This is really an odd debate since all of these places (PB, JJ, SW) are all pretty sub par. I will go to PB or JJ in a pinch, mainly because of a time or location factor and either one is just ok.

I used to have a thing against toasted sandwiches, thinking that it was a way to use stale bread and I still don't love it but will say the turkey/swiss with the hot peppers is my only choice at PB. JJ has soft white bread, which although isn't the best bread out there, makes their sandwich. Their hot peppers are horrible though. The whole pepper is chopped and you will most definitely get a piece or two of stem in your meal - which I feel is unacceptable.

Both places have terrible meats and cheeses and I won't even mention SW or Quizno's - which I feel are the bottom of the barrel.

Costello's isn't a bad choice for this type of place but all of them pale in comparison to a Bari Foods, Alpine and the like (which are far too uncommon).

My wife an I were just talking about how there is a shortage of high quality basic food items in your average food shop in this city. For instance, if you walk into a coffee shop and order a bagel, it's usually terrible. Most bakeries don't even sell bread, instead they make muffins and cupcakes - which are fine but a little one dimensional. It seems that if you want a bagel, you'll have to go to one of the 3-5 decent bagel places around the city/suburbs. Good bread? - Try another bakery. Good meat? - specialty butcher. Good produce - good luck. I'm tired of doing my shopping in a dozen different places.

Sorry for the rant but this thread supports the the idea that we "settle" for such crappy food to the point that it merits a point/counterpoint argument for or against places that shouldn't even be considered sandwich options.

Nice rant tyrus. I'm with ya!

seebee wrote:And they use that awful, vile sugary super sweet glop to make their tuna, chicken, and "seafood" (bwahahah!) salads. EEEEWWW. Just plain revolting. it's like have a seafood flavored ice cream with onions and celery sprinkled in it. not sure how sugary tuna appeals to the masses, but more power to them, I guess.

I didn't remember Subway's tuna salad being sugary, but this piqued my curiosity. So, I passed by a Subway store today for a tuna sub. I didn't taste a bit of sugar in it. Certainly nothing that could be equated with ice cream.

I'm not going to say that Subway is the greatest thing ever, but at least the ingredients are generally fresh, and it's a lot more healthful than other fast food options.

eelton wrote:

seebee wrote:And they use that awful, vile sugary super sweet glop to make their tuna, chicken, and "seafood" (bwahahah!) salads. EEEEWWW. Just plain revolting. it's like have a seafood flavored ice cream with onions and celery sprinkled in it. not sure how sugary tuna appeals to the masses, but more power to them, I guess.

I didn't remember Subway's tuna salad being sugary, but this piqued my curiosity. So, I passed by a Subway store today for a tuna sub. I didn't taste a bit of sugar in it. Certainly nothing that could be equated with ice cream.

From John Steinbeck's Cannery Row -

"While he ate his sandwich and sipped his beer, a bit of conversation came back to him. Blaisedell, the poet, had said to him, "You love beer so much. I'll bet some day you'll go in and order a beer milk shake." It was a simple piece of foolery, but it had bothered Doc ever since. He wondered what a beer milk shake would taste like. The idea gagged him but he couldn't let it alone. It cropped up every time he had a glass of beer. Would it curdle the milk? Would you add sugar? It was like a shrimp ice cream. Once the thing got into your head you couldn't forget it."

My four cents:

1. Jimmy John's: The only thing I can get there is the Gargantuan no mayo no oil, which for $8 is not a horrible deal. Sure, I'd rather have a torta from BomBon, but they closed their downtown location. Still, I only get JJ's maybe 4-5x/year.

2. Potbelly's: My work colleagues like it, so I end up there more than I'd like, maybe once/month. I get a wreck extra meat no oil, and it is no better or worse than eating at the cafeteria in our building. The oatmeal cookies mentioned above are a bonus. But I hate when they have musicians - if I'm eating in, it's because I want to talk with my coworkers.

3. Quizno's: I only eat them in two locations: when I'm in visiting our Oakland office for more than two days, or when I'm at O'Hare and haven't had time to stop for a proper meal after work and don't trust the options at my destination. They are way too expensive for the target quality.

4. Subway: I ate Subway a lot in the 80s in graduate school. But now, I just say no.

titus wong wrote:From John Steinbeck's Cannery Row -

"While he ate his sandwich and sipped his beer, a bit of conversation came back to him. Blaisedell, the poet, had said to him, "You love beer so much. I'll bet some day you'll go in and order a beer milk shake." It was a simple piece of foolery, but it had bothered Doc ever since. He wondered what a beer milk shake would taste like. The idea gagged him but he couldn't let it alone. It cropped up every time he had a glass of beer. Would it curdle the milk? Would you add sugar? It was like a shrimp ice cream. Once the thing got into your head you couldn't forget it."

Excellent quote!

tyrus wrote:I used to have a thing against toasted sandwiches...

Funny--me too! It took me several years to try PB for this reason.

I am partial to Jimmy John's because I went to college in Champaign where the founder resides and takes a hand in managing the stores. One of my college buddies actually worked in the flagship store (Green & Locust location) and the sandwiches from there taste pretty good, especially the bread. Since moving to Chicago, I have tried two different locations and will never eat their sandwiches again other than from the Champaign location.

I don't mind Potbelly's, though I agree that most of their stuff is pretty sub-par. However the Wreck on wheat with hot peppers hits the spot at a reasonable price.

Subway is simply terrible.

Quizno's also terrible (lathered in syrupy sauce) and tries to charge high prices to boot.

this thread put me in mind of a great feature on "this american life" about a quizno's manager who was abandoned by the franchise owners and quizno's corporate.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_E ... sched=1076

i'll never ever step in to a quizno's again because of this story.

krm61965 wrote:this thread put me in mind of a great feature on "this american life" about a quizno's manager who was abandoned by the franchise owners and quizno's corporate.

I hate to burst your bubble but sudden shutdowns, missed paychecks, and the like, are not uncommon in the restaurant industry whether the restaurant is part of a chain or an independent. Last year, someone sent a private message about working a banquet at a restaurant formerly mentioned a lot on this board and not being paid for the work.

I give the manager credit for trying to "make things right" for the fellow employees.

Personally, many years ago, I worked with two siblings at a local independent restaurant. The owner came to us on Friday and told us that we would not get paid for three days because of "cash flow problems". My dear younger brother who thinks better on his feet said, "Buddy, that is not the ONLY problem you have ... we are leaving right now (right before dinner rush)." We left immediately and stayed at the back of the parking lot watching everyone else follow. Needless to say, we were paid the next day.

I have to admit that part of my affection for JJs is the fact that I went to college at EIU/Charleston, the birthplace of JJ's. Back then, the Charleston JJ's was one of only two in the country (the other one being in Macomb). And they were BY FAR the best student-budget-priced food shop in that beer-soaked, Godforsaken, cultural and culinary black hole of a hamlet masquerading as a college town. Being right across the street from campus was a major bonus.

But there's a little more to it than that. I like JJs for its simplicity. It's far better than Subway, and doesn't try to be cute and pseudo-gourmet like Quizno's. They feed you a no-nonsense, no-bullshit sandwich with no exotic ingredients or no cutting-edge experimental flavor combinations. While I'm all for trying new and exotic stuff, sometimes I just want an old-school sandwich that doesn't try to be anything but an old-school sandwich. I want something mild and boring, yet satisfying and fulfilling. And JJ's does it better than any chain around, and better than many mom-and-pop joints too. I'm not a big fan of chains and I generally avoid most of them, but this is one instance where I appreciate the consistency and predictability of knowing what I'm going to get from JJ's.

krm61965 wrote:this thread put me in mind of a great feature on "this american life" about a quizno's manager who was abandoned by the franchise owners and quizno's corporate.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_E ... sched=1076

i'll never ever step in to a quizno's again because of this story.

So you're going to punish every Quizno's franchisee because one franchisee 2,500 miles away mismanaged his shop? This strikes me as bizarre and irrational.

Drover wrote:

krm61965 wrote:this thread put me in mind of a great feature on "this american life" about a quizno's manager who was abandoned by the franchise owners and quizno's corporate.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_E ... sched=1076

i'll never ever step in to a quizno's again because of this story.

So you're going to punish every Quizno's franchisee because one franchisee 2,500 miles away mismanaged his shop? This strikes me as bizarre and irrational.

basically, yes.

you should listen to the broadcast on the link. maybe you would not think me so irrational. bizarre yes, but irrational...

plus, of the commercial sub shops jimmy john's is my preference as well.

krm61965 wrote:

Drover wrote:

krm61965 wrote:this thread put me in mind of a great feature on "this american life" about a quizno's manager who was abandoned by the franchise owners and quizno's corporate.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_E ... sched=1076

i'll never ever step in to a quizno's again because of this story.

So you're going to punish every Quizno's franchisee because one franchisee 2,500 miles away mismanaged his shop? This strikes me as bizarre and irrational.

basically, yes.

you should listen to the broadcast on the link. maybe you would not think me so irrational. bizarre yes, but irrational...

plus, of the commercial sub shops jimmy john's is my preference as well.

I did listen to the broadcast. I still don't understand your reaction. I don't understand why you want to stick it to the poor schlub down the street trying to run his store just because some other schlub on the other side of the country did a lousy job of running his own store.

I did listen to the broadcast. I still don't understand your reaction. I don't understand why you want to stick it to the poor schlub down the street trying to run his store just because some other schlub on the other side of the country did a lousy job of running his own store.

i guess just because they are poor schlubs. i don't want to give my food money to poor schlubs. i want to give it to savy restauranteurs. the very idea that one quizno's falls into such a state, considering their corporate presence in our life, just turns me off to encouraging the franchise.

this american life is good, huh?

I don't mind JJ's but I do get tired of them quickly because I only eat the italian night club. I've also experienced some JJ's shops that were consistently good and some that were consistently bad. I remember the one in DeKalb being not only subpar, but awful every time I went there.

like many, my first exposure to JJ's was at Uni (Carbondale, circa early 90's). I still get it every now and again but only do the Vito or the Pepe (Italian meats and ham), which I rate pretty high, plus I happen to like their bread. Their Turkey is the worst and have had one too many experiences with a nice fatty piece lurking b/t the bread, vomit inducing. The other meats are just meh, imo.


Potbelly, i simply love a Wreck on white, everything (with peppers), light mayo. It's one of the best subs on the planet and hits the spot every. single. time.


Subway or Quiznos, never step foot in those places, simply not to my liking at all.

Jimmy John's to be sold. The parent of Arby's and Buffalo Wild Wings is buying the sandwich chain.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/restaur ... ns-be-sold