Quiznos subs nearly as good as chocolate

Thursday, July 14, 2005

I love Quiznos with the kind of fierce adoration I usually reserve for items coated in chocolate.

It may be unfair of me to enter a restaurant with an opinion already formed, but even if I had never eaten a toasted Quiznos sub (where I come from we call them hoagies, but Ill play along), I would have enjoyed my recent lunch there.

Five co-workers and I descended upon the glass-fronted restaurant at prime lunch hour time, and were swiftly served Between us, we got a French dip, a veggie sub, a traditional and a handful of turkey subs. I got the turkey bacon guacamole, and was quite pleased when they let me substitute mushrooms for tomatoes.

What makes Quiznos unique is that it toasts your sub, which makes the cheese melt and ooze all over. I love it. The worker takes your order, piles ingredients high, then sets the sub on what looks like a little cookie rack for its ride through the oven. When the sub comes out on the other side, its topped with lettuce and other veggies (ones that arent amenable to toasting) and sauce, and is wrapped up for your enjoyment.

We loaded up on drinks and chips and retreated to our table, which was nice and clean. My favorite fountain drink, SoBe Lean Cranberry Grapefruit, was out of order, but after a brief pout I settled on raspberry lemonade, which turned out to be quite delicious.

I like the atmosphere in Quiznos almost as much as the food. Its decorated in beige, red and green, with old-looking posters on the wall and Italian words everywhere. It feels classy, but not so classy as to be intimidating. Quiznos restaurants, in my experience, are always clean, well-staffed and friendly, with top-40 hits as background music. I like to feel tall by sitting at the window table, which is really a shelf that runs the length of the restaurants glass front, with stools underneath. (Added bonus: You can watch people walk by and make up their life stories.)

The turkey bacon guacamole sandwich was very nicely toasted, overloaded with veggies and turkey and smeared with guacamole. It also had ranch dressing on it, which I admit was glopped on a little thick: It oozed out of the bottom of the sub whenever I took a bite from the top.

The general consensus at our table was that, while Quiznos tends to be more pricey than similar chains, the extra green is worth it for the fresh vegetables, melted cheese and unique flavor combinations.

Well, except the coworker who ordered the French dip au jus. He didnt much appreciate the onion sauce on his toasty sub.

A creamy onion concoction on something Im planning to dip in meat juice was not good, he noted sagely, after sneaking a peek at the menu board to make sure the onion sauce was supposed to come with the sub. (It was.)

In addition to various brands of chips, Quiznos offers cookies and little Bundt cakes, bottled Starbucks and SoBe drinks, and fountain drinks. A table in the dining area is loaded with pepperoncinis, jalapenos, pickles and banana peppers, perfect for the hardy palate.

Its important to note as well that this particular restaurant has stopped serving soup while the weather is so hot, so if youre craving some Quiznos clam chowder youll just have to sit tight until the snow flies. Given Quiznos track record of deliciousness, Im sure the wait will be worth it.

Our anonymous restaurant reviewer likes Quiznos new Baby Bob commercials way better than the ones with those strange singing hamster creatures. Send comments to Managing Editor Mike Alexieff at 783-3235. New restaurants will be given at least an eight-week grace period.

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