Kum & Go (Chicago Drive)
4560 Chicago Drive SWIt’s that time of year. Everyone starts using up sick and vacation time. It doesn’t carry over so it’s a use it or lose it. You don’t want to use it too early and then get stuck having to come to work when you’re super sick so you save it until December and it throws everything off.
Short staff means I was needed in the Grand Rapids office. I didn’t have a lot to do. I was assigned a project that just needed to get done that day.
I had to make a quick run to Grandville to pick something up. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do for lunch. I was hungry but didn’t know what I wanted.
I also needed gas.
Two birds with one stone.
I got off the Chicago Drive exit of I-196 where I promptly came across a Kum & Go. This shop on the corner of Chicago Drive and Fairlanes Avenue SW is one of four Kum & Go locations in the Greater Grand Rapids area.
I took care of my gas issue first then went inside to grab food.
These new Kum & Gos are really clean and well spaced out for a gas station convenience store. The aisles are really wide. If you’re just a candy bar or chips person, they have that stuff near the cash register side of the store next to the drink coolers.
The fresh food part of Kum & Go is almost in front of you when you walk in the door. There is a large counter where sandwiches and pizzas are made. The menu hangs above that on TV screens and there is a grab and go section if you’re just looking for a quick deli sandwich.
Ordering is done via touch screen kiosk. It’s like a lot of gas stations where you order here then take your ticket to the cash register to be paid for.
You can also order whole pizzas but if you’re just looking for a slice, they have them trayed up in a rotating warmer. There wasn’t much to choose from but I still grabbed a slice to round out my meal.
From previous experience, I knew the sandwiches were kind of small. I ordered two of them and grabbed a slice of pizza plus a couple of drinks. I headed to the cash register to pay. The cost came out to a little over $13.
There is a small dine in area near the front doors with. After I paid, I sat down and starting eating the pizza while waiting for my name to be called letting me know my sandwiches were done.
The pizza is pretty typical of gas station pizza. It’s a real doughy crust with not a lot of sauce. There is a lot of sausage though and that’s where the majority of the flavor comes from. The lack of sauce actually makes it better to eat on the go pizza as you don’t have to worry about dripping down the front of your shirt.
The two sandwiches came up about the time I was finishing up the pizza slice. I grabbed those and headed back to the office.
First one I bit in to was the Nashville Hot Chicken Stacker. This sandwich has pulled chicken, Nashville hot spice, ranch, pickles, pickled red onion, and spicy cheese curls on a ciabatta bun. This sandwich not hot by any standard. There wasn’t really any spice in the chicken at all. It was fine chicken. Nice and tender but as a sandwich, it was kind of bland. I’m not a ranch person and the ranch probably did more harm than good. There was nothing to cool down so it was just…there. The spice was actually sprinkled on top of the cheese which wasn’t what I was expecting. It was a fine enough sandwich. Just not very spicy.
The second sandwich I got was the Pork Duo. This sandwich is pulled pork, bacon, mustard, go-go sauce, pickles, green onion and Swiss cheese. Again, fine enough sandwich but nothing that really pops. The bacon is a little rubbery from sitting in a tray most of the day. The pulled pork is fine but doesn’t have a ton of flavor. This sandwich tastes more like an upressed Cuban with the mustard and pickles.
There’s nothing wrong with Kum & Go’s food selection but there’s nothing great about it either. Like I said in my last blog post about Kum & Go, it’s nice to have options on the go. I typically eat gas station food instead of hitting fast food drive thru’s so options are great and Kum & Go is an option with decent selections that can be had quickly and cheaply.
SW Michigan Dining 