Critic's Review
Once a year Jersey Mike's gives me a free sub, so once a year I trek out to this part of the woods to pick it up. Today I made a big mistake, as torrential thunderstorms turned I95 into a parking lot as visibility approached 0. It took me 40 minutes to get there and just as long to get home, which is twice as long as it should take.
In past years they'd send a coupon that you could present when paying; now you have to log into your account and use the points they load on your birthday. 80 points for a regular sub. You have to order online to get the freebie; I ordered a customized "Original Italian", because their Philly's aren't that good.
The parking lot here is usually pretty bad, but it's even worse when it's raining. Skinny spots and tight quarters add to the adventure.
Inside, they've removed the plastic and tables are now available for dining in. Not too many takers, however.
They no longer include a fountain drink with the Birthday sub, so no cup for me. I hope they didn't expect me to buy a drink; it probably costs them 4 cents so if you're going to do something nice, why not go all out?
With a cold sub you don't have to worry about the sandwich not being hot when you get home, but you do have to worry about the oil.
But when I opened it up there was nothing "wet" about the sandwich. It looked well put together.
A sideways view showed that this was built by someone with experience. Very tight. I thought they left off the pickles, but they were skillfully hidden under the tomatoes.
I always order banana peppers on the side; I like the crunch but I don't want the juice seeping into the bread.
Nice ripe, tomatoes. I like online ordering an Italian; when you have to order it manually you always forget something; this was mistake proof. I left off the lettuce, added pickles, mayo and spicy mustard. Banana Peppers on the side.
Conclusion
This was one of the best Italian subs I've had in recent memory. Good fresh meats, and the flavors just screamed at me with every bite. It was truly a great sandwich.
Review 7/24/20
If you're on Jersey Mike's mailing list you get a coupon for a free sub and 22oz fountain drink every year; the coupon is good for a year so there's no reason not to use it. Today I felt like a sandwich.
I wasn't sure if I was able to use the coupon online, but I thought I'd give it a look. However there isn't a way to order a fountain drink of any kind on the web site.
So I guess I was going to have to wait.
Inside it looks more like an ICU unit than a sandwich shop.
I ordered a regular Philly Sub and told them I was using my birthday coupon.
There's no eating inside, at all. If you want to sit down to eat, it's outside only on a nice 90 degree day. The iced tea dispensers were empty, and they didn't have any unsweetened beverages. While I was waiting a homeless guy came in, without a mask, and asked for a cup for water. This made me realize that perhaps the beverage station wasn't as sanitary as it could be.
The counter dude asked if I wanted my beverage while I waited (of course I was wearing a mask so drinking it would be challenging), and I mentioned there were no unsweetened beverages. He tried to convince me that Agave Lemonade was more healthy, but to no avail. He offered a bottled beverage and I grabbed a 20oz water.
Jersey Mike's is a big operation so they have their own bags.
Not a particularly impressive looking sandwich, but unwrapping it revealed a nice, soft roll.
This was a decent Philly Sub. Not outstanding; a 3 star sandwich.
Not bad for free. Join the mailing list if you want to save $10
Conclusion
I'm not sure this place is any better than Premo or LaSpada, but it's consistently ok. Just don't expect to eat in for the foreseeable future.
Review 1/20/17
Jersey Mike's opened in Fort Lauderdale about a year ago, but I didn't feel compelled to eat anything from here. I'd tried the location in Delray Beach a few years ago back when I was doing all of the sub shops, and I didn't find it out of the ordinary. I've been on their mailing list all along, but their offers for Free Chips or $1 off didn't lure me into the 20 minute drive to get there.
But last week they launched a 50% off campaign to convince you to order online, and that seemed like an offer too good to pass up. Time for some subs. I created an account and ordered 2 regular sized subs: The Original Italian and The Famous Philly. The only add-ons to the original recipes was that I asked for Pickles and Banana Peppers on the side for the Italian. No extra charge.
I ordered at 1:55 and 2:30 was the first pick up time available; 35 minutes seemed like a long time to make a sub. But it would take me 20 minutes to get there with lunch time traffic. I got there at 2:20 and sat in the car for a bit listening to some analysis on The Herd before going inside. I went insiide at 2:30 sharp.
One of the benefits of ordering online is that you can jump right to the register. No waiting for people to decide if they want extra onions or not. My food was ready, and already paid for, so the girl handed me the bag and I was out the door.
I stopped off at Walmart on the way back, so I'm not going to complain about the Philly Sub not being hot.
Not too fancy packaging; Jersey Mike logos on every bit of packaging so you know that a chain is in play here. They get some points as both subs were made as ordered, with generous portions of pickles and banana peppers on the side as requested.
The Italian comes "Mikey's Way", which has onions, lettuce, Tomatoes, Red Wine Vinegar, Olive Oil Blend, Oregano and Salt. I tasted it without any add-ons; frankly I couldn't taste the vinegar, and nothing about the sandwich really popped. Adding some spicy mustard, the pickles and banana peppers elevated the sandwich to something really good. I'm not a fan of shredded lettuce (it just gets all over the place), so they lose a 1/2 star for that.
The philly was warm and the cheese was still melted.
I really liked the Philly. They use a nice soft roll and the seasoning was just right. I ate half of this as-is and had the other half as a late night snack; I added sauteed onions and more cheese for the reheat and it was superb.
Conclusion
Value is a key issue when buying a sub, and the big problem with Jersey Mike's is that they're not a good value. I got 2 subs for just over $8, but $8 for one of these isn't worth a trip from anywhere. They're pretty small subs for $8.
The Italian was ordinary but the Philly was better than most places in town. If you work nearby you probably already know what you like.