I know you've been patiently waiting for the second installment of my special 8 part San Diego fine dining review, and here it is.
A Tale of Two Mediocre Sandwich Shops
I must admit that I have more experience with Subway so I'll start there. Subway is my personal favorite of the two but that does not necessarily that it is the better establishment. The portions are big, the amount of meat you get may be comparable to Quizno's but the vegetables available put Subway over the top. They will let you go so far as to ruin your sandwich by piling so many ingredients on there that it just isn't right. My personal example is when I used to order the meatball with lettuce and mustard and mayo. It wasn't good, and I used to feel a little sick afterwards, but I did it anyway.
At Quidgeebo's they dictate your sandwich ingredients with an iron thumb. Some employees will let you throw on a few mushrooms or something, but other will not, stating that "the sandwich does not come with those vegetables." This is why I would not recommend going to Subwheesey before Quizmaster's. It is depressing to transition from the land of a million condiment options to a sad sandwich dictatorship where any additional vegetable is made to feel like you are ordering "off menu." But besides my whole vegetable tirade The Quizzy is not bad. Their sandwiches are a bit more sophisticated with slightly more tasteful cuts of meat. Where Subadub carries roast beef, the Quiz has prime rib. Where Subway has mayo Quizno's has horseradish sauce. Quizbow's also has a few more eating choices, they had all kinds of weird variations of the typical footlong a while before Subway did. Another place where they have outdone the master is with their sauce and pepper bar available to customers to freely abuse after they have paid for their sandwich. Quizno's also has recently adopted cheaper food options, but I think they took that cue from Subdog Millionaire.
The service at both fine restaurants is often dictated by the customers. Subway is usually jam packed with fools. This creates a hectic environment where sandwiches are flying and the workers are dying. I once sadly watched a meatball fall off my sandwich as it was quickly rushed from one station to another. But this type of thing is bound to happen when there are like 37 people waiting in a line that often goes to the door. During one visit my order was so rushed that the "sandwich artist" forgot to put mustard and mayo on all three of our sandwiches. But this was rectified by the manager who gave me a several generous coupons in an attempt to win back my business. Little did she know that I was already hopelessly addicted to their 5 dollar menu. Quizzler is often much less of a packed house, not resembling a pre-cold war Russian bread line like Subway. Their rolling toaster over also helps to keep things moving. While the atmosphere is more laid back, so are their sandwiches, and that for me is the problem. I don't don't really mind wading through the crazy mad house that is Subway because my sandwich has a big pile of stuff on it. My overall experience at Quiznonino's might be a bit more classy but in the end I feel like my sandwich is thinner for it.
So go to Quizno's if you want an appropriate sandwich with all the fitting ingredients and go to Subway if you are the type who like to have their cup runeth over with piles and piles of extra stuff.
Look out for my next fabulous installment of this epic 8 part series on the finest food in San Diego-
Mona Lisa or Etna's: two pricey restaurants that will break your pockets but not your stomach.
