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Way of the Sub — and the Winner is …

Back in November, I embarked on a Way of the Sub nutrition and fitness challenge.  About ¾ of a mile away from my work, there exists 4 sub eateries on 4 corners.  I walked to these different eateries during my lunch break and, one at a time, ordered my lunch and graded the experience accordingly. 

The 4 locations that I went to were Jersey Mikes, Jimmy Johns, Publix, and Subway.  I evaluated the four locations by their bread, meat portion, overall taste, cost, and the wait time. 

I evaluated each location via three meals:  their roast beef sandwich, their Italian sandwich, and then one of their specialty sandwiches (who knew not all places have a meatball sub). 

The place that came in last place was Publix Subs.  Now, don’t get me wrong, they do try to make a good sub; but, their bread is the worst of the locations and it often is hard and overwhelms what otherwise is a good combination of what I like on a sandwich.  In addition, the wait time can be long even though you never see anyone sitting around doing nothing. 

In 3rd place Jersey Mikes.  Jersey Mikes was typically the highest cost of all of the locations and they use non-conventional sizes of bread to try and disguise that; although, their bread rated the best overall.  I liked their sandwiches but when it came to their Philly, I was drastically disappointed with the amount of meat they put into it. 

In 2nd place was Jimmy Johns.  I have been to Jimmy Johns before and always thought you didn’t get that much for what you spent; but, they were fast, courteous, and put out a nice Italian sandwich.  I would not order a roast beef sandwich from them again … but, other than that meat choice, they seem to be reasonable. 

But, much to my surprise, the winner was Subway.  I went into this competition thinking it would finish more towards the end; but, their costs (in comparison) couldn’t be denied, their bread complimented whatever they served up (especially their Meatball), and they had an efficient processing system handling the lunchtime crowd.  It was their overall balanced scoring that put them on top. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, the scores were very close and the differentiations were minimal.  These are chains and you are going to get a chain-like meal.  For the best overall subs, I think you need to go to those independent business owners that take pride in what they serve up versus the four chains that I went to who just have a corporate response to serving the masses. 

And finally, wouldn’t it be great to be given a sandwich, burger, or whatever, handed to you that looks just like the picture!?! 

2 Comments

  • John Wright says:
    January 15, 2022 at 3:09 pm

    Thanks for the update on the sandwiches . It’s a lot about the bread. Is it worth the carbs?

  • coach says:
    January 15, 2022 at 9:08 pm

    I don’t worry too much about carbs and such — whatever I consume has to be combated by exercise/sweat. I would encourage you to try one sub at each place and tell me what you think — I just don’t like the Publix bread and, it is the bread that you bite into first!