The Overly Salty Buc-Ee's Snack That's Better Left In The Dust

When fans spot Buc-ee's iconic beaver logo on the roadside, they know to expect greatness (and a full belly, or, at least, a fun time). Whether you live near a store in the South, or only hit Buc-ee's on the rare road trip, Tasting Table has rounded up 12 foods from Buc-ee's that you should avoid completely to make every trip a smashing success — and, on that note, skip the Beaver Tots. We gave Buc-ee's Beaver Tots baseline marks for fulfilling the classic, utilitarian gas station tater tot role (easily snackable, hot, crispy, etc.). But when compared to the other, vastly more impressive offerings on the Buc-ee's food menu, those merely satisfactory Beaver Tots land solidly on the "skip it" list.

From the standpoint of ingredients, Buc-ee's Beaver Tots are pretty straightforward: potatoes fried in vegetable oil with salt, corn flour, and dehydrated potato. However, we could tell that salt neared the top of the ingredient list without even looking at the item's sticker label. Beaver Tots majorly overdo it in the saltiness department. As we mentioned in our review, "Tater tots should be one of those road trip snacks that you can eat a hefty cup of, dipping them in various sauces, without suffering immediate dehydration [...] There's absolutely nothing special about them, unless you count their Dead Sea levels of salt." Hope you're ready to chase every saline bite with a Big Gulp of soda, then hit another Buc-ee's for a bathroom break in 50 miles.

In many ways, it wouldn't be incorrect to view these "mid" tots as evidence that Buc-ee's carries a lot of knockout food items. With so many better options available, there's no reason to order the Beaver Tots on your next Buc-ee's trip. Still, the price is right. According to fan site Buc-ee's Menu, a 5-ounce container of Beaver Tots costs $3.44 — a lot cheaper than the Cherry Maple Beef Jerky we're loving ($10.34 per 4-ounce bag). Although sometimes, you get what you pay for. A Reddit post in r/AskAnAmerican queries, "What's the big deal about Bucee's?" and Beaver Tots are sorely missing from the list of things fans mention that they love about the chain (we aren't surprised).

A Buc-ee's menu review by revered Instagram foodie @milehighfooddude aptly notes, "I don't think they're gonna blow anyone away with their food by any means. But, it's just kind of a fun place to go! Like I said, it's the experience more than anything else." Indeed, what started as an unassuming Texas gas station has boomed into a regional phenomenon with a cult following — and for an empire of such famously-gargantuan scale, it's unfair to think that every product on a menu so massive is going to be a hit. Beaver Tots are decidedly not a hit. We suggest skipping the salt bomb and sticking to the Beaver Nuggets, the one snack you can't miss at Buc-ee's. And for the record, you should avoid the Lemon Crisps cookies, too.