Maverik Is The Less-Hyped Gas Station Chain With A Seriously Stacked Food Menu

At one time, the primary purpose of a pit stop was usually to fuel up the car or else to relieve oneself. As neither activity is exactly appetizing, the idea of gas station dining may have been a trifle off-putting, so road trippers of old may not have asked for or expected anything beyond grab-and-go snacks like a bag of chips and a soda. These days, however, some gas stations are as well known for their food as they are for their gas — better, in fact, since all gas is pretty much the same, but a Buc-ees brisket sandwich is one of a kind.

While Buc-ees may get all the glory, there's one underrated chain that is fast closing in on whatever the gas station version of a Michelin star might be (a Texaco star, perhaps?). Maverik, a regional chain with stations throughout the Western states from New Mexico to Washington, specializes in Southwestern foods such as carnitas, steak and egg breakfast nachos, tomatillo-sauced chicken, and a chorizo-pepper jack breakfast burrito that goes by the Taco Bell-esque portmanteau "chorcheezo." 

What makes Maverik's food so special, though, isn't the smoked meats, the salsa verde, or even the cheesy names, but the fact that head chef Kyle Lore actually does have a fine dining background, so he pays attention to all the little details. Fresh-baked BonFire cookies, scratch-made beans, and a constantly-evolving array of options all combine to make Maverik into a destination dining station (that also sells gas).

A food chain can tell it's really arrived when it has its own fan army and when those fans start mix-and-matching to create their own secret menu items, well, can cult status be far behind? We'd say Maverik is well on its way. In a 2020 Facebook post, it asked the not-so-rhetorical question, "What would you put on our secret menu if we had one?" and nearly 200 people replied. One of the suggestions took a standard menu item — the MOAB (Mother of All Burritos) — and turned it into the MOAB Adventure Burrito by supplementing its bacon, ham, sausage, eggs, and tater tots with steak, pulled pork, salsa, grilled jalapeños, grilled onions, and extra cheese. Another mentioned swapping out the berries in a parfait for a Ding Dong to give it some extra added anti-nutrients.

The secret menu apparently extends to the drink selection, as well, where you can DIY to your heart's content with ingredients such as fresh limes and fruit-flavored syrups. Some customer concoctions even have names, including the Smooth Coconilla (cherry cola and cream with coconut and vanilla syrups) and the Twisted Arnie (Sprite and lemonade with coconut, mango, and pineapple flavor shots). Other Facebook fan favorites include Fresca with peach syrup and pebble ice and Mountain Dew with coconut, pineapple, and cream.