5 Ordering Tips To Help You Build The Perfect Publix Sub

Most supermarkets these days have a deli counter where one can not only pick up sliced meats and cheeses, but also some prepared foods, like fried chicken, various cold salads, and sandwiches. Publix, though, is an innovative place — it was the first grocery store with air conditioning, after all — and the quality of the subs sold there are a testament to its deli.

It is hard to imagine another grocery store gaining such recognition for prepared food, but customers absolutely love the Pub Subs at Publix stores. In part, this can be attributed simply to the breadth of the Publix sub menu, which features standard sandwich offerings — roast beef, meatball, Italian, tuna salad, etc. — but also a wide variety of specialty and seasonal sandwiches. On that part of the menu, customers can expect to find things like Southern-Style Brisket, French Onion London Broil, and Spicy Falafel subs.

Even without any modifications, the sandwich menu is already pretty impressive. Once the secret menu hacks start to come into play, though, that's when the menu's true depth shines. The grocery chain is quite lenient when it comes to sandwich design, allowing customers to really order what they want. Some of the modifications customers share online are as simple as adding extra sauce or toppings and swapping out the cheese, but other clever hacks change the sandwiches on a fundamental level.

The Publix sub menu is long, but nothing has garnered a stronger fan base than the chicken tender sub. It is the chain's top-selling sandwich, featuring chopped fried chicken tenders along with a choice of cheese, vegetables, and condiments on a freshly baked sub roll. Without any major modifications, it is already popular enough that there is an entire website dedicated to sharing whether or not the sandwich is on sale: arepublixchickentendersubsonsale.com.

It is basically an unwritten rule of Publix that every visit should include a sub, and there is no better choice than the chicken tender sandwich — especially if you ask the person behind the counter to toss the tenders in sauce before they hit the roll. There are a few standard saucy variations on the chicken tender Pub Sub listed on the menu — like the Buffalo Chicken Tender Sub or Chicken Parmesan Sub — but the off-menu options extend even further.

Any of the sauces that Publix stocks for its chicken wings can also be used to coat the tenders in a Pub Sub. That means  Garlic Parmesan, Hot Honey, Spicy Gold, and Sweet Home Sriracha also join the fray, and the tossing ensures that every nook and cranny is filled with flavor. With all of those sauces on offer, the door is open to all kinds of interesting new chicken tender sandwich combinations. 

For those that know the meats and cheeses at the deli counter well, the option is there to swap the standard cuts for a preferred brand or style. Say, for example, a customer ordering prefers a particular brand of seasoned turkey. It is totally okay for them to ask to have that meat in their sandwich. In most cases, the employees are more than happy to make the change. If the changes are on the more complex side, however — like asking for multiple different meats and cheeses — it pays to know how to ask politely.

The only problem with switching out fillings is that these won't be pre-cut and ready to go. In general, this is not a problem. If it is the middle of the lunch rush, however, and there is a long line for sandwiches, it can really slow things down — to the dismay of employees and customers alike. In this case, the best move may be to go to the standard deli counter to tell them which meats and cheeses you intend to order on your custom sub before you get into the sandwich line. That way, by the time you reach the front, your custom selections ought to be ready for action.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it's always nice to show employees a bit of appreciation when they go out of the way for you. That can be as simple as an honest "thank you," but taking a compliment to the Publix manager can also get the employees a small gift.

On the not-so-secret side of the menu, there is the option to order these favorite Pub Subs without the bread, in salad form. Listed on the grocery chain's deli menu are a few popular choices, like the Chicken Tender Salad, Turkey Salad, and Italian Salad, each of which take the fillings and tosses them over a bed of lettuce or spinach and pairs them with a dressing. This style doesn't just apply to those few choices on the website, though. Customers report that you can ask the person behind the counter to turn any Publix sub into a salad instead.

The advantages to turning your favorite sub into a salad are mostly pretty obvious. If you're looking to eat a bit healthier, swapping the bread for crisp lettuce is an obvious win. If you're looking to get some extra fiber, ordering a veggie sub is a good choice, but this trick takes it further, giving you the delicious sub components you crave over a fiber-rich bed of lettuce. Maybe you want your salad topped with chopped chicken tenders tossed in Buffalo sauce — no problem. Chicken salad, tuna salad, and egg salad are all obvious choices as well. But you could even get wild and see what a meatball sub salad is like — and you might be the first person ever to try it.

If the salad lifestyle isn't for you, then you know that the roll your sandwich comes on is just as important as any other ingredient. In truth, it may be the most important ingredient, as bread typically makes up the largest portion of any sandwich. The standard for Publix subs is a white sub roll, but there are a few other varieties to choose from, including a whole wheat roll, an Italian Five Grain roll, and a Soft Sub Roll. Or you can visit the bakery or the bread aisle and bring back whatever sort of bread you like, and they'll dress it out for you.

The downside is that you do need to purchase that bread separately. If you have particular tastes, though, it is well worth it. Plus, by picking a different style of bread, you can end up with very different results. One customer on Reddit reports that the person in front of them ordered a Publix Deli Ultimate Sub but brought a loaf of sourdough to the counter. The employee assembled the sandwich with the same quantity of ingredients, but split onto the different bread, it resulted in a half dozen smaller sandwiches. The extra labor could be a sticking point here, so that might not be the best move, but bringing over your favorite Publix bakery bread is a definite secret menu Pub Sub hack.

While we're on the topic of adding ingredients purchased elsewhere in the store, it is important to know that this option extends beyond the bakery — the hot case in the deli area is also fair game. Now, not everything in there is going to fit well with a Pub Sub — a scoop of green beans won't do much for that Italian sandwich — but there are some winning comfort food combinations to be had. One popular choice, for example, is topping the Chicken Tenders Sub with a nice dollop of Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese. It's creamy, it's crunchy, it's savory, it's cheesy, what more could you ask for?

Mac and cheese might be the most obvious sandwich topping in the hot case, but there are other potential combinations. A scoop of coleslaw or a few onion rings would go nicely with the Spicy Brisket Sub, as would a swipe of mashed potatoes with the Turkey Cranberry Holiday Sub. With all of the sandwiches on offer and the broad array of Publix prepared foods on display, there's really no end to the creative potential.

Just remember, if you do come up with some complex secret Pub Sub customizations, be sure to ask for it nicely and not when things are too busy. And then, when that employee makes your dreams come true and delivers a sandwich so unique as to boggle minds, don't forget to say thank you.