Time to Refuel

Gas stations around the world offer a (surprisingly delicious) taste of the local food culture.

- Lauren Breedlove,

I WAS ON an assignment to photograph the poppy fields of Tuscany in 2018, driving along Italy’s Autostrada A1, when my stomach started to growl. Fresh off a red-eye flight to Rome, I had barely eaten anything since leaving New York City. Then, somewhere near the tiny village of Foglia, after miles of endless fields, I saw a red-and-white sign for the Italian gas-station chain Autogrill.

At first, I resigned myself to a soggy sandwich and can of Pringles. But after parking my Fiat 500, I found myself in an Eataly-style food court. A deli case was filled with fresh panini and piadine stuffed with salumi, cheeses, tomatoes, and arugula. Nearby, an oven churned out focaccia-style pizzas, finished with fresh basil. At the steaming pasta station, the day’s specials included linguine with bright-green pesto.

This was a far cry from the gas stations in upstate New York where I grew up, with their hot dogs and heat-lamp pizzas. I sat outside under the Tuscan sun and bit into a toasted prosciutto-and-mozzarella sandwich, followed by a Nutella-filled cornetto and a double espresso made by a uniformed barista.