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A New Roadside Attraction
Jan Alexander
04/01/2004
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Fuel is meant to be something of a
throwback to the early days of America’s love affair with the car, when
hospitable gas station attendants would “fill ’er up,” wash the windows, and
check the tires. But Kluge’s highway havens will cater to more worldly tastes.
Attendants will baby the car, then offer the passengers bottles of mineral water
and take orders for pommes frites with mayonnaise or for passion fruit coconut
blondies to go. The restrooms, notes Kluge, will be pleasant beyond a motorist’s
wildest dreams, with hand lotion and “a place to change babies’ nappies.”
As
for the Fuel eateries, Kluge is planning the only gas station stops likely to be
candidates for star ratings. The menu at the Charlottesville Fuel is prepared
under the direction of executive chef Francis Reynard, who was previously with
Daniel in New York, and well-known pastry chef Serge Torres. At other Fuel
stops, she plans to hire local chefs and serve locally grown produce. “Eating
locally is coming to the fore, for health reasons,” says Kluge. “We will plan
our menu around what is seasonal; we would never, for instance, serve
strawberries in winter.” In keeping with American haute cuisine, the restaurants
will serve a variety of 25 American wines, including the New World red, cru and
méthode Champenoise from the Kluge Estate. Wines will be served by the glass;
after all, many of those imbibing will have a long drive ahead.
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