Jersey Mike's - Sub Sandwiches

Full disclosure - before the owner of Jersey Mike's in Naperville opened his store, he was a business friend of mine.

That said, I haven't tried the new place yet. I was wondering if anyone else has.

I did a quick search and found that YourPalWill enjoyed the chain in the past. They seem a cut above the regular sub chains.

According to my friend, the Naperville location is doing the most sales of any Jersey Mike's store. It may be a fine sandwich option in the western 'burbs.

Jersey Mike's
2555 West 75th Street
Suite 121
Naperville, IL 60540
Phone: 630-364-2982
Fax: 630-536-8625

MelT wrote:Full disclosure - before the owner of Jersey Mike's in Naperville opened his store, he was a business friend of mine.

That said, I haven't yet tried the new place yet. I was wondering if anyone else has.

I did a quick search and found that YourPalWill enjoyed the chain in the past. They seem a cut above the regular sub chains.

According to my friend, the Naperville location is doing the most sales of any Jersey Mike's store. It may be a fine sandwich option in the western 'burbs.

Jersey Mike's
2555 West 75th Street
Suite 121
Naperville, IL 60540
Phone: 630-364-2982
Fax: 630-536-8625

I for one am skeptical, looks like yet another sandwich chain. I'll post my conclusive thoughts when the Gurnee one opens in the next few weeks.

There is Jersey Mikes very near my house in Colorado now. It appears that they have expanded their menu a great deal over the years and the presentation and menu is more Subway like. The original JM's were small stores with a prett limited, but very good menu of east coast style subs. You can still get the simply good subs and the bread still appears to be baked in house. There's just a lot more wiundow dressing in the stores now.

I've been to a few Jersey Mike's, one in Charleston, SC the other off of a highway somewhere I do not recall. Both franchises were similar with a plain decor and a deli counter where you order and they slice the meat and cheese right when you order. I remember enjoying the sandwiches on both occasions but not being amazed. All in all seems like a real good alternative to Subway or Jimmy John's. I had no idea there was one in Naperville, I will have to swing by.

the jersey mike's in gurnee just opened - it's on grand, a bit west of gurnee mills, where the old quiznos was. (by the Borders)

haven't had a chance to try it yet... i predict it will be average.

I've had Jersey Mike's in, well, Jersey. I wasn't aware at the time that it was a chain. They're decent, with a Gonella-like roll. Certainly more true deli-like tastes and textures than a Subway/Quiznos/Blimpies/JimmyJohns. I'd probably put it on par with Potbellies.

I went to the one in Naperville. It was quite chaotic, with pretty poor service, but I guess the new staff was overwhelmed.

The question I had was that all the meat was "Jersey Mike" brand. Sandwich tasted ok, but with all the lettuce, tomato, and vinegar, who could tell.....

I'm sure they vary in quality by franchise but the few locations I've been to have been good and I would go there before Subway or Jimmy John's any day. Maybe before Potbelly's depending on what I wanted. I have heard that each location makes its own roast beef every day and accordingly their ultimate club sandwich with roast beef is my usual choice. As far as sandwich chains go, you could do a lot worse.

Well I tried Jersey Mike’s Subs. I had the roast beef sub. It was advertised as cooked on premises using only Certified Angus USDA choice top rounds. I found it basically flavor less. I thought the veggies tasted fresh, but the bread was nothing special.

I used a coupon so the whole thing cost me about $10 for their giant (foot long) size. I thought it was not worth it. Jersey Mike’s might be a step up from Subway, but it is a small step.

D.

Well, I made it there last week, and did enjoy the sandwiches. I ordered the Big Kahuna Cheesesteak -- basically beef, cheese, grilled onions and jalapenos. The works were grilled on a griddle behind the counter, better than you would see in most sandwich shops, and all the meat was sliced to order, rather than sitting in a cold bin pre-portioned in wax paper. The bread is also better than any chain sandwich shop bread I have had.

My buddy, Mark the owner, was working the sandwich slicer, and gave a hearty welcome to everyone that came in. It seemes like the Jersey Mike corporate culture promotes familiarity with the customers and affable welcomes. This happens to suit my friend's personality well, so he is right in his element.

Mark also gave me a couple cold sandwiches to try. All were tasty, with the fresh sliced meat and the good bread making these definately the best chain sub sandwich I have had in a while.

Jersey Mike's is certainly worth a stop if you are in the area. Tell Mark that Mel sent you.

MelT wrote:Well, I made it there last week, and did enjoy the sandwiches. I ordered the Big Kahuna Cheesesteak -- basically beef, cheese, grilled onions and jalapenos. The works were grilled on a griddle behind the counter, better than you would see in most sandwich shops, and all the meat was sliced to order, rather than sitting in a cold bin pre-portioned in wax paper. The bread is also better than any chain sandwich shop bread I have had.

My buddy, Mark the owner, was working the sandwich slicer, and gave a hearty welcome to everyone that came in. It seemes like the Jersey Mike corporate culture promotes familiarity with the customers and affable welcomes. This happens to suit my friend's personality well, so he is right in his element.

Mark also gave me a couple cold sandwiches to try. All were tasty, with the fresh sliced meat and the good bread making these definately the best chain sub sandwich I have had in a while.

Jersey Mike's is certainly worth a stop if you are in the area. Tell Mark that Mel sent you.

Which location?

=R=

I assume he's referring to the Naperville location.

Yes sir . .

Jersey Mike's
2555 West 75th Street
Suite 121
Naperville, IL 60540
Phone: 630-364-2982
Fax: 630-536-8625

The Jersey Mike’s I visited was:

1640 North Milwaukee Avenue
Suite 200
Vernon Hills

D.

Haven't eaten at the Jersey Mike's location in Naperville but did eat next door at Pizza Fusion. Jersey Mike's was packed and spilling out onto the sidewalk with sport team kids. Interesting location line-up, Meat Heads in on the other side of Pizza Fusion.

dodger wrote:The Jersey Mike’s I visited was:

1640 North Milwaukee Avenue
Suite 200
Vernon Hills

D.

Yes, I noticed, via a billboard on I-294, that there is also a Gurnee location (in addition to VH and Naperville). I'll try one of these out eventually, but I'd be lying if I said I was eagerly looking forward to it.

=R=

There is a Jersey Mike's under construction in Geneva. It's taking over the old Baskin-Robbins Shop at 1770 Randall Road (Next to Applebee's) They are just in the process of stripping out the old fixtures.

I'm a fan of jersey Mike's. I was just telling somebody it's nice to go into a sandwich shop where the people are friendly and articulate. That being said, I believe they are all franchises, and depend on the owner's participation to a great extent.
The meats and cheeses are sliced fresh to order, which slow's things down a bit, but is a nice touch. I like their deli meats and cheese. The roast beef is very good, but not really seasoned. I think that's a good thing, as the whole sub is very flavorful with the Italian seasonings and vinegar and oil. You have to just take a big bite and enjoy the sandwich as a sum of the individual parts.

There's one going in on Golf road just east of Milwaukee Ave in the Wal Mart outlot, next to a Chipotle

Stopped at the Jersey Mike's at the above mentioned Geneva address on Randall Road. First impression was sparkling clean, spacious and enthusiastic staff to the point of being annoying. This store is well staffed and very efficient and working through the softball and soccer teams that began streaming in. I like that all the components of the Italian (#13) sub I had were sliced to order and assembled with the condiments I chose right in front of me. I didn't like the constant banter of the staff, asking us what we were doing, are you out shopping, don't you like the weather? This kept on and was hard to hear over the very loud background noise. The sandwich? Just OK. The meat and cheeses tasted good but I don't like the bread. We decided it was worth one try but no need to return.

I have yet to try a Jersey Mike's. I really dig a good sammich, so I'm sure I'll give in to my curiousity, and try them at some point. Question - can anyone vouch for Jersey Mike's using real meats (like, not "deli-style" turkey jello loaf,) and also vouch for them using real mayo, and not the sugary sweet fake glop? I just have this cynical idea of the masses thinking that Jersey Mike's is better because they slice their meats to order, when in fact, they are just slicing up jello loaves to the ppl that think turkey breasts are rectangular. But since they are slicing the jello loaf fresh, it must be better than Subway, or Mr Submarine.

well, I'd say that's probably an accurate perception, even if they're using the exact same jello loaf as the subways and mr. submarines of the world, which they might not be. all jello loaves are not created equal--there's a world of difference between a high quality turkey product and a low-grade one.

but even if they're not, slicing it fresh is definitely a step in the right direction and leads one to believe that they might also be cutting the vegetables fresh instead of opening a bag of pre-sliced, oxygen-deprived green pepper rings or whatever.

that said, I haven't tried this place, but the new one on golf is on a route I often travel, so if I check them out, I'll report back.

The meats and cheeses in the dairy case didn't seem to have any labeling on them but they are on display in an old fashioned meat counter cooler. They pull whatever out and slice before you. The mayo was kept in a stainless tub on the prep counter as was all the other condiments and refilled in the back room. I did see large jars of the mayo in the visible part of the back room storage but totally spaced out on the label.

i've been to a jersey mike's in Las Vegas and I feel like one in Missouri somewhere but can't recall where

sandwiches were somewhat standard chain sandwich, and not even a hint of anything more gourmet. Sure they may cut the meat there for you, but it's not high quality meat. I'd put the quality on par with Subway if that. Also, nutritionally I'm put off by the fact that all of their breads and mayo are made with high fructose corn syrup, which is enough to make me never go again now that I've looked this up ( http://www.jerseymikes.com/nutritional-information.asp ). Even Subway's white bread and mayo can do better than that.

I've been to the original Jersey Mike's in the seaside resort town of Point Pleasant, New Jersey. I'd love to have one closer to the city.

Just tried the one in the loop - 200 W. Monroe (although it's actually on Wells).
I had the Original Italian. It wasn't bad at all. One issue I have is that it's listed as having among other things ham, proscuittini and cappacuolo. When there were being sliced there was no discernable visual difference in any of them, they all looked like boiled ham just in different shapes. The two thing things that did stand out were the bread and the tomatoes. Both very fresh.
It’s never going to be Bari, JP Graziano or Alpine but for the loop it’ll do.

Since we have this crap delivered at work when I'm not diligent enough to cut the orderer/offender off at the pass, I must comment that, indeed even for the Loop, this place reeks. Within a very short distance of the Loop Jersey Mike's, one can get a totally respectable, if marginally more expensive, Italian sandwich at Rom, Caffe Baci, or Lavazza. Soprafina, even, in a pinch will do. Further away but still in the Loop is a Fontano's (delivery too). And both Graziano's and Bari deliver from the nearby west side. RIP Granata's. Sorry for the rant. Jersy Mike's is no worse than many other sandwich chains in the Loop and is an improvement over several corporate drones. But there's really no reason to go there.

I'd say Jersey Mike's is about a half a step up from Jimmy John's...and that's no compliment.

RIP Mangino's for Loop subs.

zoid wrote: One issue I have is that it's listed as having among other things ham, proscuittini and cappacuolo. When there were being sliced there was no discernable visual difference in any of them, they all looked like boiled ham just in different shapes.

Yeah...this was the dealbreaker for me "Prosciutto" and "Cappicola" that looks like boiled ham would've pissed me off--no matter how good the bread or tomatoes!

Jersey Mike's has the best sandwiches within one block of my office.