The best gas station food you'll ever have is at the Mobil in the Eastern Sierra - SFGATE

There are thousands of Mobil gas stations in the United States. But when someone says they’ve been to “The Mobil,” I know they’re talking about one gas station in particular — the one at the junction of Highway 395 and Highway 120 in the Eastern Sierra.

This Mobil, the Mobil, is located in a remote outpost in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada, perched above Mono Lake, about 20 minutes from Yosemite’s eastern gate at Tuolumne Meadows. It’s in Lee Vining, a town that swells with tourists and travelers during the summer. The Mobil in Lee Vining, also called Tioga Gas Mart, is indeed a gas station — fuel was selling for $6.69 a gallon last week, a price point that reflects its remote location.

But the Mobil is so much more than just a gas station.

It’s a foodie destination with a delicious restaurant. It’s a park with picnic tables overlooking panoramic views of Mono Lake, and to the west, the Dana Plateau rises to the sky. It’s an unofficial visitor’s center for tourists heading into Yosemite National Park. It’s a camping supply store. A wine shop. A craft beer store. A bookstore. A souvenir kiosk selling stuffed bears, posters with John Muir quotes and guidebooks to the Sierra Nevada. I’ve even heard of outdoor concerts at the Mobil, barbecues and community gatherings.

For me, the Mobil has always been my go-to meet-up spot, where I catch up with friends before we launch into high-altitude adventuring across the Sierra Nevada. In recent years, the Mobil has gained a cult-like following. To the uninformed, coozies and trucker hats sporting the iconic pegasus logo may seem like a trinket purchased at any regular gas station. As though it was no big deal. To those in the know, however, the Mobil’s swag signals they’ve been to a magical place. As the outdoor writer Brendan Leonard said on an episode of the "Dirtbag Diaries" podcast, the Mobil in Lee Vining “takes the convenience store and uplifts it to the level of art.”

The Mobil in Lee Vining opened in 1996, and nearly three decades later, it’s still a family-owned business run by Dennis Domaille and his daughter, Denise Molnar. But this summer, the owners decided they’re ready to hand the reins over to someone else. They listed their business and some 70 acres of property that surrounds it for $16.5 million.

Opened in 1996, the Mobil, also called the Tioga Gas Mart, is well-known for its restaurant inside, serving items like carnitas tacos and barbecue ribs.
Julie Brown / SFGATE

In the middle of September, when a storm pushed through Northern California, I drove south on Highway 395. Past the casinos and saloons of Gardnerville and Minden. Around Topaz Lake. Through the winding Walker River Canyon. Straight across the broad valley where Bridgeport lies. Up and over Mono Pass. Finally, when I reached Lee Vining, the clouds cleared.

Lee Vining is a one-street kind of town that travelers might drive through without thought. “If you blink, you’ll miss it,” said Molnar.

It’s so easy to miss, I did just that, passing the turn-off for Highway 120 to Tioga Pass, and I had to make a U-turn to get back on route. I was meeting a friend at the Mobil; we’d planned to get lunch and then head to Yosemite National Park. This time, I made the correct turn up Highway 120 and then a quick left into the Mobil’s parking lot, which was full.

Denise Molnar started working at the Mobil when she was 14. She helped her dad open up the business, and she’s been there nearly every season of its nearly 27 years since. Dennis Domaille, an electrician and a contractor, had owned this land for years and eventually decided to open a small mom-and-pop gas station. He built it from the ground up.

Dennis Domaille and Denise Molnar, owners of the Tioga Gas Mart, take a selfie.
Courtesy of Denise Molnar

Today, business is nonstop, from open until close. With the gas station situated on the road to Yosemite, Molnar said their customers are diverse and global. “We get everyone,” she said. “A lot of campers. A lot of climbers. This time of year we get a lot of Europeans and a lot of tour buses. People staying in the fancy Ahwahnee and then there’s people sleeping in their cars. So a wide range of people who want to explore the outdoors.”

Pulling into the Mobil feels like you’ve arrived at a public park. The grounds are full of bright green grass, blooming flowers and aspens with leaves shaking in the breeze. Up above, the couloirs off the Dana Plateau were just barely streaked in white, a remnant from the first snows of the season.

Shortly after I parked, a tour bus pulled up, opened its doors and let out dozens of retirees enjoying a midweek day trip near Yosemite during the off-season. Someone handed out bagged lunches and everyone sat down at the picnic tables, savoring a pleasant midday meal with a panoramic view of Mono Lake.

My friend soon arrived. “Have you ordered yet?” she asked. The two of us went inside the market and headed to the back corner, to the Whoa Nellie Deli.

When the business first opened, Molnar said they just had a few employees. Now, they employ several dozen people, many of whom have been working here for years. One person they hired was a chef from Mammoth Lakes. He’d heard they were opening a gas station, cruised up on his Harley-Davidson and offered to help them start a restaurant. Domaille gave him permission to open up the Whoa Nellie Deli and free rein to create the menu in whatever way he wanted.

That’s why there are no day-old hot dogs spinning under fluorescent lighting at this Mobil. No mystery cheese the color of traffic cones. Here, the menu includes items like grilled pork chops, barbecue baby back ribs, carnitas tacos and ahi sashimi. Everything is fresh and cooked to order.

I ordered the ahi, because I figured it might just be the best gas station sushi I would ever taste. My friend ordered carnitas tacos and an iced tea. I added an iced tea to my order, too. The clerk handed us two big Coca-Cola cups and pointed to the soda fountain, along with a receipt carrying our order number. We slid into a red vinyl booth at the back of the market and admired the local art adorning the wall.

For a long time, before word got out, Molnar says customers would come in expecting average, run-of-the-mill gas station food. Their surprise was palpable when they walked in the door and saw ribs and fish tacos on the menu.

Years later, customers aren’t wowed as often as they used to be. “Now we have a reputation,” she said.

We didn’t wait long for our food. When our number was called, I slid out of the booth to grab our dishes and heard myself gasp out loud at the beautiful meal that slid across the counter to me.

Thick slices of ahi tuna, bright pink, were neatly stacked on a bed of fresh cabbage slaw. A perfect circle of rice balanced the presentation on the dish, along with a mound of wasabi, a cup of soy sauce and chopsticks. My hunch that this would be the best gas station ahi I’d taste was correct.

The carnitas tacos were piled on with all the goods — cheese and salsa, beans with a line of crema squiggled on top. We agreed I’d ordered the better of the two dishes, but the tacos were still a delicious choice.

We dug in for a minute, our conversation quieted — always a sign of great food.

This time of year, business at the Mobil slows down. At the end of October, Molnar and her staff will close up the shop for the winter season, reopening in May, as they’ve always done. But this summer, Molnar and her father decided to list the business and the property it stands on for sale. It’s time, she told me. Her father is getting older and Molnar recently went through her own health challenges.

“It’s a lot of like, life,” she said. The business is “a lot of hard work. It is special. We love it. But, I don’t know, it’s maybe time for the next adventure.”

Our plates cleared, our bellies full, it was time for us to get back on the road and continue our own adventure, too. I got back in my car, made a left turn on Highway 120 and drove up the Sierra Crest to Yosemite National Park.