Louisiana Gas Station Food: Natchitoches Road Trip Stops

Some of the best food in Louisiana comes out of a gas station hot case. I’m serious, you just have to trust me. Meat pies, plate lunches, fried chicken, a whole bakery case of pies. And if you’re driving through central Louisiana, Natchitoches is the place to prove it.

Natchitoches Parish sits in a part of western Louisiana called No Man’s Land, and the region keeps an official Gas Station Eats trail of roadside stops worth pulling over for. We picked three near Natchitoches, wrote them on an index card, and ate our way south on a Sunday with our toddler in the backseat. 🤍

We pass through Natchitoches on the way home from Shreveport, and there is more than Steel Magnolias bed and breakfast there!

Two Natchitoches meat pies, an egg roll and a boudin ball on a paper bag from a Louisiana gas station — Meat pies, an egg roll and a boudin ball

Egg roll, meat pie and boudin ball in a paper boat on a historic street in Natchitoches, Louisiana — Meat pies, an egg roll and a boudin ball

What Is No Man’s Land, Louisiana?

Quick history moment, I promise it’s a good one. From 1806 to 1821, the United States and Spain couldn’t agree on where Louisiana ended and Spanish Texas began, so they agreed that neither side would govern the strip of land in between. It became the Neutral Strip, or No Man’s Land, and with no law around it filled up with settlers, outlaws and people who didn’t want to be found.

Natchitoches was the trading town on its eastern edge. Founded in 1714, it’s the oldest permanent settlement in the whole Louisiana Purchase. Today No Man’s Land is a tourism region across western Louisiana with history trails, lakes and, most importantly, food trails.

Our Route: Natchitoches to Bunkie at a Glance

All three gas stations fit in about 25 miles, so the food part of the drive takes about an hour plus eating time; from the last stop we took I-49 south through central Louisiana, past Alexandria, and down to Bunkie. The whole route is about 111 miles.

Stop 1: Exxon on LA 6, Natchitoches
Stop 2: French Market Express, 5109 University Parkway, Natchitoches
Stop 3: 3 J’s Fourway, 11028 LA-1, Natchez

Our No Man’s Land food stops, mapped

The route we drove on a Sunday, in order. Tap a pin or a name for directions, or open the whole route in Google Maps.

Front Street, Natchitoches · 10:45 AMStart on the Cane River Lake riverfront. Little legs need a walk before car food.Directions
100 LA-6, Natchitoches · 11:05 AMA full hot case: fried chicken, wings, egg rolls, boudin balls and meat pies.Directions
5109 University Pkwy, Natchitoches · 11:30 AMMeat pies, plate lunches, yam cakes and a whole bakery case. Right off I-49 at exit 138.Directions
11028 LA-1, Natchez · 11:50 AMDaily plate lunches, corn dogs, meat pies, and fishing supplies on the side.Directions
Southwest Main St, Bunkie · 1:04 PMDown I-49 past Alexandria, then through Bunkie and its Main Street mural.Directions

Things to Note:

Go late morning. We hit all three between 11 and noon on a Sunday, and every hot case was full. French Market Express is always busy, but they move extremely fast!
Hours are easy. French Market Express is open every day of the year (it only closes from 3 to 3:30 a.m. to clean), and 3 J’s Fourway is open 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, with carryout until 8.
It’s car food. Bring wipes, napkins and a trash bag. You’ll eat in the parking lot and you won’t regret it. We pulled over on a country road near a farm and ate some snacks, just to get us and our toddler out of the car.
Share one thing per stop. Three stops goes fast, so split a meat pie here and a cookie there.

Start in Downtown Natchitoches

Before the car food, give everyone a walk. Downtown Natchitoches sits on Cane River Lake, and the riverfront along Front Street has a boardwalk, a big lawn with benches, and a fountain in the middle of the lake. It’s flat, open and stroller friendly, and our toddler made a beeline for the water.

During the Christmas holidays, it has a famous lightshow and a firework show that is not to miss! People travel from all over to see it. The town is full of historic charm. Movies have filmed here, including Steel Magnolias– RIP Dolly <3

Toddler walking toward the Cane River Lake fountain on the riverfront in downtown Natchitoches, Louisiana — First stop: legs out on the riverfront

Fountain on Cane River Lake seen from the riverfront boardwalk in downtown Natchitoches — Cane River Lake

Black iron lamppost with hanging flower baskets beside the Church Street bridge in Natchitoches — Cane River Lake

Stop 1: The Exxon on LA 6

Our first gas station was the Exxon on LA 6 at the north edge of Natchitoches, about five minutes from the riverfront. Fill up, clean the windshield, and then walk inside to the hot case, because this is where it gets good.

The case was full of fried chicken, wings, egg rolls, boudin balls, onion rings and fries, and of course Natchitoches meat pies. The trail lists it for burgers, fish, meat pies and a hot breakfast too. I didn’t say this is a healthy trip, but its a good one!

Fried chicken, wings and boudin in the hot case at a Natchitoches gas station — The hot case at the Exxon

Egg rolls, fried chicken and boudin balls in a Louisiana gas station hot case — The hot case at the Exxon

We grabbed a little of everything and ate it right there in the car. The meat pie is the one to get- a Natchitoches meat pie is a crescent of pastry filled with seasoned ground beef and pork, then fried, and it’s one of Louisiana’s official state foods. Natchitoches even throws a Meat Pie Festival every September.

Obviously, we stopped here because it’s one of the older gas stations that has been known to be the place your ole timers go in the morning! It’s friendly, it is clean, and it is an easy stop near the highway.

Egg roll, meat pie and a fried ball in a paper boat on the dashboard in Natchitoches — Car picnic, round one

Natchitoches meat pie broken open to show the seasoned ground meat filling — Car picnic, round one

Address: 100 LA-6, Natchitoches, LA
Phone: (318) 357-1436
Get: a meat pie, plus whatever looks hot

Stop 2: French Market Express

French Market Express is the gas station people in Natchitoches tell you about. It sits on University Parkway right off I-49 at exit 138, and inside it’s part convenience store, part deli, part bakery, with a meat counter, a wine selection and souvenirs. On a Sunday morning the line at the deli was long, and honestly that told me everything.

French Market Express sign on the store wall at 5109 University Parkway in Natchitoches — French Market Express

The trail lists it for meat pies, plate lunches, yam cakes, cookies and pies. The bakery case was the showstopper for us: cobbler cups, cream pies, red velvet cupcakes, cookies, glazed bars and whole lattice pies with the flavor written right on top.

Bakery case with cobbler cups, cakes and cream pies at French Market Express — The bakery case

Red velvet cupcakes, muffins and lattice pies in the bakery case at French Market Express — The bakery case

Shoppers lined up at the meat and deli counters inside French Market Express in Natchitoches — Sunday crowd at the deli

Cookies and glazed bars on wire racks in the bakery case at French Market Express — Sunday crowd at the deli

We walked out with a to-go box and a bag of sandwich cookies with sprinkles in the middle, and the cookies were gone before we hit the interstate. Toddler approved, mom approved.

This bakery slaps. We got a lemon bar and doozie cookie. It is so good. You can order hot food they make on the spot, but they also have the case food.

Sprinkle sandwich cookies held up in the car on I-49 with a toddler on the car seat camera screen — Cookie check, with our backseat passenger on screen

Two sandwich cookies with sprinkles from French Market Express held up in the car — Cookie check, with our backseat passenger on screen

Address: 5109 University Parkway, Natchitoches, LA
Phone: (318) 357-9002
Hours: open every day of the year (closed only 3 to 3:30 a.m.)
Get: a meat pie, a yam cake, and a cookie for the road

Stop 3: 3 J’s Fourway in Natchez

About 15 minutes south, down I-49 and LA 1, is 3 J’s Fourway in the tiny town of Natchez. It’s an Exxon, a deli and a hunting and fishing store all in one. The sign out front says fishing supplies here, and a handwritten one says jumbo shrimp in store. This is exactly the kind of stop the trail is made for.

3 J's Fourway Exxon sign in Natchez, Louisiana with fishing supplies and jumbo shrimp signs — 3 J’s Fourway in Natchez

The trail lists 3 J’s for daily lunch plates, fish and pork chops, and their menu adds fried catfish, burgers and Renee’s famous fried ribs. Our hot case had corn dogs, chicken strips, potato wedges, meat pies, egg rolls, mac and cheese and green beans.

Hot case with corn dogs, meat pies, egg rolls and sides at 3 J's Fourway — The 3 J’s hot case

Corn dogs, chicken strips and potato wedges in the hot case at 3 J's Fourway — The 3 J’s hot case

We got a plate lunch: a foam box with loaded mashed potatoes, green beans, dressing and a roll over something fried and golden. Then we pulled off on LA 120 near Flora, parked on a quiet country road and ate it right there. No shame in it, okay?

This one is my favorite. It’s a little bit off the interstate, but it is a hidden gem. Everything is made that day and the plate lunch special makes you feel like you are eating at your Grandma’s house! The crazy part, you can get a plate lunch that feeds TWO PEOPLE for less than fast food now. WILD- because it tastes 10x better and there is a vegetable option!

Plate lunch in a foam box with mashed potatoes, green beans, dressing and a roll from 3 J's Fourway — The plate lunch

Fork in loaded mashed potatoes in a gas station plate lunch with green beans — The plate lunch

Address: 11028 LA-1, Natchitoches, LA (in Natchez)
Phone: (318) 379-2209
Hours: 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, carryout until 8 p.m.
Get: the plate lunch of the day

The Drive South Through Central Louisiana

From Natchez we got back on I-49 and headed south through central Louisiana, past Alexandria and down into Avoyelles Parish. Dessert happened somewhere on the interstate. Then we rolled through Bunkie, a little town with a big mural of its name on Main Street, and kept going down US 71.

This was our last stop where we just walked some calories off and ate our sweets. When you have a toddler, the trick is going to be for you to stop, enjoy the ride, and let your inner kid shine. Be the cool parents that get both sweets!

Powdered sugar dessert square in a white bakery bag on a Louisiana road trip — Dessert, somewhere on I-49

Sprinkle sandwich cookie held at the steering wheel on a central Louisiana road trip — Dessert, somewhere on I-49

More No Man’s Land Gas Station Eats to Try Next Time

The Gas Station Eats trail has more than 20 stops across western Louisiana, from Toledo Bend to Kinder. These are the ones going on our next index card:

Chadeaux’s Cajun Kitchen, Kinder: boudin, cracklins, boudin balls and andouille.
Jewels Quick Stop, Oakdale: boudin nachos. Enough said.
Back Home Collection, DeRidder: Mennonite baked goods, cookies and cakes.
The Busy Bee, Florien: red beans and rice, catfish plates, cornbread and bread pudding.
Curtis Grocery on Toledo Bend, Toro: daily lunch specials and Toledo Bend Dam fries.
Marthaville General Store, Marthaville: breakfast, basket meals and ice cream, west of Natchitoches on Hwy 120.

If I could tell you any to stop at, I’ll clearly say 3J’s in Central Louisiana and Jewels Quick Stop in Oakdale was one of my cousin’s biggest raves!

Tips for a Louisiana Gas Station Food Road Trip With a Toddler

Plan the stops close together. Three stops in 25 miles meant nobody was in the car seat very long.
Start with a walk. The riverfront downtown got the wiggles out before the driving started.
Pack the car like a picnic. Wipes, napkins, a trash bag, and a towel for laps.
Pick toddler friendly bites. Meat pies, corn dogs, chicken strips and cookies are all easy to hold.
Write your stops down. Cell service can be spotty on the back roads, and an index card never runs out of battery.

Some parents do not let their kids eat in the car. We are not as strict on that, we do prepare for it tho. Our Green Machine cleans out the Nuna and floor mats A LOT! I’m more picky on drinks in the car, which we only let water be in the car, in a closed NON SPILL cup. Let a kid be a kid!

Here’s Your Sign to Go Try Things

Next time you’re driving through central and western Louisiana, skip the drive through. Pull off at a gas station with a hot case and a line, get the meat pie, and eat it in the parking lot with your people.

Being from Louisiana, every hour you go north or south, it feels like a different world. Soak up the culture!

Making a weekend of it? Here’s our weekend in Shreveport and Bossier City, the alligator park near Shreveport our toddler loved, and our 48 rainy hours in New Orleans.

Tell me if you go! Come say hi on Instagram and tell me your favorite gas station food. 🤍