Upon embarking on the series of blogs that has been The Week of the Sandwich, I considered the boundaries of the blogs I would write. I decided to go local, almost exclusively.
As mentioned in Monday's blog, there's are certain cultural identifiers associated with different types of sandwiches, whether its a bahn mi or a Philly cheese steak or even a special kind of barbecues sandwich. The Schmaltz's Schmaltz for example, is not all that different from The Original at Schlotzsky's, but it's different enough that a longtime Wacoan could take the Pepsi challenge with The Schmaltz and the The Original and identify The Schmaltz every time.
In preparation for The Week of the Sandwich, I asked around to a few friends to find out what might be a preferred sandwich. Jimmy John's was mentioned more than once. If I kept asking, perhaps Which Wich would've entered the discussion and possibly even Subway.
And of course there are places like McAlister's and Jason's Deli which make very good sandwiches.
When it comes to chains, though, Subway and Jimmy John's seem to have captured the market, at least for quickly made sandwiches on hoagie rolls. Sure, Which Wich has a Baylor foothold, but for most of us Which Wich isn't all that convenient. (It actually might be more convenient than you think. I parked on a side street near the Baylor Science Building and had no more than a 5-minute walk to acquire a Which Wich sandwich this week.)
Rather than tell you which hoagie-making chain you should choose, I'll just finish sandwich week by pointing out my favorite thing about the three aforementioned sandwich giants.
Which Wich: It was my first visit and I didn't know the drill when I walked in this week, but I dug designing my sandwich by checking the items I wanted with a red marker on the brown sandwich bag.
Jimmy John's: Lightning quick service, so I have a sandwich on tasty bread in seconds.
Subway: I'm nostalgic for a meatball or spicy Italian sub, which I unwrap as the NCAA Basketball Tournamet — March Madness — is coming on the air on the Thursday that marks the first day of the tournament. It's sort of my own personal tradition. I think Subway has probably been around long enough that many people like me have Subway-related nostalgia.
