This week I spent most of my food allowance on gasoline. That’s because I drove around town with thoughts of where I wanted to eat for my review this week, and found I was turned away for a variety of reasons.

I was beside myself and couldn’t think of any white tablecloth restaurants that had not been reviewed lately, so I darted into Jimmy John’s sandwich shop. The shop is brightly lit on an otherwise dark Russellville Road. Whenever I drive by it reminds me of an oasis one might see in a movie where a couple first shares a friendship-building casual meal. The music was fun, catchy and enjoyable in an otherwise quiet atmosphere. Only the two young women taking orders and making sandwiches were present throughout my entire meal, with the occasional appearance of a delivery person, who looked quite busy.

What a great asset so near the Western campus, with a catchphrase of: “Your mom wants you to eat at Jimmy John’s.”

I ordered the giant beach club sandwich and was served the sandwich before I could even pay for it. Now that’s fast service.

The club sandwiches boast twice as much meat and cheese as Jimmy John’s sub sandwiches. The beach club is a combination of turkey breast, provolone cheese, avocado spread, cucumber, sprouts, lettuce, tomato and mayo.

While the meat and cheese portions were adequate (but not as abundant as the photographs throughout the shop), what I found clearly doubled (maybe even tripled) was the mayonnaise. At the same time, I had to ask about the avocado spread, which was hidden between two slices of cheese. I had only one bite that I tasted the avocado. The menu says this is the real deal in California beach club sandwiches, but I really think if this were true there would be more avocado and less mayo, which I ended up scraping off.

The bread was definitely fresh and delicious, which counteracted the slightly sour sprouts (I removed most of them as well) and the fact that they don’t sell bottled water, only soft drinks.

Jimmy John’s has a variety of sandwiches, including a JJ unwich. You can get a low carb version of any sandwich wrapped in lettuce instead of stacked in bread. I didn’t see this until I completed my meal, or else I would have tried it. The JJ Gargantuan is a $7 sandwich – stacked in abundance with everything the place has to offer.

Over all, Jimmy John’s saved the day this week. I did get a belly full before heading off to a movie and on my way down Russellville Road I spotted a new restaurant – The Bistro. I stopped in to discover it has been open a month. It is, in fact, a white tablecloth experience with seafood, steaks and pastas. They serve both lunch and dinner, so I can eat after 4 p.m. I won’t make the same mistake and wait too long too visit, I’ll keep my fingers crossed that the hours will accurately reflect the times they’ll actually be open and I’ll let you know what I experience.

Jimmy John’s

1916 Russellville Road

Bowling Green, KY

393-8884

Hours: Seven days a week 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Cuisine: American

Specialties: Sandwiches

Libation situation: None

Smoking: No