Stay Far Away From These Buc-ee’s Snacks On Your Next Trip

Texas is a state known for having big things. Big trucks, big barbecue, and a big love of beavers. Well, one beaver in particular. A smiling woodland creature by the name of Buc-ee. The cult of the gas station/convenience store chain Buc-ee’s is a very real thing throughout the Lone Star state. You can’t drive too far in any direction without coming across a looming Buc-ee’s with its comically large gas islands and Texas-sized everything. 

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Sure, people stop off at Buc-ee’s to fill up their tanks with gas, but the convenience store part of the chain is what really gets people excited. It’s absolutely huge and offers a seemingly endless supply of road trip snacks. Buc-ee’s even slow-cooks their own brisket, and customers swear it’s some of the best brisket Texas has to offer. But, not everything is a hit, as you can imagine. If you’re looking to walk away from this beaver-themed chain with your appetite smiling wide, here are five foods you should always, always avoid.

Ghost Pepper Jerky

Buc-ee’s offers a ridiculous amount of beef jerky. There’s an entire wall dedicated to the dried meat and one of the flavors that’s impossible to ignore is the ghost pepper jerky. Anyone who knows their way around a Scoville scale knows that ghost pepper is a tongue scorcher and this jerky does a fine job setting your palate ablaze with fury. Such a fine job, in fact, that it’s impossible to enjoy. The heat is completely overwhelming and after just a single bite you instantly regret buying it.

Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is a deli staple, and when it’s done right, it hits the spot every time. Well, let’s just say, Buc-ee’s doesn’t do chicken salad right. Even before taking a bite you see the texture and think, “What happened here?” The chicken is so utterly shredded that it’s nearly a paste and the measly amount of onion and celery do nothing to save this textural disaster. Buc-ee’s also offers a cranberry-pecan chicken salad with a better texture and flavor thanks to the crunch of the nuts and hit of sweetness from cranberries, so opt for that one instead.

Lemon Crisps

Buc-ee’s Lemon Crisps come piled inside a big plastic tub and from the outside they look like they could be a decently sweet little snack to satisfy your dessert craving. However, the lemon flavor is so strong it’s completely off-putting. Lemon-flavored foods need to strike a fine balance between the sweet and the tangy, and these things are all mouth-puckering tang. Thanks, but no thanks—there are much better snacks at Buc-ee’s.

Cinnamon Rolls

It’s sad to add cinnamon rolls to this list. A warm cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven is nearly impossible to resist, with its warm gooey center and the rich glaze of icing dripping down the sides. But at Buc-ee’s there’s a good chance the cinnamon rolls you see in the display case have been sitting out a while, which makes the texture far from gooey. What you end up with is a dry, crumbly dessert with cement-like icing encasing it. 

Fried Chicken Sandwich

Few foods encompass the flavor of the South quite like fried chicken, so you better believe Buc-ee’s dishes out its own version of the classic sandwich. Unfortunately, this doesn’t do the South any favors. Fried chicken should have a crunchy outside that locks in the juicy meat underneath. The crunch here is seriously lacking (“soggy” would be a better way to describe it), and the meat underneath is way too dry. It’s everything a fried chicken sandwich shouldn’t be.