Jersey Mikes Vs Firehouse Subs: Which Chain Makes The Best Italian Sub?

Jersey Mike's and Firehouse Subs are two well-known chains in the US and Italian subs are a classic offering at both. This type of sandwich is deceptively straightforward since the Italian sub recipe usually calls for just bread, three or more deli meats, provolone cheese, greens, tomato, onion, and dressing. Yet, the simplicity of these toppings makes their quality glaringly evident.

There's a lot that can go right or wrong on an Italian sub. Bread should be crusty on the outside and spongy on the inside, never soggy or slimy. Fresh veggies are crisp and refreshing while wilted lettuce can make it feel like you're eating something you found at the bottom of a pond. Tender, fresh deli meat and cheese melt in your mouth and have savory, sometimes peppery flavor. Superior dressings bring out the flavors of each of the other toppings, but never overpower them. If any of the ingredients or toppings are sub-par, the whole sandwich can lose its appeal.

At this point, you detected that I'm picky about which Italian sub sandwiches I like. If I'm going to spend my money on one, I want to know that it's the best I can find. Jersey Mike's and Firehouse Subs are both close to home, so my next step seemed clear: figure out which one would be my regular destination for Italian subs. The taste-test competition was on.

For the taste test, I visited both restaurants on the same afternoon and ordered the subs at the counter, to go. I asked the clerks to prepare the sandwiches as they would if I had ordered them through the app with no customization, using white bread. I took both subs home to try them. 

I visually appraised each sandwich. I looked at the toppings to see which ingredients were included and the order they were placed on the bread. Pinching the bread showed if it was spongy and would recover or stay squished down. Finally, I also weighed each to see which was heavier and contained more toppings.

When I did finally take a bite, I paid attention to the freshness of the veggies. I wanted crisp lettuce, sweet juicy tomatoes, and thinly-sliced slivers of onion. The flavor and texture of the deli meat and provolone cheese were important characteristics. Taking note of the flavor of the dressing and whether it brought out the other toppings in the sandwich was vital to this test as well. Soggy bread resulted in a less favorable review while light spongy bread received praise. Finally, I was hoping for a slightly peppery and lightly spicy overall taste rather than sweet since this is my expectation of deli meats like pepperoni and cappacucolo that are frequently included on an Italian sub.

Firehouse Subs Italian sandwich looks better than it tastes. It comes hot on crusty bread. My mouth watered when I saw it, but the first bite was a let down. The dressings soaked into the bread and covered the flavor of the other toppings. The whole sub tasted sweet. The lettuce got droopy quickly because it was hot. The placement of the toppings was problematic. The veggies and dressing were on the bottom, with the cheese and deli meats on top. This contributed to the sogginess.

Even though I didn't love this sandwich, I would give it another chance. The ingredients were high-quality and fresh, they just weren't put together in the best way on the day I visited. The toppings include Genoa salami, honey ham, pepperoni, Italian dressing, mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomato, and onion. I admired how thinly the meat was shaved. The bread options are white, wheat, and gluten-free. I tried it with white. The price is reasonable, at just over $10 for an eight-inch sub that weighs around 13 oz.

Next time, though, I would ask that the meat and cheese go on the bottom piece of bread and would hold the mayo and mustard. Hopefully, this would reduce the sweetness and sogginess. Eating this sub on-site, rather than taking it home, might improve the experience. It would be freshly toasty and the lettuce probably wouldn't have the chance to wilt.

Jersey Mike's knows how to make Italian subs. The sandwich artists start with the provolone cheese and cover it with five deli meats — pepperoni, cappacuolo, ham, salami, and prosciuttini. Then, they add finely chopped lettuce and onion with slices of tomato on top. The dressing is vinegar, oil, and oregano, aka "Mike's Way." The simplicity of that dressing brings out the flavor of the tender, melt-in-your-mouth deli meats and perfectly complements the crisp veggies without making them slimy. I could distinctly taste the slight bite of the pepper from the outside of the prosciuttini. The bread stays fluffy and pops back up even when you pinch it and there is a pleasantly chewy crust on the outside.

There are a couple of additional reasons that Jersey Mike's Italian sub is a convenient buy. First, ordering an eight-inch sandwich costs a bit over $10 and it has a weight of about 15 oz. It's filling and makes a hearty lunch. Then, since it's served cold, the toppings stay fresh longer. Waiting to eat it until I got home didn't have a noticeable impact on the quality. That makes this a good sandwich for a picnic or on a car trip.

I enjoyed most aspects of this sub, but there is one thing I might change. Jersey Mike's only has sweet iceberg lettuce. Incorporating a bitter green like arugula or radicchio could bring out the umami of the deli meat.

Jersey Mike's makes a superior Italian sub to Firehouse Subs. Both chains use high-quality, fresh ingredients, but Jersey Mike's puts those ingredients together more effectively in a way that keeps the bread from sponging up dressing or moisture. Meanwhile the Italian sub at Firehouse was extremely soggy. Additionally, the simplicity of the oil and vinegar topping at the first restaurant complements the toppings much better than overly sweet Italian dressing, mayo, and mustard added at Firehouse. If you prefer a more peppery taste, you'll like Jersey Mike's better.

Another major difference between the two is that Firehouse Subs serves its Italian hot while Jersey Mike's doesn't have the equipment to toast sandwiches. For people planning to eat there, that could be a point in Firehouse's favor. On the other hand, it also meant the veggies wilted quickly, making the sandwich a worse option for carry-out. Jersey Mike's sandwich maintained it's freshness for longer.

Finally, Jersey Mike's also serves a slightly bigger sandwich for about the same price as the one at Firehouse Subs. Although both sandwiches are the same length, more abundant toppings mean the first sub weighs about 2 oz more. That's not a huge difference, but considering the sandwich also tastes better, Mike's is a better buy.