7-11’s appear to be on the decline. They all look like they have not been remodeled in 50 years. They do attract sketchy clientele and it appears people just go there to buy lottery tickets, cigarettes and soda. I avoid them.
I do have memories of 7-11 from my childhood – we used to go there for Slurpees!
The 7-11s in Hong Kong are nice and have interesting snack foods.
WAWA is way better than 7-11, but I don’t buy meals in gas stations or convenience stores. I just don’t. I know some people like WAWA hoagies but in Philly and environs you can get much better hoagies elsewhere, and it doesn’t take much longer or cost much more, so why not go for the authentic rather than the convenience store version?
We’re not fond of convenience store foods with perhaps the exception of Royal Farms chicken. We’ve been to both WaWa and Sheetz (and 7/11 and Rutters and more). We’ll pick fast food over either. Every now and then we stop at a convenience store in our travels to remind ourselves of why we don’t eat there. IME they’re overpriced and just not as good.
We’re not coffee fans. Maybe that makes a difference.
We will stop at grocery stores sometimes to get things we can make ourselves (sandwiches, etc).
If/when we have time we prefer stopping at local diners of some sort. We’ve found some gems that way.
When we’re not just traveling Point A to Point B we have a rule that we can’t eat anywhere we could eat at home. Even my kids loved that rule from a young age.
I’m thinking most of the convenience store bragging is for unexpected trips or trips on the road where you don’t have the luxury (or time) to beeline to another choice when “WAWA” or something is right in front of you! But I don’t know…maybe some people sit at home and mull over the decision to drive specifically to the convenience store for dinner!!
Right now I’m sitting at my local coffee shop doing some work (ok, and CC) before a 9am meeting here. I love this place AND I love Starbucks but I’d rather support local when I can - and I usually do!
I only like Starbucks for their WIFI – don’t like their coffee, which to my taste is very bitter, or their food.
Leaving London tomorrow to help my D move from DC to Columbia, SC. Any SC restaurants that we should look out for? I’m definitely looking forward to getting my sweet tea fix.
I’m only talking about traveling as well. We travel quite often - once or twice a month in general - even if only heading to relatives or colleges. (My guys all went three different directions.) Pretty much any fast food beats convenience stores for us. We’ll also do mall food courts so everyone can get a decent stretch break and their choice of a few selections.
ETA: At home fast food definitely trumps convenience stores. I can’t recall ever heading to a convenience store to get food to bring home or eat there, but we’ll do fast food once every 2 or 3 weeks when we just don’t feel like cooking or going to a sit down/take out place.
I’ve actually had very little Starbucks food. But I can always be satisfied with one of their hot/cold drinks!
I don’t frequent Starbucks mainly because I don’t like coffees or teas.
Wawa is for convenience. If I go there, it for busy traveling days such as beach days or retreats with a good amount of people. It’s one place to get gas and food that can fit a variety of tastes. Instead of going to Chick Fil A, McDonalds, and then Racetrack you can stop at Wawa. Done and done.
Going to get fast food today. This thread has me trying something new!
I like WAWA because they have those combo containers of fresh fruit /cheese or hummus and veggies. We are really not fast food people and I appreciate that we can quickly grab something healthy when we are on the road. While they also have junk food and soda, they are always stocked with fruit, nuts, cheeses and a good selection of bottled waters.
And if I am driving long distances I always need coffee and theirs is pretty good.
I’m happy to say that my fast-food usage has decreased greatly over the past decade or so, but here are some thoughts about some of the chains mentioned:
The double cheeseburger used to be $1 on the Dollar Menu. McDonald’s lost me for a while when they removed a slice of cheese from it and called it the McDouble - as a native Wisconsinite and lover of cheese, the removal of half of the cheese deeply offended me. At the same time, they added 39 cents to the price of the double cheeseburger. Nice instant 39% price hike there, guys. Thanks a lot!
There is a Wendy’s less than a block from my abode and roughly monthly, if I am very hungry and don’t want to wait for dinner, I’ll patronize it. The Wendy’s “cheap menu” makes the Dollar Menu look like a true value – $2.49 for a Double Stack or a Junior Bacon? What? Insane! So I usually get one of their large chicken sandwiches – they are pretty decent; not Chick-fil-A, but decent – as well as a 99-cent junior cheeseburger deluxe (approximate title…) and value fries. / Why would you have the junior bacon cheeseburger at $2.49 and the junior deluxe at 99 cents? Are two small pieces of bacon worth $1.50 more?
I generally like the Hardee’s Thickburgers, but not the price. For $8 I can get a cheeseburger and fries from a decent bar & grill or restaurant.
I like the Whopper with Cheese. I wish it were on the “Two for $5” menu but, alas, it is not.
Arby’s is good. They had a “two for $6” deal some months ago on their gyro and chicken gyro. I enjoyed that lunch.
I love Chipotle. I should dine there more often.
My new favorite sub shop is Firehouse Subs. If there is one near you, try the Smokehouse Brisket.
I really wish we had In-N-Out where I live. Instead I have to drool every time some inconsiderate FB friend from Cali posts a picture of their awesome-looking burger…
I never thought I would buy actual real food from a 7-11. We were staying at a condo in Florida and my husband ended up having an early meeting on very short notice. He had not eaten breakfast yet and we had not stocked up on food yet so I ran out to see what I could find. Since there was nothing near-by, I finally pulled into a 7-11 and desperately grabbed an egg/sausage sandwich. I just had to time to hand it to him as he took off. When I saw him later that day, I started to apologize about his breakfast, but he interrupted me to tell me that his breakfast sandwich was the best he had ever had…it was delicious… where did I get it? I just mumbled something about a little hole in the wall in town. I didn’t tell him where I got it til much later. I still don’t think I would buy again from a 7-11 unless I were really desperate again.
We don’t have WAWA’s where we live- I’ve never heard of them. I do have fond memories of walking to 7-11 as a child to buy Slurpees, but I don’t frequent them anymore unless we are traveling and buying gas at one.
Remember how your mouth would remain the color of that Slurpee for the whole day? 
@takeitallin Funny you mentioned that. For the same reason you headed off to 7-11 was the same reason I went in one, as well. One morning I needed to buy a sub and Publix deli wasn’t open at the time. Where else could I get a sandwich? Well, I headed over to the only 7-11 I knew on my college town. Hella sketchy. I walked in through the half lit corridor to an ample picking of sandwiches and wraps. Only thing was that they were all expired! I just walked out and opted to eat a large breakfast and hold out on lunch that day. It worked out in the end, but that was the only time I went to 7-11 for food and that one store failed me! Glad your husban had a much better experience!
My D1 went to college in the Philadelphia area. She says she knew several people at her school who were on the “hoagietarian” diet—every evening they went to WaWa to get hoagies for dinner. Sounds like they didn’t need to do much “mulling over,” though, they just went to WaWa on autopilot, the way other students would go to the dining hall.
I don’t know whether any actual full-fledged adults do this, however.
They aren’t that great. The lettuce and tomatoes are perhaps fresher than most, but the burger itself is just okay. Kind of thin patty, imo. I thought the french fries were odd, though certainly fresh (sliced in house, I believe). They reminded me of those really thin fried potato sticks you used to be able to get in a can.
They aren’t awful, but I don’t think you are really missing anything.
I’d much rather have a Five Guys burger and fries than anything at In-N-Out.
^^^^Definitely agree.
Ive never had five guys, we have Dicks.
http://www.esquire.com/food-drink/restaurants/a13099/dicks-drive-in-7210891/
But in an attempt to reduce inflammation and not have to up my pain meds, I am stopping all fried foods, and red meat, to see if that helps.
If it doesn’t help, I have to give up dairy and sugar next!