Well, it's time for another "chain" review.
Our usual stand on chains is that they are pretty consistent in what they provide and that we the people usually know exactly what that will be. Of course, there can be good experiences and bad, which is sometimes about the food and sometimes about the staff, but the food is essentially what it is. This is obviously a generalization, but a pretty reliable one.
This has been the case with this Subway in Charleston pretty much for the 12 years we have lived here. However, Subway, rather recently has changed their offerings, creating a bunch of more "artisan" or "premium" sandwiches and they have also upped their price points accordingly.
Tonight, the staff was friendly and efficient, however much of the food was disappointing and not worth the price point being charged. We got 6 sandwiches, 3 foot longs and 3 six inch. Five of our sandwiches were in the Subway Series category and one was a Subway Classic.
The classic (meatball marinara) was tried and true and came as it usually does and is well loved by the taker.
The elite chicken bacon ranch was modified only to exclude tomatoes. It looked a hot mess and was definitely not up to the par of a named premium or artisan sandwich. The taker enjoyed the taste but it was not worthy of the upgrade from classic to a premium category.
The Cheesy Garlic Steaks were not modified other than for cheese types and they were not good. We got two of these and both were a mess to look at, jappearing as a glued together blob stuck on either side of the bread with nothing in the center. The meat was meh, certainly not premium. Due to the way it was all melted together , there was no balance to the sandwich or to the flavor. It was edible similar to the classic steak and cheese but definitely did not live up to the upgrade in presentation or taste. They have no business charging the amount of money they are charging for this sandwich, nor having it as a premium sandwich - not the way they came. We were very disappointed and will not likely take a chance on these again.
The Ultimate BMT we will reserve commenting on because the person partaking is on chemo and her taste buds are kind of faulty right now. That said, she did enjoy her sandwich, it just tasted off from what she is used to. We will assume that is on her end though and leave that at her feet rather than the sandwich itself.
The final sandwich "The Boss" has not been eaten yet, so we cannot comment on that one.
And finally it REALLY sticks in my craw when we order sandwiches and they are NOT identified on the outside of the sandwich. ESPECIALLY when some orders are the same type with different modifications. This is just lazy and inexcusable. Put identifying info on the paper of the sandwiches please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I will say this is not exclusive to Subway.
I can't say we will never patronize Subway again but should we visit again, we will definitely stick to a basic, classic sub and steer clear of all of the upgraded, up charged sandwiches. There are several other sandwich shops in town and I will say they usually live up to their standards in presentation and taste and matching costs. This has caused Subway to fall down lower on our charts, which does mean we will choose it less often. If you are going to offer a sandwich as a premium or signature sandwich at a premium price, make sure it lives up to it. read more
