It’s summertime, which means road trips and hungry travelers clamoring for quick eats. Sure, there are drive-ins, but there are some unexpected surprises at full service fuel shops where you can fill up your car and your belly. We’re not talking about sad hot dogs spinning on roller grills.
Here are some Sonoma County gas stations whose food options may make the price at the pump a little easier to swallow.
Wine Country Café & Deli
Stop in at the Fast Fill Market and Gulf station and treat yourself to the marvelous from-scratch scones, organic apple hand pies, all-day breakfast (smoked salmon croissant!) and plump, made-to-order sandwiches (legit banh mi and coffee-rubbed barbecue tri-tip). Spring through autumn finds barbecue, smashburgers, or street taco pop-ups every Friday in the parking lot. 5855 Sonoma Highway, Santa Rosa. 707-230-2462, winecountrycafedeli.toast.site
Husary 76
Its website lists it as a “convenience store,” but besides diesel and propane, you’ll discover gourmet grub such as real-deal Mexican hot chocolate, and — get this — a countertop wine fridge filled with olive oil crafted from a grove of trees nearby. Station owner and lifelong Sonoma County resident Mousa Husary looked to his Palestinian roots for planting his orchards and producing award-winning extra-virgin cold-pressed olive oil. 2110 Gravenstein Highway N., Sebastopol. 707-829-8252, husaryoliveoil.com
Bonneau Country
A gas station that has its own website with a category titled “cuisine”? This is Wine Country, after all. Find snacks and an early-morning drive-thru barista window at the station’s northern outpost at Arnold Drive and Grove Street. Five miles south at the roundabout, where Highway 116 meets Highway 121, the Carneros Deli just across the parking lot from the fueling and electric charging stations is the place for made-to-order delights: hot and cold sandwiches built from fancy stuff like premium prosciutto, provolone, all the fixings, and an array of breads and spreads including the must-have “spicy boom boom” sauce. 19080 Arnold Drive and 23001 Arnold Drive, Sonoma. 707-939-1646, bonneaucountry.com
Fuel & Food Market
The calling card is the Krispy Krunchy Chicken sign, beckoning you in for the cult-favorite hand-battered bird, the real discovery, though, is the under-the-radar Indian market filled with pantry staples like lentils, rice, and spices ranging from cardamom to black mustard seed. Even the frozen food is a step-up from ordinary, including naan, samosas and kulfi, an Indian specialty similar to ice cream. 4856 Old Redwood Highway, Santa Rosa. 707-843-4083
Vinoma Tapas Argentina
It’s not technically within a gas station, yet beckons from the adjacent Shell parking lot a few steps away. And you would be hard-pressed to find better fast-casual empanadas. These golden-brown Argentinian treats are stuffed with goodness like traditional spiced beef, a vegan curry tofu, or specialties like the plum, bacon, fontina and mozzarella open-faced version called canastita. 5085 Redwood Drive, Rohnert Park. 707-536-9215, vinoma.net