Friday, April 17, 2009

Jimmy John's Shakes up the Orlando Sandwich Shop Scene

Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches is a recent entrant into the crowded Orlando sandwich scene. Known as much for their quirky décor, as for their sandwiches, Jimmy John’s competes with the likes of Subway, Quiznos, Firehouse, Panera, Blimpie, and Sobik’s in this market. I got my first taste of Jimmy John's when I grabbed lunch at the new location in Winter Park on Orange Avenue.

I liked it. The location is great. The inside has plenty of seating, with good lighting. Service was friendly and amazingly fast. By the time I ordered my sub and paid, it was ready at the other end of the counter. Jimmy John’s was the fastest sub shop I’ve ever patronized.

My #9 Italian Night Club ($5.99) was very good. It came with salami, capicola, ham, and provolone cheese and topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo and Italian vinaigrette. I paid 25 cents extra for hot peppers. The meat and cheese tasted very fresh, like it had just been sliced. Deli meats quickly lose their taste once sliced. The veggies were all crisp, and the Italian dressing tangy. I loved the sliced hot peppers. I should have asked to buy a jar; they were that good.

The sub was heavy. It had substantial weight to it when I held it in my hand. There was a lot of meat and cheese on the sub and the fresh-baked bread had heft and a strong texture when bitten into. I liked my sub on their French baguette-type roll over the traditional, softer Italian roll found at Subway and the like. It takes a little bit of chewing to get through the bread and to the meat at Jimmy John’s.

The interior was funky – lots of signs to read as you sit and eat. And speaking of sitting, I had to go into the men’s room to see the infamous German sign.

Looks like the Orlando sub scene is in for a shake-up. Jimmy John’s serves a very substantial, tasty sub, the restaurant is funky and clean, and service is friendly and fast. What more could you want in a sub shop? I suggest you try Jimmy John’s.

4 ½ Sandwich Shop Shake-ups out of 5

http://www.jimmyjohns.com/


Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches on Urbanspoon

5 comments:

Adam S said...

Jimmy John's SUUUUUUCKS. Here's why:

I like a sub with turkey, cheese, and bacon. But they don't offer that. So they built a custom sub. They charged me for cheese and for bacon, which is fair. They charged a delivery fee on the sub, which is fair. They charged a delivery fee on the cheese. They charged a delivery fee on the bacon. I swear to you.

I called and spoke to a manager: "the bacon is $1.50, but you charged me $2." "That's policy, we added a delivery fee." I said "Do you think your guy used more gas because I wanted a slice of provolone??"

I will never order from Jimmy John's again. A turkey sub, the way I like it, costs $8. Forget that. It's not THAT good.

I recommend everyone stay away from this rip off artist. If you don't buy *exactly* what's on the menu, you will get screwed on price.

aop3_BONESCTY said...

:( @ adam s.

If you keep to your set patterns on eating then JJ's isn't for you. They don't suck, they just don't coddle your tastes.

JJ's is a good alternative to the "sub scene" or whatever call it.

The "un-wich" is a great idea that works well.

Adam S said...

@aop_bonescty: Am I understanding that you think it's reasonable to change a delivery fee on a sandwich, then on bacon, and then on *a slice of cheese*?

I am happy to flex my earing patterns, but, apparently unlike you, I don't think it's so crazy to modify a sandwich at a sub shop.

akeorlando said...

I work downtown, and people were almost "freaking out" when they JJ's opened that location. For something different I think they're OK, but completely overrated; I almost prefer Quizno's more.

Anonymous said...

JJ has no hot sandwiches. So its just a cold sub.