Summer road trips require perfect snacks. Here's our list.

On a summer road trip, the inside of the car is a bubble of snacking freedom. Gas-station food you would never eat in real life becomes absolutely delicious and necessary. Little Debbie and Slim Jim become your co-pilots. Microwaved burritos doctored with nacho cheese sauce from the hot-dog station pass for cooking. Can’t remember if you love or hate Good & Plenty? A road trip is the time to find out.

Perfect gas-station road food allows you to eat it with one hand and requires no cutlery. A good gas-station forager will always look for the hot regional specialty. The boudin ball in Louisiana. Boiled peanuts (but not the ones from a can in the Crockpot) in the Deep South. Green chile burritos in New Mexico. A slice of tri-tip on a roll in California. Smoked meat in Michigan. Fried chicken on a stick in Mississippi. Tacos in the outskirts of Houston.

Beyond those delights, I have a few go-tos that I can reliably find in any part of the country. I have honed my list over many years of traveling for both my job and pleasure. Here are my picks. I will not be taking questions.

10. Roller-grill hot dog

This is a desperation move for the times you don’t want to pull into a fast-food restaurant and you’ve got miles to go before you rest. A couple of caveats: They have to look fresh and the buns have to be stored in a warming bin.

9. Tie: Corn Nuts and Combos Cheddar Cheese Pretzels

A call that needs to be made in the field: Corn Nuts are a crisp, reliable alternative to Fritos, which can get tiresome fast. Combos satisfy the part of you that has been thinking about pretzels for 120 miles but knows how one-note they can be.

8. Yellow-green banana

Sometimes you need a little fruit pick-me-up. Do not touch any banana that is starting to show too much ripeness. (Note: Peel disposal can be an issue.)

7. Any little pie

If it’s on the counter next to the cash register, and especially one that shows signs of being homemade, grab it. (In a pinch, substitute a package of the orange peanut-butter crackers Southerners call “Nabs,” or a Little Debbie fancy cake.)

6. Haribo Gummi Candy

A lot of chew to the mile, without too much sugar.

5. Peanut M&M’s

You get crunch, sweetness and ease of consumption here, and they can hang around on the console for long-term, intermittent snacking.

4. Pork rinds

Weird local brands are best. If there are fresh cracklings, this item moves to the top of my list. (Pro tip: Grab a packet of salsa to dump into the bag.)

3. Beef jerky

If there’s a stack of jerky in a case with a handwritten sign, get it. Otherwise, go for the most expensive brand, preferably with the heat of chile flakes. Pair it with a bag of crunchy Cheetos and call it truck-stop charcuterie.

2. Regional potato chips

There is no better way to be a drive-by locavore than eating a bag of Golden Flake chips in Alabama, lard-fried Gibble’s in Pennsylvania or Better Mades in Michigan. (When faced with only national brands, Pringles are the fallback, if only for the container.)

1. Mexican Coke

Pour this into a big cup filled with pellet ice and doctor it with a slice of lemon snagged from the iced-tea station. A road trip is one of rare times I drink soda. The cane sugar in a Mexican Coke is a treat and the pellet ice gives you something refreshing to chew on. (Try a fountain Coke or a Dr Pepper, hold the lemon, if no Mexican Coke is available.)