I'm all out of hope
One more bad break
could bring a fall
When I'm far from home
Don't call me on the phone
to tell me you're alone
Another Tuesday... another Taste! Ah yes, these weekly Tuesday reviews are indeed my 'Happy Place'...
Did you know Danny DeVito is from New Jersey? It's pretty subtle I know.
Speaking of Jersey (Joysee!), this week we're talking about Jersey Mike's, an extremely popular American submarine sandwich chain (guess which state they're from) with over 3000 total locations. In the past year they made a deal with Redberry Restaurants (they handle Burger King and Taco Bell's Canadian operations) for Jersey Mike's to make rapid expansion into the Canadian market. Yeah... maybe considering the current news, talking about "American rapid expansion into Canada" isn't the most comforting thought now is it...
The backstory of Jersey Mike's is somewhat staggered. It starts in the 1950s near the famous Jersey Shore in Point Pleasant, NJ. For a bit over a decade they existed as Mike's Submarines, named for original owner Michael Ingravallo although ownership had changed hands by the early 1970s. Enter Peter Cancro, who at a young age (14!) scored a job working behind the counter for Mike's Subs and immediately fell in love interacting with customers. A few years later, so the story goes, the sub business went up for sale and Cancro, only seventeen, managed to buy the store with help from an ex-football coach who also happened to be a banker.
The little sub shop continued to do great business and gradually built up a reputation as a local legend, a necessary stop when visiting the Jersey Shore. Unlike many modern little restaurant shops that expand almost immediately upon becoming any kind of sensation, Jersey Mike's (genuinely cannot find exactly when they changed the name) under Cancro's ownership took over a decade to begin seriously franchising outside of New Jersey. After some financial hiccups during a 1990s recession and a 2000s modernization, the brand has clearly enjoyed exceptional success all over the northeastern United States.
Just recently in November of 2024 (which feels like decades ago) Cancro, now in his late 60s, sold the majority share of his ownership in Jersey Mike's to a private equity giant named Blackstone. As an actual teenager in the mid-1970s he'd managed to put 125,000 dollars into buying the original sub shop... in 2024 he sold control of it for 8 billion. Billion with a 'B'. Man... I consider the concept of the "American Dream" a complete and total illusion 99.9999999 percent of the time but even my cynical heart is impressed by that story, although it is rather fortunate (extreme understatement) how 17 year old Peter Cancro happened to know a banker willing to loan a teenager over a hundred grand...
Anyhow, before somebody reading this article starts writing a schmaltzy Hollywood screenplay... Jersey Mike's have very very recently (a couple weeks ago) opened up a little spot in the Union Station food court/hall/eat-a-torium, which is their first ever location in Toronto proper (there had been a couple in Kitchener and Markham I think). Union Station happens to basically be connected to a building I work in... so off into the Union Station Eatatorium we go!
Jersey Mike's Union Station is almost like a submarine-sandwich-making factory, an assembly line to optimally create lots and lots of sandwiches for lots and lots of people. I went twice in the span of three days (more on that later) and the experience was identical: steady lineup of at least a dozen people with more coming behind (it's a tight spot, real estate-wise) and one of the many staff members will approach people in line so as to get their orders in ahead of time. You get a copy of the order and your name, leave the line and pay at the actual till (cashless I'm certain) and then linger about and hope you remember both what number sandwich you ordered and your own name.
Considering their consistent busyness, the system is about as effective as can be (there are a zillion employees working too, which I don't envy as that is not a spacious work area). I'd estimate about a fifteen minute span both times from entering the line to walking away with a sandwich... which doesn't sound great for a sub sandwich but remember... lots of customers in a small space. All that in mind, not bad at all and didn't make me late for work either time.
He's finally getting to the freaking submarines factory! First go around I went for a cold cut sub, this being their #5 Super Sub: ham, provolone, cappacuolo and prosciuttini. With the cold cuts there is also the option to "Mike's Way" it: adding tomatoes, sliced white onion, lettuce, a healthy drizzle of their red vinegar and some spices. I gladly accepted, except for the onions and tomatoes because I'm a weirdo (feel free to throw your tomatoes at me... there are more of them now because I didn't order them!)
Mmmmm... open faced club sandwedge...
First off... the mix of three different sliced pork meats? A bit of a false tale. While the other two have somewhat of a presence, the ham (unsurprisingly) is what takes up the majority of this cold cut portion. However... it is a very tasty ham... great moisture, the precise amount of saltiness to subtly enhance the taste... the exact type of bright texture you find in a ham that's been sliced before your eyes (which for the record they indeed do... there is a giant slicer and it is constantly in use).
The capicola (same thing, I'm saving my vowels) and prosciuttini are here mostly as supporting elements, and while in the background there is a hint of both in their limited slices... especially the prosciuttini with it's nice cured black pepper flavour along it's edges. Regardless of the least interesting meat hogging the spotlight, there is a healthy amount of cold cuts on this sub and never a bite you feel like it's just empty flavour or bread. Even just a regular size (which this was) hit the Satisfaction Button for my hunger.
As for the "Mike's Style" thing... it's really that drench of red vinegar that brings the most. And frankly... I like it! This works... not only does it add some pungent arouma but that slight initial acidic sharpness mixed with a lingering but not overpowering sourness... it's kind of like a typical vinegar based "sub sauce" lots of sub places offer anyhow (usually white vinegar based I'm guessing), just with a bit more sour vinegary depth to it. Holds up even after a few hours! After my shift I was pleasantly surprised to find half my sub was neither soggy or reeking of vinegar.
Indeed, a healthy amount of sliced meats for your buck. What about the bread though? Well, it's a tougher, chewier type of bread... normally not my preferred type of outer layer but probably necessary considering you want this thing to hold together and avoid sogginess when you're pouring an actual liquid (the red vinegar thing) onto it. Tastes fresh enough anyhow... chewy doesn't always mean dry or stale after all. It works for this sandwich and really isn't the attraction regardless. Decent.
Part two! Because snowstorms have left me wandering Union Station a lot during the past week...
Jersey Mike's have two distinct categories of sub sandwiches: the cold cuts and their grilled options. Seemed only fair to sample both, right? On my second trip, I kept things simple by going for their #17 Famous Philly... basically a New Jersey version of a Philly cheesesteak with beef steak, grilled onions and grilled peppers, with some white American cheese. Also, that photo above is terrible (the sub was surprisingly uncut... is that a Philly cheesesteak thing?). Here's a better shot of what we're dealing with:
Definitely generous with the steak, so points there. Geez... I recall Tim Horton's several years ago (back when their food was merely meh instead of irredeemably bland) offered some kind of steak sandwich. I ordered it, and by gum (poor gum) it was the most pathetic steak sandwich I've ever seen. That bit of steak in the photo above, the bit slipping off the bottom of the bun... is roughly the equivalent of the total amount of beef on that waste of time from Tim's. So credit to Jersey Mike's, there's a decent amount of steak on here.
Where Jersey Mike's steak sandwich falls short, and it now makes significant sense in retrospect why they have two other cheesesteak options that are exactly the same just with more stuff (jalapenos, mushrooms etc)... this really just is all beef and not much else. As such, while tasty and really doing the best it can, you can't escape the dryness. That white American cheese melts delightfully as a layer underneath the steak, the onions bring a bit of valuable grilled sweetness that (as usually not an onion guy) I do love on sandwiches when cooked precisely like this.
If anything, within the confines of this simple construction... I'd have liked more grilled peppers. They are tasty and add such a sweet flavour punch (and crunch) when you get them. One more thing: the crustier style bread doesn't work quite as well with chewier grilled items like steak than it does with softer cold cuts, though again that could totally be my own preference.
I'd say... this cheesesteak sub sort of works (and when fresh it smelled freaking great). The steak itself is certainly well grilled but you never find yourself chewing on it any longer than necessary, plus it has its own decent beefy beef flavour. Really close to being a damn good sandwich, the most important elements are there... it just needs a little more support.
Overall! Yeah... definitely worth a look. Both my visits, with very different sandwiches, had their own separate merits... though I much prefer their cold cut option with the red vinegar dressing (it's a must) over the grilled steak one. That cheesesteak sub was fine and tasty for what it was, but the Super Sub I genuinely really enjoyed. If you're torn between, go for the slicer over the grill.
I'm curious how this ambitious move into Canada will go. This Union Station location is clearly very very busy, but it's also Union Station... the busiest train hub in the whole country. Every damn one of these food stalls has some kind of lineup, even Wetzel's Pretzels! (I am not making that name up).
We'll see I suppose. All I know is, with Quizno's now completely gone from Toronto and Mr. Sub about as rare as a four leaf clover... it'd be nice to once again have a readily available sub sandwich chain option that isn't goddamn Subway.
Speaking of, I would like take this moment to anoint Subway as the true King. Yes, the true king of the very worst big fast food chain that exists. I've seen Subway are doing breakfast sandwiches now too, ha ha ha... can you imagine somebody dumb enough to eat those? I bet they'd... oh no. Oh no... I have to review them... don't I? Oh no.... OH NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Anyhow, Jersey Mike's is indeed good! Tasty subs, good ingredients on both ones I tried but I much preferred the cold cut one. Won't blow your mind, the lineups are a thing and Toronto has legit incredible independent sub sandwich spots like Lambo's or Good Behaviour which I would highly recommend over this American import... but Jersey Mike's won't be a let down either.
----
Tuesday Tune
Hey, Billy Idol is playing at my summertime gig this upcoming May (hopefully that crooked fucking Ontario Place spa plan is kiboshed by then... please please please don't vote for Doug fucking Ford next week). Idol has some songs I'm quite fond of ("White Wedding" is such a killer) and it should be a fun one. Here's his maybe most famous song? I don't think I even knew this was Billy Idol for a while.
That's all for this week! If you're reading this from anywhere that isn't southern Ontario... would you like some of our snow? We have plenty of it and we'd love to give it away! Until next time, stay safe, stay warm, break in those winter boots and don't spill that mustard.
No comments:
Post a Comment