For anyone looking to read a real discussion about real subs, I highly recommend A sub Comparison - Bari, Riviera, Graziano, Panozzo. It's the perfect antidote to this thread.

-Dan

d4v3, I see that you are from Rogers Park. I grew up there. Capt'n Nemos still make a pretty good sub, and their soups have always been good as well.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

spinynorman99 wrote:The bread is crappy, but no more crappy than most supermarket bread: . . .

That's a really low bar.

=R=

The moment you cross the threshold of a Subway you're submitting to a low bar. Breaking up the components won't raise the bar. Okay, maybe if I walk out with just a cup of black olives, but even then....

thetrob wrote:d4v3, I see that you are from Rogers Park. I grew up there. Capt'n Nemos still make a pretty good sub, and their soups have always been good as well.

I grew up on their Seafarer, which is still my gold standard of tuna subs.

spinynorman99 wrote:

seebee wrote:Not scared to admit I dig Subway once in a while. Here's why:
For 5 bucks, I can go and get a footlong blt with a bunch of veggies, and the ones I go to have a pretty decent hot giardiniera. I can then take it home, and put real turkey on it for a pretty decent club. Other than that, all of their meats are chemical interpretations of food, so, dealbreaker. Their tuna is made with white, greasy, sugar as opposed to mayo -dealbreaker. They use that sugar laden goo in their chemical interpretation of seafood salad, too. The bread doesn't gross me out, but I can tolerate it. When they ask me what kind of bread I want, I always say the exact same thing, "Whatever you grab first, it doesn't matter." Each bread "flavor" is essentially the same white or brown (er.."wheat") loaf with a few different things sprinkled on top before it is put in the oven.

While I certainly am no friend to Subway, their tuna seems to be pretty straightforward:

"TUNA Tuna, regular mayonnaise, water, salt."

"MAYONNAISE, REGULAR Soybean oil, water, whole eggs, egg yolks, vinegar, salt, mustard, lemon
juice concentrate, spices, dried garlic, dried onions, calcium disodium EDTA."

No sugar to speak of. Perhaps your local Subway has gone "rogue" but it appears that their posted ingredients list seems harmless enough.

Excellent catch. Been probably 5 years since I had a tuna sandwich from there, and the binder was definitely a "salad dressing" style white goo then. I also work with someone who was a Subway manager who told me that they used the regular mayo for the sandwich toppings, but a special mayonnaise product for the tuna, chix, and seafood salads which had extra sugar because sugar has preservative qualities. I might go try me a tuna sub from there now.

spinynorman99 wrote:

thetrob wrote:d4v3, I see that you are from Rogers Park. I grew up there. Capt'n Nemos still make a pretty good sub, and their soups have always been good as well.

I grew up on their Seafarer, which is still my gold standard of tuna subs.

I grew up eating Nemo's and remember liking it but the last couple times I had it (within the last couple of years), it was atrocious. I mean inedible. Horrible. I couldn't believe that I ever liked it at all. Apparently, nostalgia can only getcha' so far.

Seebee, as a major opponent of frankenmeats, I'm guessing you'd hate the place, as they seem to be the coin of the realm there.

=R=

seebee wrote:

spinynorman99 wrote:

seebee wrote:Not scared to admit I dig Subway once in a while. Here's why:
For 5 bucks, I can go and get a footlong blt with a bunch of veggies, and the ones I go to have a pretty decent hot giardiniera. I can then take it home, and put real turkey on it for a pretty decent club. Other than that, all of their meats are chemical interpretations of food, so, dealbreaker. Their tuna is made with white, greasy, sugar as opposed to mayo -dealbreaker. They use that sugar laden goo in their chemical interpretation of seafood salad, too. The bread doesn't gross me out, but I can tolerate it. When they ask me what kind of bread I want, I always say the exact same thing, "Whatever you grab first, it doesn't matter." Each bread "flavor" is essentially the same white or brown (er.."wheat") loaf with a few different things sprinkled on top before it is put in the oven.

While I certainly am no friend to Subway, their tuna seems to be pretty straightforward:

"TUNA Tuna, regular mayonnaise, water, salt."

"MAYONNAISE, REGULAR Soybean oil, water, whole eggs, egg yolks, vinegar, salt, mustard, lemon
juice concentrate, spices, dried garlic, dried onions, calcium disodium EDTA."

No sugar to speak of. Perhaps your local Subway has gone "rogue" but it appears that their posted ingredients list seems harmless enough.

Excellent catch. Been probably 5 years since I had a tuna sandwich from there, and the binder was definitely a "salad dressing" style white goo then. I also work with someone who was a Subway manager who told me that they used the regular mayo for the sandwich toppings, but a special mayonnaise product for the tuna, chix, and seafood salads which had extra sugar because sugar has preservative qualities. I might go try me a tuna sub from there now.

Let's not get carried away, I certainly wasn't encouraging a visit. While not classically a sub, Caffe ROM (at the Hyatt Center & Prudential Plaza) has a very good tuna sandwich on very chewy (deliciously so) roll with capers, sliced hardboiled egg, artichoke hearts and red onion. It's head and shoulders above anything Subway can do.

The one good thing about Subway is it's easy to order. Regardless of what meat you actually order, they all taste the same.

Apropos of Subway...There is a Subway fast food shop in the Champaign, IL Amtrak station. There is a sign that says "Subway" and points towards a hall that leads to the restaurant. The same sign also says "Bus" and points in a different direction to the bus station. Besides Amtrak, there is no other train there; i.e. there is no subway train. You can imagine how many confused people there are who exit Amtrak and start to look for a subway station....

I am not a subway fan but have eaten there plenty of times because there was one in my building downtown and there were limited choices there. I avoid it now. I tried Firecracker subs and Jersey Mikes and was not really impressed. My sub of choice is potbelly. I like their new Mediterranean with chipotle hummmus. Its spicy. Get it with all the veggies on it. When I attended UIC, sub of choice was Fontanos. I do not live near the others mentioned like Bari or Alpine. If I was in that neck of the woods I would opt for Johnnies beef instead.

I , er, um.. Like the meatball. Once, twice a year, maybe. With all the veggies and vinegar, no cheese, oil, or wet condiments. Extra giardienira.

Do they still have those 6 inch chicken breast planks? I used to like those, too.
Ooh..I used to love the chicken salad.

When I first joined LTHForum, there was a similar thread in which I vehemently defended Subway. But then, over the past few years, the wonderful folks here have kindly & patiently helped me to grow taste buds, so now I know better.

At some point, the smell of Subway's "bread" baking started triggering my gag reflex, and I started to realize how non-food-like some of their meats are. Where I work now, I have to walk past Graziano's in order to get to Subway, so needless to say, that almost never happens.

Lately I go to Subway with coworkers maybe once per year, to achieve the two-part task of being a team player and reminding myself why I don't eat at Subway more often.

Still, if I were stuck somewhere with scant options (some kind of a food court from hell where all they have is Subway, Sbarro's, and McDonald's), I know I can fill myself up, get some veggies, and keep it relatively healthy by scarfing down an Italian BMT - no cheese, all the veggies, hot giard (or jalapeños if I'm in a "What's giardiniera? We don't have that" part of the country), olives, vinegar, oregano/basil, salt/pepper - like it's a post-apocalyptic nutri-loaf.

D.G.Sullivan wrote:Subway, sure...ok I understand that too, but will admit that every once in a great while a JJ's hits that special spot.

I love their Unwich. I could go for a roast beef right now.

I notice no one has mentioned Mr. Sub.
Mr. Pie swears by the ham & cheese sub at Wilbur's on Narragansett & Montrose.
Do the sandwiches at Costello's count? I haven't been there in ages but I recall really loving The Mess.

Subway was an occasional treat when I was a kid, so I've always had a certain fondness for them. The sandwiches aren't "good," but for a cheap boring weekday lunch, a $5 12" ham sub with all the veggies fills me up more than any other 500-calorie item would. I work in Hyde Park, where there isn't a lot of competition (and the staff at the 57th St. location is unfailingly efficient and pleasant).

Pie Lady wrote:I notice no one has mentioned Mr. Sub.
Mr. Pie swears by the ham & cheese sub at Wilbur's on Narragansett & Montrose.
Do the sandwiches at Costello's count? I haven't been there in ages but I recall really loving The Mess.

Mr Sub actually ain't bad IMHO.
I go to the one on Wells in the loop to get an hot roast beef about once or twice a month and it's always a good sandwich.

Subway's Tuna is a poor substitute for Blimpie's. If you have them add enough vinegar and oregano, you can almost pretend ...

weinstein5 wrote:That is why Potbelly's is my go to Sandwich chain and it brings backs memories of the original in Lincoln Park -

I went to Potbelly's the other day because I had vague memories of enjoying the tuna sub I had there circa 2008. This time around, the tuna was so sparse as to be almost undetectable, so I'm not sure I would return.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

thetrob wrote:d4v3, I see that you are from Rogers Park. I grew up there. Capt'n Nemos still make a pretty good sub, and their soups have always been good as well.

...
Seebee, as a major opponent of frankenmeats, I'm guessing you'd hate the place, as they seem to be the coin of the realm there.

=R=

I've been to Nemo's...once.
I've been doing a very good job of calmly holding my tongue in this thread, EVEN when the name Mr.Sub was brought up.

I used to love both Potbelly and Jimmy John's to get a decent roast beef sandwich with actual mayo instead of reactangular shaped jello loaf with white viscousy sugar. They've both switched to frankenmeats now. Last time I had a Potbelly Turkey sandwich, the meat quality may have been worse than Subway. For me, Jimmy John's is no longer an option, last rb I got from there, the meat was inedibly salty. Given a choice between the two, I'd still pick Potbelly for the chicken salad, but the main draw for me at Potbelly would be the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, not the sandwiches. Mr Sub tho - ugh. From the ersatz meat flavored loaves, to the white "cheez," to the Bonnie Scheer brand, sugar laden, excuse for mayo, I get the heebie jeebies just thinking of that stuff. Biting into a sandwich with those meat loaves is just chill inducing. I do have a Mr Sub near the house which I do go to once or twice a year for two things:
1. Chicken wing dinner with fries. It's like 8 fried wings served on a mound of fries for around 6 bux.
2. Fried fish sandwich (which is not on the menu at this one anymore, but the past two times I've asked if they had it, the counter person says "no," but then another guy yells out "Yes, we can still make one!") It's just the same sandwich options with a couple of frozen, breaded fish planks. I can then take that thing home and put real mayo on it. (I don't even want to discuss what their sugary mayo substitute would taste like on a pice of fried fish.) I have never understood why people think sugary goo on fish is delicious. Most tartar sauce is an absolute atrocity.
I'd really, really, truly like to see these places made, by law, to call their frankenmeats as they are: Something like "turkey flavored loaf," or "roast beef style loaf." I would LOVE to see that happen. Have those meatloaf style concoctions been around forever? I just never remember seeing or eating them as a kid. Maybe I just didn't notice.

So you see, Ron, I've been holding my tongue, camly and politely.


Friends don't let friends believe this is turkey:

Subway is a semi-regular stop for me, its right next to the dry cleaner we use. Fast and easy, my standard order really hits the spot, diet coke and a bag of sun chips. Thought of a subway sandwich never even crosses my mind, had one a dozen or so years ago and the memory lingers.

This video indicates that, with Subway natural and healthy eating, we're all on the right path. How could the mother of a 22-medal Olympian be wrong!

Santander wrote:This video indicates that, with Subway natural and healthy eating, we're all on the right path. How could the mother of a 22-medal Olympian be wrong!

That video makes me sad.

-Dan

In the hectic early months with a baby, Jimmy John's delivery often saved me from a far worse fate: Hot Pockets.

toria wrote: I tried Firecracker subs and Jersey Mikes and was not really impressed......

(bolding mine), the key sandwich to try at Jersey Mikes is the roast beef. According to a couple mgrs I've spoken with, EACH Jersey Mikes cooks off ON PREMISE their own real roast beef, by real I mean whole muscle like what you or I would buy in a meat shop, not fabricated meat. There are not very many delis that cook off their own products, safe to say near none of the chain variety. I very much enjoy the roast beef sandwich at Jersey Mikes & will seek them out when I have no better intell on the area I'm in.

I just had 3 nephews on a roadtrip up to N Wisconsin, time was of the essence and while I try to search out Cousins (a Wis HQd sub chain) when getting to our place in N Wisconsin, they sadly have been dwindling as their marketing department never has been strong nor has their franchising system (if the ex territory mgr from the NW burbs can be believed, which I'm guessing he can as the two Cousins shops that used to be located in Schaumburg and Rolling Meadows have closed awhile ago.) Anyways, back to the story, so my nephews & I are on a schedule and Subway was the choice (their choice). Turns out Subway had a Cuban Pork sandwich (I've found out only in the Wis market), real shredded pork (not very Cuban'ish') on flat bread w/some cheap watery ham, mustard & pickles. Of course this version of a Cuban is not close to the real thing but I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and dare I say I 'enjoyed' my sandwich, enough to make me go back to Subway? noway.

Besides, the company I used to work for sold turkey and hame to subway & I can tell you years ago the rolls we sold to subway consisted of meat slurry and mostly water weight through addition of carrageenan & other water holding substances, I can only assume it is still the same. What's the saying about never wanting to see sausage made???

Scarfed down a 6 in tuna today. Not nearly as bad as I have had in the past. Sugar flavored mayo substitute is not used in the tuna. I apologize to Subway.

Subway is the absolute bottom of the food chain. At least here in Morelia when you buy a torta the meat is real, the bread is fresh, and there is actual flavor. Ripe tomatoes. Fresh avocados.

trpt2345 wrote:Subway is the absolute bottom of the food chain.

This must be hyperbole. Because no one can honestly say such a thing with a straight face while McDonalds is still out there, serving vinyl "cheese food product"-topped fried-drink-coaster patties on stale foam buns.

And don't even get me start on Sbarro's...I'd rather have Subway everyday for a month than eat Sbarro's "Italian" crap.

cough White Castle cough

Pie Lady wrote:I notice no one has mentioned Mr. Sub.
Mr. Pie swears by the ham & cheese sub at Wilbur's on Narragansett & Montrose.

I've given them multiple chances. But, if there's a sub chain I hate more than Subway, Mr. Sub would be it. Every single time I've eaten there--and no, I'm not exaggerating for effect--the bread has been so stale or chewy or whatnot that it literally--and I mean literally---caused my jaw pain from chewing. I wish I was making that up, but that's been my experience. I think 2004 was the last time I had a Mr. Sub. And it didn't matter where. Location near Midway, location downtown, it was all the same. The bread was only edible if it was microwaved or otherwise warmed. Terrible, terrible subs. Ugh. And I'm the guy who likes Jimmy John's, so you know my bar isn't set exactly high.

Khaopaat wrote:

trpt2345 wrote:Subway is the absolute bottom of the food chain.

This must be hyperbole. Because no one can honestly say such a thing with a straight face while McDonalds is still out there, serving vinyl "cheese food product"-topped fried-drink-coaster patties on stale foam buns.

And don't even get me start on Sbarro's...I'd rather have Subway everyday for a month than eat Sbarro's "Italian" crap.

I doubt there are many people in this country that don't have some childhood association with a McDonald's meal. McDonald's is beyond food, it's meta-food. It's an association with a past memory, neither good nor bad, it just "is."

Subway's approach to food is like some form of culinary Mad-Libs. There are steps and ingredients that appear to be appropriate to food preparation but the end product is nonsensical.