting cashback for L’s club every time.
We found a couple of picnic tables outside to eat on. Our plan was to go back to the Rec Plex but we decided to just stay at the gas station. There were two red, rubber coated metal picnic tables by the car wash so we ate there.
I started with my Bacon Cheeseburger. It’s a gas station burger. It’s good but it’s not great. As my dad pointed out more than once, it was only $3…this is a guy who actively complains because Arby’s doesn’t have 5 for $5 roast beefs anymore so getting a burger $3 is a good find. He really seemed to like the burger too. For me, it was sustenance. The burgers are good but they’re still gas station burgers.
I also grabbed a bag of the Cheesy Bread sticks. These are like big Bosco sticks with Parmesan cheese on top. The breadsticks themselves are warm and doughy. There is a lot of mozzarella cheese inside that pulls apart when you take a bite. I know people who used to live in Wisconsin that miss these bread sticks from Kwik Trip.
I didn’t grab pictures of every thing we got because everyone just wanted to start eating. L and our Extra Kid shared some soft pretzel sticks. J got a chicken sandwich she said was really good. We also got donuts one day for breakfast that were delicious. They even had my absolute favorite white long johns.
On our last trip to Kwik Trip I grabbed two more things.
First, I got some chicken tenders and fries for the ride home. The chicken tenders are huge, juicy pieces of chicken. They get a little soggy they longer they sit there but these are actually really good. The fries are waffle fries that are usually too soggy or over cooked from the wait. The ones I got in this box were on the soggy side but they were still a good accompaniment to the chicken.
The other thing we got to take home were the massive cinnamon rolls. These are always right by the counter and we saw them every time we stopped but they looked too messy to be eating before a competition. On the way home, we decided to grab a four pack and take them home for breakfast on Sunday. These are definitely knife and fork cinnamon rolls. The roll itself is delicious but the frosting on top….and there’s a lot of it….was amazing.
We need Kwik Trip’s in Michigan. That’s all I can say really. The Speedway Cafe’s aren’t open like they used to be and you still have to wait for food. We don’t have Wawa or Sheetz here but you still have to wait for food. Kwik Trip has that food ready to go. That’s what makes them stand out.