We go to Subway every two weeks on our way up to Baltimore and frankly, I get REALLY tired of it. So this time I was looking for something different. I found Bon Fresco, but alas, they are closed on Sundays. Drat! Jimmy John's sounded like the next best thing, so away we went.
All the reviews about the speed of service are absolutely correct. However, I watched what was happening behind the counter and quickly learned the reason they are so speedy is that they have three or four guys doing an assembly line with the sandwiches and everything is pre-packed in paper, so they just slap it on the bread and move to the next guy. I'm sure that saves time during the sandwich making process, but it takes a lot of preparation time and it's a major waste of paper.
I did note that when one guy walked away to do something elsewhere, he removed his glove, threw it away and put on a new one when he returned. Huge thumbs up there - I am constantly amazed how many food workers put gloves on to make food, but then take money, wipe their faces, clean counters, etc., with the same gloves on. Yuck!
Anyway, our food was prepared very quickly and we were excited to try this new place. We got the reduced fat chips after a quick glance told us they were 130 calories and 5 grams of fat, not bad. We were very disappointed to learn later, when we actually ate our lunch, that there are 2 servings in that small bag, so we were duped into eating 260 calories of chips, which we simply would not have purchased had they not been sneaky like that. I hate that kind of thing. Too bad, as the chips were very yummy and exactly the kind I love, all crunchy, and folded over for extra crunchy goodness. Sigh...
So - later that day when we ate our lunch we compared notes and both felt that the sandwiches were passably good, but nothing special. A little bland, perhaps. The meats were bordering on flavorless and there was little about any of it to call memorable. Mine had avocado spread, which I couldn't taste at all, though I did relish the alfalfa sprouts, which were delightful. That was actually the best part of the sandwich, in my opinion. Which is kinda sad... The bread is fairly tasty, but nothing mind-blowing.
For those who are interested in this kind of thing, Jimmy John's does have a fantastic nutritional info website - it's set up beautifully. You can choose the meal you want, add or subtract ingredients and get it exactly as you would order it, and it gives you all the info you need to make an informed decision about your nutritional intake. Unfortunately, their diligence and disclosure has also been their downfall as far as we are concerned. The sodium in their bread is sky high, and although they do offer sandwiches made with lettuce rather than bread - good job there! - the sodium content is still sky high. And frankly the taste is just not there - there's no reason to deal with all that sodium for all the calories and sodium.
Their sandwiches range from 400-900 calories, with most of them around the 700-800 mark. That's just too high for my taste. And the sodium is off the charts. And for a bland-ish sandwich that was okay, but nothing special it's not really worth it.
They get three stars from me because I know I am being very critical and if I had just walked in, sat down and eaten without thinking about the content, I would have though, eh, it's all right. I would have gone back, but not been in a hurry about it. I would have ordered a little differently and been specific about what I wanted and seen if the flavor improved, given them a chance to show me a better taste. So I am rating on that - but I wanted to provide the other information because to me, at least, it's important. I can't be the only one.
If it's not to you - hey, go have a sandwich. They're not bad. read more
