There are few more beloved statewide institutions in New Jersey than Wawa, in part because of its versatility. It’s a gas station. It’s a convenience store. It’s a sub shop. It’s whatever you need it to be, really.

But do we need it to be a burger joint?

The Pennsylvania-based company recently launched a pilot program at six locations serving burgers, chicken sandwiches and waffle fries. None of the participating locations are known to be in New Jersey, but a Wawa in Horsham, Pa., about 30 miles north of Philadelphia, is taking part. So I made the trip across the Delaware to try the burger. After all, it’s almost Presidents’ Day and this is why George Washington braved the icy waters, right?

While GW’s trek helped win our country’s independence, my stomach felt like it lost a war after this journey.

It pains me to say, but I hope Wawa’s burgers never make it to New Jersey.

Wawa making a bad food item is kind of like when your favorite actor swings and misses in a big role, or when Bruce Springsteen releases a dud of an album. It’s kind of hard to be critical of something we love so much and has given us so much joy and satisfaction over the years. But Wawa, I respect you too much to lie to you, so I’m just gonna keep it real.

Those burgers aren’t good. Those chicken sandwiches really aren’t good. And the fries are meh at best.

The trial program offers up eight different styles of burger (classic cheese, bacon cheese, American, BBQ, smokey chipotle, Southwest, French Onion and spicy cherry pepper relish) and seven styles of chicken sandwiches (classic, deluxe, BBQ, cajun, buffalo, club and bacon ranch) as well as the option to customize both with seemingly every topping in the Wawa hoagie arsenal. I went with the classic version for each sandwich, and both had me wishing we had gotten more toppings to hide the lackluster patties.

The classic cheeseburger at Wawa. (Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The classic cheeseburger tastes more like a salisbury steak from a TV dinner than a burger, with a limp, textureless and woefully flavored patty. The cheese was basically plastic and the garlic aioli was utterly bland. The bun was fine, but when the bread is the star of a burger, you know you’re in trouble.

Yet somehow, the chicken sandwich was miles worse. If Wawa had entered into the great chicken sandwich wars of 2019, it would have been a massacre. While Chick-fil-A and Popeyes serve up juicy, tender chicken, Wawa’s is rubbery and completely unappetizing. I hardly got through a single bite.

The chicken sandwich at Wawa. (Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The waffle fries were about as good as the ones you get from the frozen food section of a grocery store and heat up in the oven. Lacking seasoning, lacking crispness. All around blah.

Look Wawa, we admire the fact that you refuse to rest on your laurels and continue to churn out new foods. Your smoothies are surprisingly good! Your quesadillas aren’t half bad! And your club sandwiches are an elevated version of the classic hoagies we’ve all come to know and love.

But uh, we’re gonna pretend this trial run never happened and leave the burgers to McDonald’s, okay?

Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Schneider. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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