Subway - Tastes Like A Tuesday

Subway Experience Summary

Subway is the control sandwich shop for me. My philosophy is you need to have a defined comparison for a review.

Subway is the sandwich baseline.

I hope that everyone has had Subway once so they can use it to adjust for my other sandwich reviews. For example, the Blues City Deli Hot Italian is a 9.5. Subway's Hotshot Italian is a 5.

I used to go to Subway daily as an analyst in my first job. I got a five-dollar footlong, and right out of college, it was an excellent deal because you could eat half for lunch and half for dinner.

For five bucks, it was pretty sweet.

Problem is that $11 footlong doesn't have the same ring to it.

Additionally, the quality and taste are either the same or worse.

Ultimately, I don't understand why anyone would go to Subway at this point, given that premium sandwiches only cost $2 more after tax and tip.

The Food At Subway

Having been there over one hundred times, I know how to order.

The key is to get it toasted and put every topping on the sandwich you enjoy to maximize the value of your $11.

If I'm eating there every day, I get something with chicken as a base to minimize calories, but this time, I got my favorite - the Italian BMT.

They now call it a Hotshot Italian because they are fancy, and it costs $10.99 instead of $5.

The sandwich tasted good for what it is and earned its solid 5 out of 10 rating. At a high level:

• They don't give you a lot of meat

• The bread is solid and holds the sandwich together

• The flavor comes from wherever you put on top of the meat

• The meat, pepperoni in particular, hits you at the end of the bite

The first hit of flavor to your face is the peppers. The jalapenos have a bite to them but get mellowed out by the tomatoes and lettuce.

After that flavor fades, the pepperoni fills in. I never really tasted the salami.

A six-inch sub still fills you up solidly, but more amazing to me is that the whole footlong is about 1,200 calories. They must hide calories in the bread, cheese, and processed meat. Typical meat like the pastrami at Carl's doesn't have nearly the same astronomical calorie count.

My big surprise from having a lot of sandwiches recently is the lack of meat at Subway. Subway gives you four slices of whatever meat you ordered on a foot long, but it seems like essentially nothing after having meat fall into my lap at Carl's and BCD.

Overall, I enjoyed the sandwich, but I won't be going back any time soon.

Subway Atmosphere And Miscellaneous

Subway still smells like Subway.

After the wave of nostalgia wears off and you start standing in line, you realize Subway is fast.

You gotta give them that.

Maybe one or two people were in front of me in line, but I got in and out in less than five minutes. They have their assembly line way of making sandwiches down to a science with no wasted effort. Everything about the line setup and order processes has been optimized.

The restaurants are always clean, and you know you're getting a branded product that won't have any food quality issues.

My big gripe with Subway is that it's just got way more expensive. A mediocre Subway footlong is only a dollar less than all these premium sandwiches I've tasted recently.

It's nuts.

For an extra dollar, the difference in ingredient quality is enormous. So, I don't understand why people go to Subway unless they're in a rush. Or they live in a sandwich desert, of which I do not.

Parking At Subway

Parking is super easy. There's a giant parking lot at my local Subway. Usually, there are places where you can park in front of a Subway no sweat.

Subway Receipt

Sandwich Size Comparisons