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Thanks to This Week's Advertisers
We're having a lively discussion on the DCist staff email list today thanks to this fantastic piece penned by the always compelling Hank Stuever of the Washington Post's Style section. Are you a Wawa or a Sheetz person? The subhead says it all: "Both So Awesome, but You Must Choose."
Here's how we're coming down so far in the regional convenience store divide:
Music Editor Amanda Mattos: "I think they're both pretty equal. I've spent a lot of time at both. Sheetz probably has the upper hand as far as hot sandwiches go. Wawa has EXCELLENT coffee. Surprisingly excellent."
Food & Drink Editor Jamie Liu: "Never been to a Sheetz, but I love the electronic ordering for sandwiches at Wawa, make your own milkshake, and stuffed pretzels. But then growing up in the area, there was also Royal Farms and their chicken box."
Theater critic Missy Frederick: "Wawa. Sheets at the Breezewood interchange has the most disgusting bathrooms ever. Wawa, meanwhile, has free ATMs and general awesomeness."
Tech Chief Tom Lee: "I will reluctantly come down on the side of Wawa, even though their sandwiches kind of suck and they don't carry any carbonated water. Three reasons: 1. Sheetz's buffalo chicken sandwich is probably the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten. I was ravenously hungry but had to stop after two bites. Unbelievably bad. 2. In college Sheetz would maliciously sell me packs of Jacks cigarettes, which only cost like $1.25 but which tended to suddenly dissolve in showers of burning tobacco while I was driving. 3. At least in Philly, Wawa ATMs don't charge a fee. For anyone. It's AMAZING."
Weekend & Sports Editor Aaron Morrissey: "I hate them both, without apology. And I went to high school surrounded by Wawas. Both are disgusting in so many different ways, and anyone who tells you otherwise is probably just blinded by regional favoritism and/or some sort of attachment to terrible sandwiches. I will concede that the free Wawa ATMs are a nice thing in a pinch -- but really, it's nothing more than slathering a burnt cake in gobs of icing."
What say you, commentariat? Where do you prefer to buy your road trip soft drinks and Combos?
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No love for Stuckeys? C'mon! They were immortalized by the Dead Kennedys!
Stop at Stuckeys for a meal, blab all day on the CB.
Winnebago Warrior!
Typical smug urban intelligentsia.
Stuckeys! I used to stop at the Stuckeys on I-10 between Houston and Lafayette (somewhere in the east TX-LA border area) - there was one on each side of the freeway. aisle after aisle of random souvenir crap, perplexing amounts of taffy and 'pecan logs', as well as decent burgers and shakes. I miss that red and yellow sign.
How have Sheetz pretzel bread sandwiches not been mentioned anywhere?!
I take issue with Sheetz also being the more "masculine" branded store. I look at all of those neon lights and intentional misspellings as the future of convenient stores...today.
Sheetz hands down win. I love taking Sheetz virgins for their first ride, many have been to WaWa, but at the end they scream for Sheetz.
Havre de Grace-ist?
What the where?
When did this site turn into Goodland, Kansas-ist?
Point of order. There are no Sheetz's or WaWa's in Goodland. That is Casey's General Store country.
How can you have this debate without the inclusion of Kum & Go or of Pump 'N Munch stores?
Gulp n Blow?
Sonic?
Ejaculate and Evacuate
Pump & Dump?
Stewart's. But since we are talking Southern, I'd have to go with Sonic.
This quote from the article explains why I like Wawa. It's not so much the coffee or the hoagies but the memories associated with growing up in South Jersey, where Wawas abound:
They both give me the sheetz.
I gotta say, I travel through the Breezewood interchange not infrequently, and I always try to stop at the Sheetz because I know there's nothing growing in the bathrooms. Many other places on that strip are much much worse.
Sheetz!!! Love me some shmuffins and shmagels. Wawa didn't impress me much. I've taken Sheetz-virgins who definitely preferred Sheetz on top Wawa.
Don't forget the Shmiscuits!
As someone who grew up with neither, I must say that Sheetz has never failed to impress, whereas Wawa tends to be totally average.
That's the best word to describe Wawa..AVERAGE! +1
On roadtrips, I only stop for Krystals, White Castles, places with signs that say "LIVE BAIT" OR "TRUCKERS WELCOME," general stores with old geezers in rocking chairs on the porch playing checkers on cracker barrels and eating penny candy. Oh, and teenage hitchhikers. Other than that, I drive nonstop because because that's why god invented crank and I have several gallon milk jugs in the backseat so I don't have to take pee breaks. The Batman Depends Underoos take care of the rest, unless I make the mistake of buying the thirty slider "Crave Case" from White Castle, in which case I end up stoping at the nearest emergency room to get my stomach pumped. I tend to avoid the latter, as it gives the bound-and-gagged hitchiker in the trunk a chance to escape.
Hands down. Wawa.
Wawa, game over. Their lemonade alone is like sunshine from the gods.
You people are out of your fucking minds. Wawa is in direct competition with Jesus & Heaven.
3 words: Sheetz Garlic Friez.
Yum yum!
Do they sell those at all Sheetz locations? Or only at SUPER-MEGA GRANDE Sheetz in Awesometown (Altoona, PA)?
Can i assume that anyone who feels strongly about this debate didn't actually grow up in the DC area? As far as i know, there are no wawas or sheetz inside the beltway and the closest locations are woodbridge or la plata.
True, since most people who grew up here were forbidden to cross the invisible fence imbedded in 495. This does explain why I see exploding heads from time to time.
I don't see how a Wawa vs. Sheetz debate is relevant to this blog. I thought it was called DCist for a reason.
If we're comparing the merits of places that are not actually in DC, but at which we might have shopped while traveling outside the area, I'm going to cast my vote for Tim Horton's.
That would indeed be a safe assumption. This has about as much to do with DC as a comparison of the merits of In-and-Out versus Carl's Jr.
Gimme a 7-11; a bong; a place to squat behind the dumpsters; and Cerphe, the Weasle, and Damien on the box, and it's high school all over again.
Now you're speaking my language. Although, you can't f&%k with a Western Bacon Cheeseburger from Carl's, In-N-Out wins that debate hands down for the quality and the fact that there are many secret items not on the menu...you gotta be cool (or maybe just a loser) to know that you can get chili cheese fries at In-N-Out :)
Those are good burgers, Walter.
Erroneous!
There is/was a Wawa in College Park, MD, inside the beltway.
And others scattered throughout Maryland.
That said, you're right, these people who give a shit are all goddamned jersey/new york/pennsylvanians.
So 90% of all DC transplants.
Precisely.
College park had a Wawa until a few years ago, and it was a sad day for any UMD grads when it closed. I tell you, that place was the best for late night snack runs (beat the hell out of any on campus options, and it was 24 hours). On friday and saturday nights, it was like a club in there, of course, drunk college kids taking 5 finger discounts probably was part of their demise. Now you have to go out to like upper Marlboro or something to get a wawa. and the closest sheetz I know of is in like Hagerstown. But yeah, I come down firmly on the side of Wawa in this debate.
Um, or people are discussing the things they do that take them outside the 10x10 box that is DC (oh, wait, minus SE and SW and Arlington and Alexandria, all of which are inside that box but which DC folks are too good to visit so more like---8x5?).
New Yorkers may discuss the various pit stops on the way to/from the Hamptons/Poconos. That's pretty much the gist of the article. If you read it, that is.
SHEEETZ! Aaah, brings back memories from College in WPA. Friends buying the cheap Jacks Cigs, the nacho's, the MTO's (before the day of the computer ordering system too) ...
Where are either of these places located? I liked the WaWa in College Park, but they've been gone for some time, haven't they? Where are you all driving that you can go to a Sheetz or WaWa?
i was wondering the same thing.
There's a WaWa out in Bowie, but that's a long way to go for some crummy sandwich. You're better off going further up the road to Rips to get a decent deli sandwich, a nice sitdown meal, followed by a browse through their fantastic selection of wines, hard liquors, and beer.
There were Wawa's in southern MD a few years back- like La Plata. I had to go down there for work some. Never heard of Sheetz
Sheetz has a deep hold on my heart, certainly based on memories from college. i always dug their coffee, especially on those late night drives west or snowy days when all of town closed down (that one time during the blizzard of 2003). i LOVE the buffalo chicken sub, shmiscits and shmagels and shmetzel shandwiches. i wish there was a sheetz in the area. WAWA's weak sandwiches never impressed me much, and it always seemed like they were shweating sheetz. i suppose now they're getting pretty close to even....
After having grown up in Wawa central (Harford County, MD) where there is a Wawa rather than a Starbucks on every corner, I can appreciate its tasty treats.
But I have to give props to Sheetz. It won my heart the second I grabbed one of their fabulous sandwiches years ago when visiting my sister at college in Emmitsburg. I have never looked back. In fact, when business has me traveling up that way or past any Sheetz for that matter, I must stop for it's deliciousness. So my vote goes to Sheetz -- you made a believer out of me.
Go Mount Saint Mary's College! (C/O 02)
And the Washington DC entry into this competition would be I guess 7-11.. which really sucks compared to both sheetz and wawa. But there are no sheetz or wawa's in DC are there?
Maybe this discussion is better suited to the novaist website? or the baltimoronist?
sheetz! bucket o' fryz.
If we're doing all this driving for convenience stores - keep going all the way to Ohio and stop at a United Dairy Farmers (UDF). Order a milkshake. Enjoy.
Sheetz has to get some respek because they pretty much originated the concept of made-to-order (MTO) gas station food, but Wawa has essentially outclassed Sheetz at its own game. There's nothing that Sheetz does that Wawa doesn't do better, save perhaps selling beer.
Sheetz can also be credited with developing the diarrhea dog, or a gas station chili dog, which 7-11 appears to have perfected with grievous consequences. So my hat is off to Sheetz, you're still number one, but frankly I'd go to Wawa in a second.
There is no debate. It is only Wawa. And I don't know what's being ordered there that is being denegrated, but there is nothing better than a 10" toasted meatball sub with provy for a quick meal eaten in the car. Plus their mint chocolate chip ice cream is blue. Blue!!
In next week's Irrelevant to DC Foodstuffs Smackdown: Carlos O'Kelly's vs. Culvers. Who will claim the crown of Most Violent Explosive Diarrhea Outside the Eastern Seaboard? Stay tuned!
Make that Carlos O'Kelly's vs. Culvers vs. Teg94. That battle will be tough one.
*gurgle* ugh, if anybody needs me I'll be in the bathroom for the rest of the night...
Ever wondered what the combination of baking twinkies, a stockyard, a meatpacking plant, and a down-market mexican restaurant would smell like? Visit Carlos O'Kelly's in Emporia, Kansas, when the wind is blowing just right and find out for yourself. It's a one-of-a-kind experience.
Wawa! It saved me so many times during grad school - where else are you going to go when it's 4 a.m. and you need a break from studio or the computer lab? It's nice that in Philly you actually have Wawa's in the city.
Having said that, I was forced to go to a Sheetz this weekend when we missed the exit for 29 on our way to Luray. The doughnut I got there was disgusting and the coffee so-so, but the sandwich was pretty decent.
Oh, and as for Wawa locations - there is one on 29 at Gainesville. I always stop there when traveling to points south and west (i.e. Lynchburg or Charlottesville).
I grew up 10 minutes from Wawa, PA...went to college in Sheetz country. Extensive experience with both.
Wawa wins...it's not even close. The only thing Sheetz ever had going for it was that you could get breakfast sandwiches 24 hours a day, and Wawa used to only serve them until 11:00 AM. With Wawa making them available around the clock, there is no challenge.
Wawa wins, hands down. Sheetz has perfected the art of serving stale bread. Their breakfast is okay, but Wawa has pork roll so they win that battle too. I enjoy eating at gas stations.
Good grief! We're talking about a gas station here. You'd think we were debating about a missing dog or a dead kennedy. or is that a dead monkey? Never mind, I need to go get my truck out of the impound lot.
For Hannukah, we're pitching in to buy you a Memento-style tattoo that says:
NEVER GET OUT OF THE PICKUP
Diamond Shamrock or Circle K?
Jif or Peter Pan?
Oh, the pain...
No its:
AMPM or Circle K
Diamond Shamrock? San Anto Styles??
What about Couche-Tard?
High's Dairy was better than either one, although I guess you couldn't techincally get gas there.
Not true. The High's in Easton, MD, sells gas, as does the one down the road in Trappe.
And furthermore, you can very easily get gas at any High's, just try the pizza. Ba-zing!
I want you to know this Sheetz/WaWa debate makes Lincoln/Douglas look like a pile of f**king puke.
More evidence in support of my theory that this area has been overrun by fucking Pennsylvanians. 7-11 or GTFO.
Wawa vs Sheetz - yeah, slightly interested. But I honestly thought "this fantastic piece" was a sarcastic flick-off.
Share, please, the horror of this subscriber sucker opening my anorexic WaPo and finding a Wawa-Sheetz advertorial filling most of Style p.1 and all of p.5. Hank certainly came up with a lot of words, but it reads like he Tweeted the whole thing. While driving.
Anyone wanna help me raise Hunter S. Thompson??
Baudrillard wrote extensively on the semiology of the American road trip. It's a study in amnesia; discovery and forgetting at 75MPH. Destinations are irrelevant; it's as much an excape from the mundane as a journey of discovery. As the landscape vanishes, the traveler enters a fugue state (it's called "highway hypnosis" for a reason) where the past from which s/he's escaping recedes in the rear view mirror as another comes to meet it. Yet thanks to technology, the car basically drives itself. The mind relaxed but alert, not focused on anything in particular. The calming voice of the GPS tells you when to turn. This is your life and its ending at 75 MPH in the middle of Ohio. Points of stoppage along the way become fetishized: roadside attractions, Burma Shave/South of the Border signs, even gas station-produced processed meat product sandwiches. There's your metaphor for postmodern America: a hideous simulacra of a vision quest fueled by a hideous simulacra of a sandwich. Soylent Green happened in 1987 with the introduction of "coated frenchfries." How do you think Reagan got rid of the homeless? Why do you think he was so keen on categorizing ketchup as a vegetable? Did you know that urine is sterile? That's right. You can drink it.
Damm, penned at 6 a.m.?
+2
Does either have potted meat sandwiches? Then I'm not interested.