I have never been a big chili person, but when I was reached out to by Petro’s Chili & Chips, I had to give their menu a try.
Petro’s is new to the Burlington area, as their new location opened in March 2021. Although Petro’s is a fast-food restaurant, a lot of its food is made-to-order, which is unlike most chain restaurants.
Petro’s offers giant baked potatoes, nachos, salad wedges, hot dogs and more. To start off my meal, I got their classic “Hint of Orange Iced Tea.” I got the tea sweetened on the employee’s recommendation. The iced tea had the perfect amount of sweetness for me.
The item I would recommend the most from Petro’s is their nachos. I tried the pulled pork BBQ nachos and the grilled chicken nachos with buffalo sauce. Every part of the order was covered in sauce filled with many flavors. The pulled pork was perfectly cooked, but the sour cream could have been more evenly spread on the nachos instead of plopped in the center of the dish. If the chips had more salt to them, I think it would have made the dish tastier. The guacamole was also smooth, rich and fresh.
The next thing I got was their signature dish: “The Petro.” The Petro is a cup filled with chili, sour cream, tomatoes, cheddar cheese and green onion and is topped with corn chips. This was nothing less than delicious, and I would order it again. I added black olives and jalapenos, and they were the perfect additions to the order. The crunchiness of the final layer of corn chips was by far my favorite part of the dish, though I do wish the layer of chips was higher in the cup so that they would be less soggy.
I tried both the plain hot dog and the chili cheese dog. The bun was perfectly toasted and fluffy. I didn’t need condiments because of how good the hot dog was on its own. Both hot dogs were just average, but still good. I would also recommend their BBQ pulled pork baked potato. It was one of the best-baked potatoes I have had. The incorporation of pulled pork was something I’ve never seen before, but it was a fantastic addition. The chives, cheese, barbecue sauce and pork came together to create a well-rounded bite.
Overall, I would give Petro’s Chili & Chips a 9/10 rating because of the great quality of their “fast food.” Their restaurant has comfortable seating options, modern decor and a great ambiance. Their menu has so many options and everything I tried I enjoyed. You can taste the love, care and intention behind their food through their choice of ingredients —
and customers like myself appreciate that. I would definitely go again!
If you have any questions or a review idea, please reach out to me at ekeefe5@elon.edu.