Pine Cone Travel Plaza

We love the Pinecone! My mother lives in Johnson Creek & the kids request it almost every time we visit. It is ALWAYS crowded, regardless of when you go but service is quick. You can choose to sit in a diner style setting or a restaurant. The food is all homemade, even the thick, tasty French fries. Prices are very affordable & portions are huge. My family of 6 can eat for less than $ 30 and walk away stuffed. If you still have room, they offer a yummy (& also large) selection of treats. We don’t get these often but when we do we are never disappointed.
I’d give it 5 stars but it is not the cleanest place & the décor is rather dingy.

How can the bathrooms be so gross every time we pass through here? Regardless of day or time, they always smell like 1000 people just competed in a synchronized peeing contest. Also, what is up with all the nasty racist graffiti in the ladies room? Is there an annual Nazi convention held in the area? Was going to pick up a few goodies from the bakery, but there were 3 flies living in the display case, so no. I guess I’ll stick to Kwik Trip from now on, at least their bathrooms are consistently clean.

Great cookies and yummy caramel apples. Fairly decent restrooms (a little dirty) and the place is usually packed.

I love the Pinecone. It’s inexpensive, simple home cooking. We visited on Christmas Day for lunch, it was packed, but we got right in. My husband and I both ordered the baked half chicken dinner, it came with mashed taters and gravy, stuffing, veggie, soup or salad and dinner roll for $ 8.95. I loved the coleslaw, so good. The meal was huge and I have leftovers for a whole meal. My kids has cheeseburgers & fries and chicken strips & fries, $ 3.25 each and it includes drinks, they cleaned their plates, so it must have been good. My 12 year old son thought the ranch dressing was gross, so skip that if you are picky about ranch ;) The bakery case at the cash register is heaven… drool

Right when you walk in, you see the worlds largest portion sized bakery… and it doesn’t stop there! All portions are massive and the prices are cheap. Dumpling soup and buns were a hit! Can’t wait to come back.

This is QUITE a gas station! (Excuse me, travel plaza)
Conveniently located between MKE and Madison, Pine Cone caters to truck drivers and those who have to pee really, really bad. While you’re there, you can grab something to eat at the attached diner or of you’re in a hurry there is a large selection of grab ‘n’ go stuff. It was nice to see that in addition to sandwiches and pizza, they had some healthier choices like fruit bowls and yogurt with granola.
If you really want to have a driving adventure, they sell cream puffs that are literally the size of my face and about 10″ high with whipped cream. I have no idea how a person might eat one of those things much less how they might do it in a car, but I think it would be entertaining to watch.
The magazine area has an enormous number of gun-​themed magazines so I’d think twice about trying to rob the place.

Great location… and great selection of all things delicious. I’m a huge fan of their breakfast pizza ($ 1 slices on Wednesdays), and their politeness. Rain or shine, someone will always say hello the second you walk through the door. It’s more of a «truckers» stop with an attached restaurant, but there’s something about feeling like a «trucker» that definitely feels bad ass. Unlike most truck stops, the facilities are constantly spotless. Like Stephen said, everything is made fresh, and usually done indirectly in front of you. Tons of treats and sweets to satisfy the most particular eater. Stop, and you I gurantee you will not be disappointed.

Clean (ish) bathrooms, awesome people watching. Really good prices on snacks.
And sandwiches? I usually recommend against eating gas station sammies when you’re of a delicate digestive state. But, having stopped here a couple times between MKE and points west, they’re really good, cheap, and (to the best of my skills of detection) fresh.
I like it!