In Praise of Subway

I think we may have done this topic before, but I'm pretty sure it has been a while and there are a quite a few new participants, but what got me going is up in the sandwiches area there's a thread going on Quiznos and many people have said about Quizno's, "At least it's better than Subway."

I want to put in a good word for Subway, but I think it probably makes a big difference WHAT you order. I pretty much stick to their BMT which I find to be an honest, basic sub/hoagie/grinder type sandwich. If I were to criticize it, my criticism would be about bread. They make an issue of baking the bread on-site and I think that's a mistake. Personally, I'd far rather have a good French loaf from a quality bakery than the too-soft, bland, flavorless stuff Subway bakes. But otherwise, they use decent coldcuts and veggies and they will make the sandwich the way I like (minimal lettuce, lots of onions and peppers, plenty of oil/vinegar. If it were on better bread it would be a pretty darned good sub.

I suppose if you go beyond the cold cuts into cooked foods like meatballs or whatever, you start getting into areas that taste more and more processed, homogenized, bland, tasteless. But I don't go there so that issue doesn't matter to me.

The biggest reason I wish more people would give Subway a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T is that without them, the sub sandwich would be unknown and unobtainable in a large part of rural and semi-rural American away from the East Coast. Here in my winter hideaway in the Arizona desert, there just isn't anybody else selling subs--even Quizno's (yet). Bottom line: It may not be perfect, but Subway comes a lot closer to selling a decent sub sandwich than Pizza Hut or Domino's comes to selling edible pizza and I'm glad they are available.

Subway seems to vary an awful lot depending on the franchisee. The one where I live is very clean and has good help, but in a neighboring town, the Subway is awful - always dirty, bad service, etc.

In my opinion, the Subway is like making a sandwich from your own fridge except easier. I like their fresh baked bread.

It is not often that I stop there but I have to say for a ordinary sandwich, they are pretty good.

I do not always have stuff in the frige to make a sandwich like they have to offer.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I find their wraps to be viable. Usually, I get the veggie and cheese wrap.

quote:

Originally posted by Parses6

Let me be the first to offer praise: the food is somewhat edible.

Is "somewhat edible" better than "dreck", which we already know is 3 steps better than "vomit"?

I think you're going to have to assign a new valuation to Subway, as you have not reduced it to a single word.

Steve Koe and WJ await your pronouncement

quote:

Originally posted by Parses6

Don't mind Ol' TJ folks, he's been cranky with a stick up his butt ever since I referred to his beloved McDonald's food as "vomit"

Don't mind Ol' Parse6 folks, he just takes apparent personal delight in using words that center on the less than pleasurable outflow of food from the human body on a website where you and I come with the intent to read about the pleasurable intake of food. He's well within his rights based on forum rules to generalize and label entire eateries without regard to your gag reflex or to individual differences between individual eateries or individual menu items within a given eatery.

It's kind of like Olive Garden. You know: Italian food for non-Italians. Perhaps like Taco Bell: Mexican food for North Dakotans.

I hate to be a snobb, but Subway is just plain weird.

I only eat at fast food franchises infrequently with the exception of White Castle.
Several months ago, Subway had a limited time promotion for a pastrami sub. I do not
know if it was offered at all their locations. Even in NJ, it is not so easy to find
what is considered NY deli type pastrami ala Jewish or Jewish style. The supermarkets and
most deli's sell this processed, pressed product devoid of fat and the taste is definetly
far from pastrami. Anyhow, Subway had the real thing. It was plate pastrami and was truly
damn good and at a very reasonable price. Hope they bring that one back.

My gripe with Subway is that they precut their meats and then let them sit in those containers for who knows how long. Maybe different stores have different practices, but the several Subways that I've eaten at all do it the same way. I have had sandwiches where the meat actually had that spoiled/old taste to them. I like the sub sandwich places where they cut the meat to order.

quote:

Originally posted by Catracks

It's kind of like Olive Garden. You know: Italian food for non-Italians. Perhaps like Taco Bell: Mexican food for North Dakotans.

I hate to be a snobb, but Subway is just plain weird.

You're not a snob, you're confusing. Calling it "weird" calls for further explanation because, to me, it seems among the least "weird" and most "plain vanilla" of the chain sandwich operations. Quizno's is "weird" in the sense that they sell sandwiches that are unusual food combinations that never existed before. Subway's BMT is just a hoagie/sub/hero/grinder whether you think it's a good one or not.

quote:

Originally posted by scbuzz

My gripe with Subway is that they precut their meats and then let them sit in those containers for who knows how long. Maybe different stores have different practices, but the several Subways that I've eaten at all do it the same way. I have had sandwiches where the meat actually had that spoiled/old taste to them. I like the sub sandwich places where they cut the meat to order.

Very few sandwich shops (as opposed to delis) don't work with precut cold cuts on the serving/sandwich prep line. It would be extremely slow and labor intensive otherwise. I'm familiar with family-run Italian delis where they might have 3 or 4 people behind the counter and can afford to slice the salami to make a sandwich as they do when someone just orders a pound of the stuff but lots of Subway outlets have only one or maybe 2 people working at any one time and it would take forever to serve a group of waiting people if they had to slice all the meats before they could make a sandwich. Besides, I don't think pre-sliced meat is likely to spoil if properly refrigerated in the case and overnight in a fridge. Maybe the place you got spoiled meat wasn't chilling it enough or was making some other food-storage error.

I agree with Sundancer, as a fresh made sandwich with plenty of options Subway is a great stop. My only real complaint is they no longer have swiss cheese. You won't find black olives on a hoagie but on a subway you can along with jalapenos and green peppers.

It's nice that green pepper and black olives are available as options.....more options = a good thing

quote:

Originally posted by BT


Very few sandwich shops (as opposed to delis) don't work with precut cold cuts on the serving/sandwich prep line.

We have two chains in my area that cut the meat while you wait. Sub Station II and Blimpies. So I usually give them my business. But, it could have just been a quality control problem in the stores I went to.

One big thing that Subway has going for it is that there are so dang many of them, so you never have a hard time finding one. I swear there is one on every street around here. They're getting as plentiful as Chinese resturants.

I do like their bread.

What I find amazing about Subway is the fact that someone from the epicurian center of Italian sub sandwiches, Southern Connecticut, could come up with the things Subway puts out and dare to suggest that they bear the slightest resemblance to a sub sandwich. That said, I've been known to grab a sandwich at Subway. I find that as long as I think of the product as a sandwich and not a sub I can eat it.

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

quote:

Originally posted by Parses6

Let me be the first to offer praise: the food is somewhat edible.

Is "somewhat edible" better than "dreck", which we already know is 3 steps better than "vomit"?

I think you're going to have to assign a new valuation to Subway, as you have not reduced it to a single word.

Steve Koe and WJ await your pronouncement

TJ, check my reply on the post for nachos...

In the meantime.....
I, for one love the veggie subs on the parmesean oregano bread.
They just load it up with as much veggies that I want.
Then I take it home and put a little dab of Tuscan sun hot garlic oil on it.

quote:

Originally posted by scbuzz

quote:

Originally posted by BT


Very few sandwich shops (as opposed to delis) don't work with precut cold cuts on the serving/sandwich prep line.

We have two chains in my area that cut the meat while you wait. Sub Station II and Blimpies. So I usually give them my business. But, it could have just been a quality control problem in the stores I went to.

One big thing that Subway has going for it is that there are so dang many of them, so you never have a hard time finding one. I swear there is one on every street around here. They're getting as plentiful as Chinese resturants.

I do like their bread.

I try and steer clear of places that invent their own cold cuts. Ex: Blimpies "Black peppered prosciuttini ham"

I used to go there only for the BMT. Used to order same double meat with swiss & jalepeno jack cheese with romaine lettuce & spinach and quite a few of their other toppings. First they d/c'ed the "other" cheeses. Soon after that they d/c'ed romaine lettuce & fresh spinach as toppings. That was well over two years ago and I haven't been back since. They never got the "toasted" issue right, either. No one there could comprehend that toasting comes BEFORE the cold toppings/veggies added, etc. My LAST visit was so snafued that I got a letter from the owner for a free replacement sandwich. Still haven't used it. Never will.

quote:

Originally posted by Adjudicator

I used to go there only for the BMT. Used to order same double meat with swiss & jalepeno jack cheese with romaine lettuce & spinach and quite a few of their other toppings. First they d/c'ed the "other" cheeses. Soon after that they d/c'ed romaine lettuce & fresh spinach as toppings. That was well over two years ago and I haven't been back since. They never got the "toasted" issue right, either. No one there could comprehend that toasting comes BEFORE the cold toppings/veggies added, etc. My LAST visit was so snafued that I got a letter from the owner for a free replacement sandwich. Still haven't used it. Never will.

Some of these factors seem to vary from franchise to franchise. The outlets I visit--both in AZ and in SF--offer several cheeses. Since I always get provolone, I don't know what the others are. I've never seen a Subway offer romaine or spinach and I've been eating at Subway since 1980 or so. But what I have seen is regional offerings--here in AZ, they offer guacamole or fresh avocado but I haven't seen that in SF. As for the toasting thing--one of the things I like about Subway is that you stand right there and can interact with the person making the sandwich as it proceeds. If you want the bread pre-toasted, why couldn't you say, "NO--WAIT--toast the bread first!" when you see them start to pile meat on the untoasted loaf?

For what it is, Subway's not bad. The ones around me make a decent sandwich. Better than Quizno's by a long shot IMO. At least I have two Jersey Mike's near me, which is as close to a real sub as I can get here in south-central Virginia.

Hello All,
Subway was a good introduction for me to subs. I lived in a world of burgers and sandwiches til Subway
hit our area. And like BT said, after Subway, so many other places introduced subs to backward places like
where I live. Though now, we are no longer backward.
The years have passed by and Subway has become like white bread. No energy, no flavour, no...well, flavour.
It truly may be my tastebuds. As I get older, I need more than processed foods to make my tongue feel alive.
Please don't take this as a downer on Subway. I really believe it is a matter of my body's changing needs for
enjoyment. I'm 50 and getting more selective.
Take Care,
Fieldthistle

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

What I find amazing about Subway is the fact that someone from the epicurian center of Italian sub sandwiches, Southern Connecticut, could come up with the things Subway puts out and dare to suggest that they bear the slightest resemblance to a sub sandwich. That said, I've been known to grab a sandwich at Subway. I find that as long as I think of the product as a sandwich and not a sub I can eat it.

I agree with Michael. It is a decent sandwich(I prefer the tuna). It was my introduction to that type of sandwich and it is better than what I make at home.

quote:

Originally posted by BT

quote:

Originally posted by Adjudicator

I used to go there only for the BMT. Used to order same double meat with swiss & jalepeno jack cheese with romaine lettuce & spinach and quite a few of their other toppings. First they d/c'ed the "other" cheeses. Soon after that they d/c'ed romaine lettuce & fresh spinach as toppings. That was well over two years ago and I haven't been back since. They never got the "toasted" issue right, either. No one there could comprehend that toasting comes BEFORE the cold toppings/veggies added, etc. My LAST visit was so snafued that I got a letter from the owner for a free replacement sandwich. Still haven't used it. Never will.

Some of these factors seem to vary from franchise to franchise. The outlets I visit--both in AZ and in SF--offer several cheeses. Since I always get provolone, I don't know what the others are. I've never seen a Subway offer romaine or spinach and I've been eating at Subway since 1980 or so. But what I have seen is regional offerings--here in AZ, they offer guacamole or fresh avocado but I haven't seen that in SF. As for the toasting thing--one of the things I like about Subway is that you stand right there and can interact with the person making the sandwich as it proceeds. If you want the bread pre-toasted, why couldn't you say, "NO--WAIT--toast the bread first!" when you see them start to pile meat on the untoasted loaf?

The cheeses I have seen were the original "white" american, swiss, provolone, and pepper-jack. As far as the toasting thing; I did watch them. I wanted my bread toasted first then meats, cheeses, toastable veggies (i.e. onions, bell & bananna peppers, etc.) toasted AGAIN. Then it was back to the table to add the tomatoes, romaine, spinach, sliced pickles, etc. That procedure was far to complicated for the staff, obviously. A funny thing, also. When they d/ced the romaine and spinach they did add a new veggie to the menu -- 1/4 th inch thick sliced cucumbers. To date, I never figured that one out.

I had a great BMT the other day here in Steubenville, Ohio. I had her put all the veggies on it, provolone cheese, oil and vinegar and lots of red peppers. This is a good franchise. The bread is superb. I ate at Quizno's, also in the mall here, one time. The salad (meat etc. toasted and put on greens) and the broccoli and cheese soup had so much sodium I couldn't finish them (and I really do like salt) and was drinking water the rest of the day. I didn't find the quality of the meat all that good either. It was a nasty meal.

quote:

Originally posted by shortchef

I had a great BMT the other day here in Steubenville, Ohio. I had her put all the veggies on it, provolone cheese, oil and vinegar and lots of red peppers. This is a good franchise. The bread is superb. I ate at Quizno's, also in the mall here, one time. The salad (meat etc. toasted and put on greens) and the broccoli and cheese soup had so much sodium I couldn't finish them (and I really do like salt) and was drinking water the rest of the day. I didn't find the quality of the meat all that good either. It was a nasty meal.

The Subways around here don't have red peppers. They have green bell peppers and banana peppers, only.

The smell of Subway's bread makes me nauseous- like chemicals.

Subway and Jimmy John's both have awful bread.

I learned to tell them as I order my sandwich, to "toast the bread first"...

quote:

Originally posted by saps

The smell of Subway's bread makes me nauseous- like chemicals.

Baking bread actually gives off a substantial amount of alcohol, a product of fermentation by the yeast. Years ago when I used to work in Oakland and took BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), if the trip had a highlight, it was when the door would open at the West Oakland Station, which happened to be next to a commercial bakery, and the smell of baking bread would permeate the train. But the CA Air Quality Board got on their case and made them install equipment to block the discharge of "hazardous chemicals" (i.e. the "baking bread smell").

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman


The Subways around here don't have red peppers. They have green bell peppers and banana peppers, only.

No jalapenos? Every one I've been to in CA and AZ has jalapenos in addition to the two you mentioned--I get 'em all.

Jalapenos, green & banana peppers here at the Subway I go to which is two
blocks away from my home here in N. Florida....I used to clean up a lot on
the "Sub Club" program, but that's history, and it seems like the prices
have shot up while the sandwiches shrink.

Of course, it's just about time for another New York Steamer Sub, loaded
with pastrami & corned beef, from Firehouse, the next time I make the 25
mile drive down the interstate

quote:

Originally posted by BT

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman


The Subways around here don't have red peppers. They have green bell peppers and banana peppers, only.

No jalapenos? Every one I've been to in CA and AZ has jalapenos in addition to the two you mentioned--I get 'em all.

No jalapenos.

quote:

Originally posted by BT

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman


The Subways around here don't have red peppers. They have green bell peppers and banana peppers, only.

No jalapenos? Every one I've been to in CA and AZ has jalapenos in addition to the two you mentioned--I get 'em all.

The ones I have been to also have all three peppers.
Load up my veggie sub with all 3 and pepper jack cheese to boot!
However, I have noticed regional offerings.
I was in Fla, and they had pastrami, and Colorado had pastrami. Here in Maine, no pastrami, and no swiss cheese.

quote:

Originally posted by rmcielwain


it's just about time for another New York Steamer Sub, loaded
with pastrami & corned beef, from Firehouse, the next time I make the 25
mile drive down the interstate

I tried Firehouse in Daytona--across from the Speedway--and it was pretty good. I think I had a meatball sub and put a sprinkling of the second hottest sauce (they had about 100 hot sauces lined up on the counter in their estimation of the order of hotness--not sure if all their outlets do that) on it and it was good.

Yep, at the Firehouse I go to, same setup with the hot sauces, although I'm
not daring enough to try any of them yet!

Subway - "NoWay". I never eat there, to bland, to expensive for what you get, the veggies are sliced so thin you can't taste them, and even if you ask for extras such as onion, etc., they don't know that extra means.

Hard to get a good grinder in the south unless you stumble across a transplant who opened shop down here. If you live in Tidewater, Zero's has a decent grinder..not great...but decent.

Fortunately we have one of the only Zero's outside of that market..right here in the tri-cities. Other wise I would choke through a bmt at sub-way about once a year and harken back.

Their wraps are VERY good, although I confess I generally stick to tuna salad or grilled chicken.

Their chicken teriyaki sub is also very good, and I've been eyeing those low carb salads lately.

The ones in my area still have swiss cheese, and I hope they always do.

quote:

Originally posted by BT

I want to put in a good word for Subway,

Oh boy, It's so wonderful to have the same sandwich shop on every city block, suburban strip center, shopping mall food court, small town, big town, every block.
Let's see everday we have a sandwich and coffee.
It's so easy, Green sign for either and both.
Just look for the green sign.
Thank God Supermarkets make sandwichs and sell coffee or there will
be no choice in few years.
Has this not happened in your area (maybe Chicago)
Get ready, it's on the way.
Oh Boy

Why am I so concerned. Our local "Sam the Butcher" who made great sandwichs got flooded out recently and after 65 years
he decided he can't rebuild and make it any more.
That's sad. And it's happening everywhere.

"Sam the Butcher" is more likely a victim of Marin County's no-growth policies which have boosted rates not only on housing but on commercial space such as his shop to stratospheric levels. Blaming Subway is just silly.

I can tell you a more direct story. We had a great little place here in Green Valley called Bumpers (the owner was a classic car nut). It sold platters of home-made spaghetti and meatballs, Chicago style hot dogs complete with neon green relish, Italian sausage sandwiches and other similar stuff. Then a Subway opened in the same mall. Bumpers went out of business and the owner blamed Subway. I didn't buy it then and I don't buy it now. I didn't stop eating there. The place looked just as full as ever when I went there which was a couple times a week. I think Subway was an excuse--the guy's wife had gotten sick and he was tired. Running a small business like that is hard work and he had fun for a couple of years, then had had enough.

Your Sam the Butcher can blame Subway if he wants to, but I bet he was just ready to retire. That or the rent had got to point where his overhead was just too high.

You know yourself that in San Francisco, for every old time Italian deli that goes under and blames Subway, a Banh Mi shop or or gyro emporium run by recent immigrants opens. It ain't Subway's fault that the old-timers can't (or don't want to) compete. The newcomers do just fine.

No,No Sam the Butcher is not blaming anyone in fact he took a job as butcher at Paradise Foods in Corte Madera www.foodsofparadise.com and his shop was in the town of Ross where homes start at 3mil and his place will sit empty. I am just saying for each one of these places that close 3-4 Subways open and I can give a tour where they really are saturating the landscape like SBucks.
It's really becoming a sterile world. And I know your Vietnamese sando shop on Larkin will be sellin em for 1.65 or whatever for awhile but those areas are the exception.

Can I have a pasty white bread lettuce sub with three olive slices, wait can I get extra olives (oh boy four sliced olives) hey can you cut the meat a little thinner, I can't quite see through it.

My sister likes Subway, but then again, she's the type of person impressed by places that serve overpriced not very good food.

I worked next door to a Subway once, we shared the same dumpster. I was amazed at how many of the "cold cuts" were processed Turkey products.

If you can't make a better sandwich at home, I really do feel sorry for you, and anybody that has to eat the food you make. Fly me out to your house, put me up for a day, and I can show you how to make a better sandwich.

Personally, when I patronized Subway, I never had any problems with extra toppings. They would add them without concern until I said "enough". If they started using real meat I would probably return as a customer.

quote:

Originally posted by Rev.Bucky


If you can't make a better sandwich at home, I really do feel sorry for you, and anybody that has to eat the food you make. Fly me out to your house, put me up for a day, and I can show you how to make a better sandwich.

Honestly, I don't think that's at all the point. To "make a better sandwich at home" you've got to have all the ingredients available and they've got to be fresh. If you go to the market and buy 3 or 4 kinds of cold cuts, a couple of cheeses, loaves of French bread, veggies and all the rest, you'll be able to make a great $4.99 Subway sandwich for about $24.99 (and you'll have spend an hour and half or so doing it, counting the trip to the market). Or what if you want a meatball sub? Count in the time to whip up a batch of meatballs and sauce. Perhaps those with large families keep all the ingredients around at all times, but we single folks don't (it rots, it spoils, it goes stale). A trip to Subway (or, if available, a good independent sub shop) is just so much easier and cheaper than making your own.

BT: that is a very good and valid point. Granted, if you got all the ingredients available, you can certainly have a better sandwich but the majority of the time, I do not.

I agree that Subway is not always the best but being handy and available is sometimes reasonable enough.

Most of the time when I occasionally do a Subway sandwich, I find that their bread is fresh baked and hot.

I was returning to Knoxville from Tallahassee via Augusta this past week and I was in a hurry. I stopped at a Pilot to refuel and they had a Subway. I bought a veggie sub with every veggie they had with extra mayo and it did the trick.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Sundancer,
That is the only sub I get at Subway.. The Veggie is really good... Hint. If they dont have shredded carrots out in plain view,, ask, sometimes they keep them tucked away....I always get extra spinach on mine....
Tara

Indeed, it is getting increasingly more difficult to cook certain sandwich items cheaper at home than buying it already prepared from the supermarket or from a restaurant. That is, unless you are cooking in Air Force mess hall proportions and don't care how much surplus food you wind up throwing away.

For example, I've gotten into the jag of buying a chicken salad sandwich off the bread and a side order of coleslaw from a local diner that happens to make a pretty good chicken salad. I bring it home and put the chicken salad on GREAT Italian or French bread, put the coleslaw in a bowl, turn on Turner Classics and, well, I'm good to go.

I've made the two items all by myself, and, I've gotten it from the salad bar at a local supermarket. Either way, I cannot beat the price, and I'm not making it any better. Hence, why bother, unless I could make it better...which I can't?

In short, I believe that the margin between what I can buy raw meats and produce retail and what it costs all done in a diner or a supermarket deli is getting increasingly thinner.
The Bear

While I can somewhat see the point of the expense, You can go into a grocery store like a Winco or Safeway, buy some meat, some cheese, and if they have a salad bar all the veggies you want. Then you slap them in a roll, and it's better than Subway. If you spent even five to six dollars, you would have a much better sandwich with more meat, and it's that simple. I'm sorry, sandwiches aren't rocket science. And every Subway that I have been to locally skimps on everything but the lettuce. In fact, one time, I asked the Sandwich Artist (that's their actual job label) for no lettuce, she looked concerned and said, "Well, you're sandwich isn't going to look very good, and it will be smaller." Gee, really. Then I asked for extra green peppers and olives, she put one more slice of green pepper and one more sliced olive. I asked for more, and she said management doesn't allow it. Maybe it's just our local Subways that are so skimpy.

As to the meatball sandwich, you can buy bags of premade meatballs, and that's what Subway uses. They used to have a sandwich at Subway I liked, it was a combo of the Meatball and Italian Sausage, of course thats long gone! but everything else I have ever eaten there has been bland, watery, and nothing like a real Sub.

I can see that sometimes, you might not have that oppurtunity or time. I was actually responding to an earlier post where it was stated that Subway makes a better sandwich than that person could. THAT'S SAD!! I do realize that it might be cheaper to go to Subway than to buy all the ingrediants and make it at home. But if you're buying twenty five dollars worth of food to make one sandwich, what do you do with the rest of the food? Throw it away? Let's put it this way, with twentyfive dollars worth of groceries, I could make ten sandwiches much better than Subway, and that is actually cheaper!

And as I reread your posts I am amazed! Fresh Spinach? Grated Carrots?? Wow, the Subways in our area really are third rate! Here it's onion, lettuce, green peppers and olives. Maybe I should check out some other areas Subway, but I think that I would probably go to some local Pizzeria, or diner for a sandwich instead!

I'm lucky to be living in "the hoagie belt". In Mountain Top the Subway is right across from King's Pizzeria, and half a mile (in either direction) from Antonio's, Three Guys, Januzzi's, and Philadelphia Subs. In order to get to a Subway from where I work in Tunkhannock, I have to pass Sicilia, another Antonio's (no relation), Vesuvio's, the Downtown Deli, and the Full Belly Deli. My absolute favorite sub is the "Deluxe" from Sicilia; Genoa salami, pepperoni, sopressota and prosciutto with provolone, l/t/o, and italian dressing. Hot banana peppers optional.

So I haven't had a Subway in ages. I remember them pretty much the same way BT describes them though; decent enough. I've also found it to be exactly true that the quality of a franchise varies quite a bit depending on the care invested in it by the franchisee. That's how you get decent Subways and Smokey Bones.


Tom

quote:

Originally posted by Rev.Bucky

While I can somewhat see the point of the expense, You can go into a grocery store like a Winco or Safeway, buy some meat, some cheese, and if they have a salad bar all the veggies you want. Then you slap them in a roll, and it's better than Subway. If you spent even five to six dollars, you would have a much better sandwich with more meat, and it's that simple. I'm sorry, sandwiches aren't rocket science. And every Subway that I have been to locally skimps on everything but the lettuce. In fact, one time, I asked the Sandwich Artist (that's their actual job label) for no lettuce, she looked concerned and said, "Well, you're sandwich isn't going to look very good, and it will be smaller." Gee, really. Then I asked for extra green peppers and olives, she put one more slice of green pepper and one more sliced olive. I asked for more, and she said management doesn't allow it. Maybe it's just our local Subways that are so skimpy.

I think you nailed it in the last sentence. I never (not in San Francisco, not in Tucson, not in Daytona Beach) have the problem you describe. I always tell 'em to make my sub "heavy on the onions, light on the lettuce" and they always comply, adding ingredients until I say "enough". When I have asked for extra this or that (except the meat and cheese--they'll do that too but they charge) they've never said management wouldn't allow it. In fact they have said it's policy to put as much veggies on there as they can--if the customer wishes--without having everything falling out.

As for going to Safeway for the cold cuts, most supermarkets now actually will make you a sandwich using the cold cuts they sell and it would probably be cheaper to do so because that way there's no wastage. If you prefer the supermarkets sandwiches to Subway's, I certainly would endorse buying them there. Some people I have known in Florida really like subs made at Publix markets and would never go to Subway in preference. That's certainly makes sense to me. My main argument for Subway is the variety of sandwiches they offer in places (small towns and whistle stops) where there are few other options except making it yourself.

I agree with BT... Every Subway I have been too, and asked for more of each veggie, there is no hesitation.. In fact, one girl couldnt even barely close the sub to cut it....
I dont get any kind of meat subs there, as I love their veggie ones, and I know you have to pay for extra meat and cheese, but not veggies.

Here in Versailles, KY, the Subway has all three peppers and the jalapenos are very hot. But, I like that! I too have noticed that some Subways skimp more than others re the quantity of toppings. I only go there every now and then, and I too agree that the smell in the shop is a turn off.

Andrea

quote:

Originally posted by rmcielwain


Yep, at the Firehouse I go to, same setup with the hot sauces, although I'm
not daring enough to try any of them yet!

Full line of hot sauces available @ my local Firehouse.. (Quite interesting, though...>> All bottles are placed in open view on the counter. MANY say "Refrigerate After Opening". None are, BTW.

Also, I made the terminal mistake of ordering a meatball sub from them today. It was worse than Subway. I normally do not order "hot subs" from anywhere. However, my curiosity got to me today. I was NOT impressed. The meatballs tasted as if they had just come from a can of "Chef Boyardee". The bread was not up to what I expected, either. Oh well; live & learn.