According to the rules of the road, you’re never supposed to eat at the same place you gas up your car — unless you like dried-up doughnuts, withered hot dogs or nuked burritos. Luckily for hungry drivers, some local entrepreneurs are taking pump-side cuisine to a super-premium level, opening boutique restaurants inside gas stations. “At first, I thought it would be crazy to serve good food in that setting,” admits Fast Gourmet co-owner Manuel Olivera. “But then I realized that people would remember that forever.” One stop at these gastro stations and you’ll rethink the rules.

R&R Taqueria

Just a few years ago, Rodrigo Albarran-Torres lost his job as a commercial pilot because of the recession. Having worked in restaurants growing up, he brainstormed with his father, a veteran of the hospitality industry, trying to land on a new career. When they heard that a local Shell station was looking to open an eatery on its premises, Albarran-Torres jumped at the opportunity. “It actually worked out great,” the chef-owner says. “Instead of being unemployed, I had a new job and a new business.” He designed a menu full of street snacks known as antojitos, inspired by his childhood in Mexico City. “It’s food that you’ll find on the streets and in the markets,” he says. Refuel with an order of three tacos ($6) with creative and classic fillings, such as barbacoa (lamb), carne asada (thin-sliced steak), lengua (beef tongue) or cueritos (fried pork rinds). 
FYI: Spiky-haired Guy Fieri recently stopped by to film an episode of Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” that will air this spring.

R&R Taqueria, 7894 Washington Blvd., Elkridge, Md.; 410-799-0001.

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Photo courtesy of R&R Taqueria.