There is a sentiment towards restaurants in "the hood" that seems to be common nowadays. Often times people claim that the sketchier the location, the better the food. What a load of idiocy. Good food is abundant, especially in the city of Richmond, Virginia. I think we should absolutely be celebrating the food in places that are not often given much thought, which brings me to a gas station on the border of Henrico and Richmond City. Inside of a Valero on Williamsburg Road, where the gas is $3.19 a gallon, is a Krispy Krunchy Chicken. The gas station chicken chain is abundant in the south. Most places will have one of them, but this one is special because it also has a deli. Adjacent to any bodega or corner store, where you can get a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich for 40 cents more than a gallon of gas, this KKC offers quite the selection. A new friend brought this place to my attention with one menu item, the fish sandwich. Since I can remember, I have been ordering the Filet-O'-Fish, Big Fish, and every other fish sandwich that fast food restaurants offer, so when I was recommended a tasty fish sandwich, I had to go as soon as possible.
While I planned on going with my friend Yahya, he woke up quite late and was on a time-constraint so he bailed. Luckily my buddy Aidan was free, and we ended up driving to the other side of the city for this fish sandwich. When we arrived, the smell of fried food was the first thing that hit me, which on my empty stomach had me salivating. The store itself was like that of any gas station. The selection of snacks was really solid, with the dusty shelves boasting uncommon goodies like Peanut Chews, Little Debbie Strawberry Shortcake Pastries, and well beyond expired Rock Creek Soda. I placed my order and the lady said it would be about 7 minutes because they wanted to cook the fresh. Before she started working on my order she asked if I wanted everything, and duh, of course I wanted the works: lettuce, tomato, and mayo. We browsed the candy, chips, soda, and skill games while we awaited my sandwich. It seemed to be busy as two or three other people ordered fried chicken and potato wedges before I got my food. Just before it was handed to me, the lady asked the last question of if I wanted onions on it, to which again, DUH, of course I responded with yes. Wrapped in hot tinfoil was a behemoth, monstrous sandwich, placed on the counter where the register is. Costing me $4.99, an absolute deal in my eyes, I was now in possession of what I know now as one of the best bites in the Richmond area. Me and Aidan walked to my car, where I unraveled the foil to reveal a real beauty. The stock image on the old menu board above the kitchen depicted the sandwich as a smaller fish patty on a regular old bun, but that is not what I received. Instead, I got a huge fillet of a deep fried white fish, folded in half, between two slices of lightly toasted Texas toast, with the works.
I forgot to mention I also ordered cheese on the sandwich. This was really freaking crazy. Really fresh with crispy, fluffy bread, gloriously artificial Kraft Singles, and hot, fresh, and crunchy fish were all elements that made this taste really good. The raw onion was the best part, though. But as I was enjoying it on the hood of my car, I was taking in the environment around me. A barber shop, two abandoned houses, and a furniture store are what surrounded the place. It made me think about how god dang stupid food influencers are. Maybe I could fall under that umbrellas now that I am blogging about, and I also feed into it by consuming that food brainrot, doomscrolling away while How Kev Eats, DangItsWayne, and LukeFoods talk about how the dangerous places always have the best food. My mind goes to a specific reel by Kev, where he gets pupusas, and he mentions that when the curtido is in a "sketchy" dimebag, you know it is about to be fire. Jesus Christ, just enjoy the food and don't make any weird remarks. But it makes sense that they are that stupid considering that when they describe food it is either "creaming", "busting", or it gets them horny in some weird way. Food doesn't need to be perverted or sketchy, and maybe the location isn't in a gentrified luxury condo complex, but they are bringing establishments down, places that clearly try their best to make quality food. My gripes with food influencers are extensive, but that has to be what pisses me off the most. I shouldn't expect so much from short-form content creators, with little background in anything culinary. While I don't possess the background, I am not trying to do anything with this. For a lot of these "foodies", their passion is likes, and while they can claim they do it for the love of trying new food, at the end of the day it is about the engagements. The public decides where they want to go, with hype being the driving factor behind what they eat. It doesn't even matter if they are really genuine about it, the hype drives the content, end of story. Maybe I come across as jealous or bitter, but this has been bothering me for a while. It could be a good thing that places like the Valero in Fulton Hill doesn't garner the attention that a new Nashville Hot Chicken place or Detroit Pizza place would get, but a place that makes affordable, delicious food deserves the glory that those places get. It should be celebrated that there are places in the community that don't follow trends or make a quick buck off of newfound fame. But that is not how the world works, is it? All I know is this: I am just gonna enjoy the god dang type fish.
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