Below is my initial review of Subway's new breakfast menu. I went to another location and what a difference a new location makes. I ordered the 6 inch steak and cheese with egg, added red onions and spinach, and it was fabulous! Better still, this location was next to a Starbucks where I decided to couple my breakfast sandwich with a tall dark roast (the second location did have Seattle's Best coffee but I found it a markedly undistinguished brew). It made my mouth happy!
On April 5, 2010, the Subway Restaurant Chain began offering breakfast menu at their 25,000 plus outlets. I happen to be a fan of Subway's sandwiches. Like McDonalds and Taco Bell, the leaders in their respective fast food categories, Subway has mastered that nebulous nexus of flavor and value. Competitors make better subs and I have eaten them but, IMHO, nowhere is there a better five dollar value than a fully loaded foot long tuna sub. Something about that soft, fresh-baked bread, toasted with melted provolone cheese makes my mouth happy, so I was a little geeked about the prospect of grabbing breakfast at Subway.
On a Monday I arrived at approximately 8:10 am in the morning. I thought it was a good sign that a truck-load of construction workers were either inside purchasing breakfast sandwiches or outside heartily tearing into their recently purchased sandwiches. Since I had done my homework, I already knew what I was going to purchase: a Western egg and cheese on an English muffin and a six-inch steak, egg and cheese on hearty Italian bread.
I did my homework and learned the sandwiches would be made with omelets - regular eggs or egg whites and cheese - served on English muffins, flatbread or Subway's fresh-baked sub rolls. Options would include Western egg and cheese, Black Forest ham and cheese, bacon and cheese and steak, egg and cheese. As usual, customers can add any of Subway's regular lunchtime condiments or vegetables to their order. Thus armed I proceeded to my friendly neighborhood Subway.
On a Monday I arrived at approximately 8:10 am in the morning. I thought it was a good sign that a truck-load of construction workers were either inside purchasing breakfast sandwiches or outside heartily tearing into their recently purchased sandwiches. Since I had done my homework, I already knew what I was going to purchase: a Western egg and cheese on an English muffin and a six-inch steak, egg and cheese on hearty Italian bread.
My first daytime dilemma was not seeing steak, egg and cheese as one of the selections on the board. They had steak and cheese but no steak, egg and cheese. My second was hearing the English-impaired counter girl informing me that this particular location not only did not have any Seattle Best Coffee - which Subway had been hyping in all their advertizing and which I had been really looking forward to sampling - they did not have ANY coffee at all. What the fuss! How you gone serve breakfast with no coffee? How am I supposed to get up to my appropriate caffeination level without any coffee?
So I am already bummed (I have not had my coffee). My mood does not brighten when I am told I can, however, select any of their fine lunch beverages as another employee is standing over the machine blowing something into or out of it. This is my second nit about Subway serving breakfast. Seven to 11 am in the morning is typically when a Subway bakes the bread and preps for lunch. So, while you are getting your breakfast, employees are doing what prep employees do and it is not very appetizing. It is like shopping at a 24 hour supermarket in the middle of the night. Sure there is the convenience of being able to shop in the middle of the night but it is always obscured by the evil of having to navigate around pallets and stockers who/that always seem to be in front of whatever you want to buy.
Anyhoo, I order a 6-inch steak and cheese sandwich with no egg and a western egg and cheese on an English muffin. I add spinach and red onions to both sandwiches and jalapeños to the steak and cheese. The slice of black forest ham on the western egg and cheese omelet is ridiculously thin. And if I hadn't known the western omelet included green pepper and red onion, I would not have known it. I foolishly added raw red onions to my sandwich and it totally overpowered the bland ingredients. The light wheat English muffin was flavorable enough but overall the sandwich was a big disappointment.
The steak and cheese 6-inch on the other hand was just a regular steak and cheese sub I was eating at breakfast. It wasn't bad. In fact, after the thoroughly disappointing Western omelet, it was pretty tasty - but it wasn't a breakfast sandwich.
I am going to try the steak and cheese sandwich again - with egg this time - if I can communicate this to the counter girl.
The steak and egg 6-inch: aiight!
The Western Omelet: better than dirt
