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| - The Good:
+ Their subs are tasty, and although their whole "steaming the meats and cheese" thing seems a bit gimmicky, it works for them. It definitely makes the bread better by softening it a little when the meat is in there.
+ They don't skimp on the meat in the sub, unlike some other sub chains.
+ They have about 20+ different hot sauces, rated on a scale of 1 - 10 on heat. I'm a fan of the Scorned Woman Chipotle & Garlic Pepper Sauce (Heat 7) and Dave's Hurtin' Habanero Sauce (Heat 8). Both have flavor and a little bit of kick.
+ They have a dial-a-drink soda dispenser, so feel free to make your own custom beverage from what's there. My favorite is a mix of Cherry Coke Zero and Lime Coke Zero.
+ The pickle spear is a nice touch. Not enough sub places give you pickles with the sandwich.
The Bad:
- Wait times. Average wait times to get my order (1 sandwich) has been 10 - 15 minutes. At the lunch rush, that can go to 20 - 25 minutes. At best, it's taken about 5 minutes to get an order. While decent for a sit-down place, their average is a bit slow for a fast food place.
- The meat steaming diminishes the flavor profile a little bit, like some of the flavor leaches out or blends together with the cheese and bread. I'd say it raises the flavor to above-average, but prevents it from going higher than that, if that makes sense.
My Firehouse Sub Picks:
+ NY Steamer: pastrami, corned beef, provolone.
+ Smokehouse Beef and Cheddar Brisket: beef, cheddar, BBQ sauce.
Verdict:
Decent subs - better than some, but not fantastic. It gets points for the sauce selection and dial-a-drink machine. Jersey Mike's makes a better cheesesteak, Jimmy Johns is much faster, and Capriotti's has bigger flavor. I'd take Firehouse over Subway any day of the week, though, and when I'm in the mood for their NY Steamer or Smokehouse Beef and Cheddar.
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