Mississippi has great gas station food, but one on Coast may be ‘grandaddy of them all’

There are a lot of interesting gas stations in this state that serve good food, but I just may have found the grandaddy of them all.

It was a tip from a chef friend, by way of a Facebook post, but when I first looked at it, I was sure it was a misprint. Here is a photo of a pastry chef I have known for years, holding a huge cheeseburger, and one of the comments was “Yea, it was only three dollars and something.” Absolutely no way a burger that huge could be had in this day and age for $3.

The only thing to do was make the 40-minute drive to Pass Christian and find out for myself. I’ll jump in the car and head to a new restaurant pretty quick, but I was sure this was going to be a waste of time. C&J Quick Stop really is out there, not much else around, which only fueled my suspicions. It is rather large, gas pumps, lots of beer, oil for your car, you know the drill.

But there is also a pretty large deli with prepared foods in a hot case and a surprisingly large menu on the wall.

The prepared food was mostly chicken, a few sausages and corndogs, but the case was almost empty, and it was just before noon when I got there. Was this place that good?

The prepared to order menu has well over two dozen breakfast options, and it was surprisingly diverse, but I wasn’t looking for breakfast. The bulk of the menu is sandwiches on a bun or po-boys.

I asked the nice lady running the cash register what were the most popular items, and she said the double cheeseburger and the roast beef po-boy. I ordered both and a side of onion rings. My total was just over $12.

Wait! Could this be right? I double checked the menu process: double cheeseburger, $3.90 , and half a roast beef po-boy, $4.49. I could not believe it.

I took a seat in the small dining area and spread my food out and took a few photos, to the amusement of a few truckers sitting around.

First, I tried the burger. Man, it was absolutely delicious, as was the roast beef po-boy and the onion rings.

Not only are the prices amazing, but the food is really good. Now don’t get me wrong, this is a basic burger, dressed with mayo and catchup, no blue cheese or fancy sauces, but it was spot on.

There are no pretensions here, and I’ll never think twice about getting in the car and making that drive again!

Just a word of caution, before I left the line was out the door, so come early.

C&J Quick Stop

Location: 400 Henderson Avenue, Pass Christian

Hours: 4:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.

Phone: 228-452-9290