Subway Sandwiches: Fast, Cheap & Healthy

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

Donno about America, but here in Australia the amount of meat you get in Subway is perfectly fine. Just as much as in that flash presentation.

 

[moose]

You can't get real bread in the US, what are you all talking about? I've been to Europe countless times (my grandparents live in Poland) and good god the bread is amazing. All of it. The best here sucks.

 

[JasonRox]

Donno about America, but here in Australia the amount of meat you get in Subway is perfectly fine. Just as much as in that flash presentation.

Americans like to eat more I believe. So a lot for you, is very little for them.

 

[Moonbear]

Happen to remember any details? I've been looking for a good one!

It was a while ago, so I hope it's still there and still as good as it used to be. They also had lots of dessert/pastry things (that far outnumbered the breads...that's what you notice first is all the sweets). It was downtown, on that street that they have the farmer's market (if they still have that), a corner shop, a few blocks up from the convention center, and a block or two in (i.e., away from the river). It would be a long hike from the university. Now, my impression may have been a bit skewed, since I had already been living in MI by then, and the only decent bakery in the area where I was living charged a fortune for everything. Oh, it's primarily a French bakery. I think they also had a deli counter, though I didn't get sandwiches there, so don't know how they were...I opted to get the bread and coffee there, then wander around the farmer's market for fresh fruits. The coffee there was good too. Hopefully it hasn't been replaced by a Starbucks.

I also agree with Jason that service is always slow in Subways, and the people who work there can't even cut the bread in half (for a 6") without squashing the bread. And, their meat is really cheap, and yes, very salty too. It's not worth the price. I just can't figure out how these sort of chains have driven the good mom and pop shops out of business. How can people prefer this crap over fresh-made rolls and good quality meats? It's not like it's even cheaper than going to a real deli. Even an expensive NYC deli is cheaper for the amount of food you get than a Subway, and I can eat half the sandwich and wrap the remainder for dinner when I go to a real deli. For what you get at a Subway, you might as well buy a loaf of Wonderbread (wonder if it's even bread) and some meat at the grocery store and make your own sandwich. I can't even figure out how Starbucks drove our little mom and pop coffee shop out of business either. The mom and pop shop had some fancy drinks too, and really good coffee, and you didn't even have to cross a busy highway to get to it from the campus, so I just can't figure out why people would choose Starbucks' burnt, over-priced coffee over the nice mom and pop shop that sold good coffee for a reasonable price? The mom and pop shop even sold loose coffee beans, so you could buy exactly the amount you wanted of the flavor you wanted, not the pre-packaged beans Starbucks sells in quantities too large to get the benefit of fresh, whole beans.

[/rant]

 

[Moonbear]

You can't get real bread in the US, what are you all talking about? I've been to Europe countless times (my grandparents live in Poland) and good god the bread is amazing. All of it. The best here sucks.

That's because you live in AZ. I don't know why it is, but it seems that if your state doesn't touch an ocean, you can't get good bread. I walked into a bakery in Cincinnati once, and watched in horror as they took the fresh bread, still warm from the oven, and stuck it straight into plastic bags. I don't think the people there have any taste buds if they can eat that stuff.

My friends think I'm nuts, because when I go back to visit NJ or NY, while most people visiting NY want to go out to all the fancy restaurants, I just want pizza and deli sandwiches, because as soon as you move westward, that all turns to crap.

 

[turbo]

It amazes me that the local Subway has any business at all. There is a sub/pizza shop in town that has been under local ownership and operation for over 35 years. Barry is really good to his staff and he insists on top-quality food and fast polite service. After getting a meatball sub, hoagie, or an Italian sandwich (lots of meat and cheese, vegetables and pickles, with NO lettuce) at Barry's shop, who could stand eating at Subway?:yuck: Probably the same people who pass up his pizzas and eat that bland crap at the Pizza Hut, just a rock's throw from the Subway. All on one end of town is Dunkin' Donuts, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway, KFC, Wendies, McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Tim Horton's. On the other side of town is Barry's shop. That 3-mile separation is probably the only thing keeping him in business because people sure aren't demonstrating much taste if all those crap-merchants can make a living in such a small town (~6000 pop).

 

[usahockey]

"Fast food" is exactly that...fast, cheap, crappy food. It takes a little extra money and time to wait for a quality meal...that said, I think that Quizno's probably gives you the best quality and quantity of meat of the fast food type sub shops. Any other chain, forget it, but quizno's seems decent to me.

BTW, I do find the cookies at subway to be quite good.

 

[turbo]

"Fast food" is exactly that...fast, cheap, crappy food. It takes a little extra money and time to wait for a quality meal...that said, I think that Quizno's probably gives you the best quality and quantity of meat of the fast food type sub shops. Any other chain, forget it, but quizno's seems decent to me.

BTW, I do find the cookies at subway to be quite good.

Well the Quizno's in this area are crap, then. This is an area used to dealing with recent European immigrants (OK long enough ago for their food to be "traditional" in the common sense) and we have regional specialties like Dynamites. These are hot spicy sausage-like meatball sandwiches with spicy tomato sauces, onions, and peppers. The meatballs are long and rolled out by hand and the sauces and spices are passed on through families, not shared (OK, I'll spill the beans, but families in the food trade wouldn't talk for love or money).

 

[JasonRox]

I also agree with Jason that service is always slow in Subways, and the people who work there can't even cut the bread in half (for a 6") without squashing the bread. And, their meat is really cheap, and yes, very salty too. It's not worth the price. I just can't figure out how these sort of chains have driven the good mom and pop shops out of business. How can people prefer this crap over fresh-made rolls and good quality meats? It's not like it's even cheaper than going to a real deli. Even an expensive NYC deli is cheaper for the amount of food you get than a Subway, and I can eat half the sandwich and wrap the remainder for dinner when I go to a real deli. For what you get at a Subway, you might as well buy a loaf of Wonderbread (wonder if it's even bread) and some meat at the grocery store and make your own sandwich. I can't even figure out how Starbucks drove our little mom and pop coffee shop out of business either. The mom and pop shop had some fancy drinks too, and really good coffee, and you didn't even have to cross a busy highway to get to it from the campus, so I just can't figure out why people would choose Starbucks' burnt, over-priced coffee over the nice mom and pop shop that sold good coffee for a reasonable price? The mom and pop shop even sold loose coffee beans, so you could buy exactly the amount you wanted of the flavor you wanted, not the pre-packaged beans Starbucks sells in quantities too large to get the benefit of fresh, whole beans.

[/rant]

I think mom and pop shops die out because people like to be associated with things. Like, I'm a Nike guy, I'm a Starbucks guy, I'm a Subway fan, and so on. And people can "connect" to people who are associated with such things.

 

[G01]

The city of Scranton, PA (The same one as in The Office) Has tons of mom and pop pizza places and Italian restaurants. I guess its something we should be thankful for. If your ever in Scranton, you could eat nothing but pizza/Italian for weeks and still not go to the same non chain restaurant twice. I think the reason there are so many non chain restaurants in Scranton is that, for some reason, there are very few chain restaurants in the city. The only exception is subway, of which there are at least 8 within a short drive from downtown, and 2 within a short walk from my campus in downtown.(Hence the inspiration for the thread). I guess we should consider ourselves lucky to have so many non-chain restaurants. I hear its not the same throughout the rest of the country, (especially with pizza places).

 

[scorpa]

My town has only one restaurant and it has been going since my parents can remember. It is dirty and small but I'll be damned if they don't make the best clubhouse I've ever had, I've never had a bad meal out of that place. You walk in and know everyone inside, the owners always come out to ask how school is going ...which is kind of tough sometimes cause the old man has one helluva chinese accent and it isn't getting better with age, great people though. I would take that place over Subway...ect anyday :)

 

[Data]

It was a while ago, so I hope it's still there and still as good as it used to be. They also had lots of dessert/pastry things (that far outnumbered the breads...that's what you notice first is all the sweets). It was downtown, on that street that they have the farmer's market (if they still have that), a corner shop, a few blocks up from the convention center, and a block or two in (i.e., away from the river). It would be a long hike from the university. Now, my impression may have been a bit skewed, since I had already been living in MI by then, and the only decent bakery in the area where I was living charged a fortune for everything. Oh, it's primarily a French bakery. I think they also had a deli counter, though I didn't get sandwiches there, so don't know how they were...I opted to get the bread and coffee there, then wander around the farmer's market for fresh fruits. The coffee there was good too. Hopefully it hasn't been replaced by a Starbucks.
[/rant]

Thanks. The market's certainly still there; I'll have to do a bit of scouting for the bakery!

 

[Moonbear]

Thanks. The market's certainly still there; I'll have to do a bit of scouting for the bakery!

Oh, and I suppose that was in from the canal, not in from the river...I was recalling a body of water, but only upon re-reading did I remember it's a canal in Ottawa.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I think subway bread is the worst. Usually dry and burned.

 

[turbo]

I think subway bread is the worst. Usually dry and burned.

It has no mass nor character. A roll suitable for making a sub sandwich should have crispy crust and a center that has enough consistency to complement the fillings. Subway bread has neither and falls to a level just short of commercially-available hot-dog buns. NOT good.

 

[Data]

Oh, and I suppose that was in from the canal, not in from the river...I was recalling a body of water, but only upon re-reading did I remember it's a canal in Ottawa.

There's a canal and a river through downtown. The market's a couple of blocks from each!