Does Publix's Beloved Italian Sub Outshine Jersey Mike's And Jimmy John's? I Put Them To The Test

The Italian submarine sandwich is a deli classic, although it would probably be more accurate to call it the Italian-American sub, as it arose from Italian immigrants making sandwiches with Italian-inspired fillings. Commonly featured ingredients include cold cuts of Italian deli meat, like ham, capocollo, salami, and pepperoni; cheese, typically in the form of a slice of provolone or mozzarella; and tomatoes, lettuce, and onion. Ultimately, the Italian sub is very loosely defined with a highly flexible recipe, giving delis plenty of wiggle room to create their own signature sandwich.

For this taste test, I decided to compare Italian subs from three popular sandwich brands to see which is the best on the market. The first two come from classic deli sub chains — Jimmy John's and Jersey Mike's. The third is a bit of a wild card, as it actually hails from the deli counter at Publix, a Florida-based grocery store known for its delicious baked goods. However, a lot of customers swear that the grocery chain's lineup of Pub Subs can stand up to any brick-and-mortar option. To see if this bears out with the Italian sub, I compared these three sandwiches by evaluating the quality and flavor of meat and cheese fillings, the freshness and compatibility of the vegetable toppings, the texture and taste of the bread, and how well everything came together. Here's how the Italian sub showdown shook out.

As mentioned earlier, there's no definitive recipe for an Italian sub, so the ingredients varied between the sandwiches. Even so, I compared the commonalities of each sandwich, like the white sub bread and the inclusion of lettuce and tomato. No personal customizations were made to the sandwiches; they were ordered exactly as the specific deli suggested. While I didn't consider price a major factor in this ranking, I did consider whether I felt the sandwich was sufficient value for money based on the quantity and quality of the fillings. Each sandwich was eaten fresh to ensure peak quality.

First, I assessed the bread, noting its level of chewiness and whether the flavor would complement the fillings. While freshness and quality were key factors in evaluating the vegetables, I also judged how well they paired with the other ingredients. For the meat and cheese, I assessed the salt and spice levels, the texture, and the thickness of the cuts. I then looked at all of these aspects as a whole to decide which made for the best sandwich overall.

Though not officially called an Italian sub by Jimmy John's, the Vito is definitely the chain's ode to the classic sandwich. The Vito only contains two types of meat, hard salami and capocollo, and the cheese of choice is provolone. It's finished with onions, lettuce, tomato, and a juicy blend of oil, vinegar, and Italian herbs. At first glance, it seems like a very simple recipe, and I was initially surprised that ham wasn't among the meat fillings.

This was definitely a neat, clean sandwich, with every shred of lettuce and morsel of salami contained within the roll — of course, that's partly down to the smaller portion sizes. However, I will give credit to Jimmy John's for its ingredient quality — the savory salami and nicely spiced capocollo complemented the smooth provolone. The vegetables were refreshingly crisp, though I found the onion to be a bit overpowering. The bread tasted fine, but I wish it had a little more chew to it, with a texture closer to hearty Italian bread like ciabatta or focaccia. The final touch of vinegar, olive oil, oregano, and basil worked well, keeping things moist while enhancing the signature Italian flavors. Overall, this could have used a bit more meat and cheese and firmer bread. So while it's a good sandwich, it's perhaps not the ideal Italian sub.

Featuring not three, not four, but five different kinds of meat, The Original Italian from Jersey Mike's is overflowing with pepperoni, salami, ham, prosciuttini, and capocollo. Included in the mosh pit of flavor is provolone cheese, along with all the ingredients that are included when you order your sub "Mike's Way" – lettuce, tomato, onions, provolone, red wine vinegar, olive oil, oregano, and salt. 

While this sub costs almost $4 more than the other sandwiches I reviewed, it felt justified when I saw the impressive height of the stacked sub — compared with the other brands, Jersey Mike's certainly had the largest selection of deli meat options. Each slice brought a little something special to the sandwich, whether it was a hit of heat or a dose of fatty richness. And while the store could probably have phoned it in with the other components after overwhelming customers with meat, it stuck the landing with a sturdy bread that could handle the enormous quantity of fillings, fresh vegetables, and tasty-yet-balanced Italian seasoning. My only criticism is that it's the kind of large sandwich that can totally overwork your jaw. But let's be real, if you're ordering an Italian sub, that's more a feature than a bug. 

The Publix Italian sub is powered by some special components. First and foremost, this sandwich is made with Publix' Italian Five Grain bread, a special loaf that's baked in-house. Both this bread and the chain's plain Deli-Style Sub Rolls scored extremely high in my Publix bakery bread ranking, and I think it's part of the reason why the Pub Sub lineup is so well loved. The sandwich contains a selection of Publix' private label deli meat — Tavern Ham, Hot Capicola, and Genoa Salami — with a helping of provolone, lettuce, tomatoes, and a thin swipe of mayonnaise. 

The main thing I noticed about this sandwich was a lack of finesse. The thick slices of meat and provolone, along with the chunky vegetables, made for a somewhat clunky sandwich. That doesn't mean it's not tasty — the meats, while fairly mediocre on their own, worked well together, and the almost-overwhelming amount of vegetables was fresh and crisp. But the true triumph of this sandwich is easily the Italian 5-Grain bread, a hearty, chewy roll with plenty of aromatic flavor and enough strength to handle the fillings. Still, a great Italian sub isn't about the bread alone but the fillings, too, so this Pub Sub isn't as good as it could be.

So, does Publix's beloved Italian sub outshine Jersey Mike's and Jimmy John's? Not quite. While Jimmy John's Italian sub was enjoyable to eat and Publix' sub boasted the best bread of the bunch, Jersey Mike's out-muscled them both handily. Sure, the Original Italian's deli meats outnumbered those in the others, but this win was as much about quality as it was quantity. Both Jimmy John's and Publix had considerable issues with the construction of their subs, with the former being too anemic and the latter bursting with unwieldy excess. They also had issues when it came to the balance of flavors. Jimmy John's had an eye-watering hit of onion while Publix' deli meat was sub-par.

Ultimately, the Publix Italian sub has plenty going for it, particularly its excellent bread, but its mediocre deli meat keeps it from surpassing Jersey Mike's. Meanwhile, my sole criticism of the Jersey Mike's sub is the sheer size of the thing, which, when you think about it, is actually more of a compliment than a critique. Though I've never had the pleasure of eating an Italian sub from a mom-and-pop New Jersey deli, I have to think that Jersey Mike's sandwich is a pretty admirable homage to the real deal.