Submitted by admin on Thu, 2005-10-06 23:00. ::
All the sandwich chains seem to have a gimmick. Panera positions itself as the hip, upscale sandwich shop, while Subway claims its subs promote weight loss. But D’Angelo may have trumped them all by inking David Ortiz as a spokesman. Hey, if it’s good enough for Big Papi, it’s good enough for me.
Now we have a new entrant into the sandwich arena fighting for mindshare with quirky commercials touting its special “toasted” subs. I’ve seen the Quiznos commercials, and I’ll admit to some skepticism. Is toasting really enough of a gimmick to propel Quiznos ahead of sandwich stalwarts Subway and Panera?
Last week, I decided to see for myself. I called up my sister and she was game for a little taste testing, so we headed for the Quiznos on Amherst Street.
The decor is reminiscent of Panera and other chain restaurants. The walls are brightly colored and covered with multiple posters proclaiming Quiznos’ fresh ingredients and large selection. I imagine all Quiznos look basically the same, whether you’re on Amherst Street in Nashua or Main Street in Nashville.
We took our subs to go, in part because my sister was TiVo-ing the Red Sox Wild Card-clinching game, but also because most of the high-topped tables looked like they could use a good cleaning. Several were littered with bits of lettuce and tomato, left behind by recent patrons. The sub shop itself was not dirty. It just looked like the tables needed to be wiped down.
The servers behind the counter prepared our subs right in front of us, adding each ingredient per our request. The subs were then placed on a special conveyer oven for approximately 45 seconds, or so says the Quiznos corporate Web site.
The end result is a warm, flavorful concoction that proves maybe toasting is enough of a gimmick to give Quiznos the edge. One bite, and I was sold. The toasting itself seems to serve three purposes: It warms the ingredients, melts the cheese and toasts the bread.
I had ordered the Mesquite Chicken with bacon ($4.39-$8.09), which proved an excellent choice. According to the corporate Web site, the Mesquite Chicken recently surpassed the Classic Italian ($4.09-$7.89) as Quiznos’ most popular sub worldwide. For the record, there are 4,000 Quiznos restaurants around the world in 15 different countries.
My sandwich overflowed with big chunks of mesquite-grilled chicken, crispy bacon, melted cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and a ranch dressing that really gave it an extra kick. I could taste the freshness of the tomatoes. The sesame seed-covered sub roll was soft and just a little blackened on the edges by the toasting.
My sister opted for the Turkey Ranch & Swiss ($4.09-$7.89), and her sandwich was piled with a generous portion of turkey, melted Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and ranch dressing.
Our subs were so packed with ingredients, the rolls weren’t strong enough to hold in everything. Both my sub and my sister’s split open on the other side, causing the dressing and other ingredients to spill out. The folks at Quiznos seem to subscribe to the theory that the messier the sandwich, the better.
We had decided to split a bowl of the chili ($3.29), but Quiznos only had enough left to fill a cup ($2.39), even though the restaurant was still three hours from closing. A cup was more than enough, however. The chili was hot but bland and a little too thick for my liking.
On a whim, my sister and I had each picked up one of Quiznos’ pre-packaged desserts, too. She opted for the Chocolate Chip Cookie ($1.09) while I selected the Chocolate Bundt Cake ($1.69). The cookie was merely mediocre – and a little stale to boot. We agreed there was nothing to recommend this cookie over the varieties offered by Quiznos’ competitors.
The label on the lid of my pre-packaged, chocolate-frosted bundt cake promised “a moist and delicious chocolate cake that will melt in your mouth.” It was moist, yes. But delicious? Well, I think my sister said it best.
In other words, if you have a hankering for chocolate cake, you’d be better off looking elsewhere. But if you’re in the mood for a warm, hearty, toasted sandwich and maybe a little chocolate afterward, Quiznos is your place.
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