Subway sandwich shop has been around for as long as I can remember. They have made a name by featuring sub sandwiches that are made fresh to your specifications. A few years ago they started making commercials with a fellow named Jared, who lost an amazing 100 pounds eating Subway sandwiches with 6 grams of fat or less for lunch and dinner everyday. Then Quiznos came to town and I found myself asking: Which restaurant is better?
I wanted to approach a comparison of the two restaurants with complete fairness. To do this I would need to have several people willing to eat sandwiches from both restaurants at the same time. It would also mean several weeks of trying different sandwiches. It would be unfair to try to draw a conclusion of which restaurant makes a better sandwich by eating just one from each store, so I asked 3 friends to join me in the taste test. I decided to make paper ballots which would include favorite sub and comments. These would be deposited in a coffee can and counted at the end of the sub shop trials.
In an effort to make the taste test fun, I decided on a small weekly get together that would involve 2 different 12″ subs from each store that were similar. I’d serve chips on the side and a choice of soda, beer or bottled water. Each 12″ sub would be cut into four 3″ pieces, one for each of us.
For the first week I purchased:
Subway Hot & Fresh Toasted Italian BMT and Meatball Marinara
Quiznos Signature Classic Italian and Real Deal Meatball
In week 2 my choices were:
Subway Classic Tuna Sub and Fresh Value Turkey Sub
Quiznos Real Deal Deli Tuna and Signature Smoked Turkey Sub
Week 3 was dedicated to Subway’s 6 grams of fat or less and Quiznos Lite Selection, including:
Subway Oven Roasted Chicken and Veggie Delight
Quiznos Honey Bourbon Chicken and Veggie Sub
Week one was a mixed vote. Three out of four liked the Subway Italian BMT over Quiznos Classic Italian. The comments were: “Good pepperoni” and “onions have a better taste.” Quiznos Real Deal Meatball Sub got all 4 votes with comments that included: “better tasting meatballs”, “tastes like homemade spaghetti sauce” and “more cheese makes it taste better.
The second week had a tie and a winner. The Tuna Subs were voted 2 to 2. One comment said they liked the Subway Tuna salad better because of the mayonnaise. Another comment mentioned the Quiznos Tuna salad was creamier and had real mayonnaise. The Turkey sub comparison went a little better with Quiznos Smoked Turkey sub winning 3-1. Comments included: “Rosemary Parmesan bread is excellent”, “turkey tastes better than Subway” and “smoked turkey and dressing delicious.”
The final week had Quiznos as the hands down winner. Four out of four picked the Honey Bourbon Chicken sub with comments like: “Yummy sauce”, “Doesn’t taste like a low fat sandwich”, and “zesty flavor.” The Quiznos Veggie sub was favored by all four testers with comments: “The guacamole makes the difference”, “I like the cheddar cheese and guacamole” and “better dressing.
So, who would I recommend? The next time you’re hungry and looking for the perfect sub sandwich try Quiznos because you get fresh bread, better quality meat and tastier dressings.
