Subs may well be the "compromise" in fast food. They aren't exactly your green, leafy salad, but they aren't a dripping Big Mac either. It's a little something healthy and a little something unhealthy, mixed together and doing alright.

The 3 top sub-sellers on the market are, in this order, Subway, Blimpie and Quizno's. Each has its pluses and downfalls, but since this review is on Blimpie, I'll focus right on that.

I'm a vegetarian. Do not let that make you think that this opinion is misinformed. I have only tried one type of sub at Blimpie, and that is the three-cheese sub, the only vegetarian choice. However, I'll try my hardest to give you an accurate picture of what "The Blimpie Way" is like. I'll cover Service, Ambience, Nutrition, Food Selection, Food Freshness/Quality, Cost, Convenience and Taste.

Ambience
Yuck! My first impression was of a grimy little place, worse in terms of decor than McDonald's. There were one or two tables, a nasty service/preparation area, a few spoons and plastic forks thrown into cartons, a stack of napkins by the cash register, a soda fountain, a fridge with about 3 drinks in it, and a dirty glass case of Hershey's ice cream. Except for the nice drawn mural on the wall, the place is a total eyesore. They keep it a bit clean, but just in terms of design and decor, it is clear that these people are very big cheapos. Bring a blindfold.

Menu - take one of the sheets of paper from the stack. It is hard to read but manages to list your sub options.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars.

Service
Goody. The people who operate this place aren't rich, they aren't your ambassadors and CEO's. They're a bit crude and churlish in their ways, maybe not impeccably kept. But gee, they are nice. The place was pretty empty, so I got my food quickly. They greeted me very politely. In fact, they remembered my name when I came back. Three flaws, though: 1) I'm not positive that they were wearing gloves, 2) Even though I asked for lettuce, tomato, and mayo when I ordered my sub, they had to ask what I wanted for toppings again about 30 seconds later. 3) They had a bit of trouble counting out my change. But come on, you guys - these are honest, hardworking, blue-collar people, not mathematicians.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Food Selection
Not much. Okay, subs - probably 7 or 8 kinds. Choose from 6-inch or super size (1 foot long). I've found that the former is a bit more manageable. Ask them to cut it, too - it's easier to eat. Usually they do even if you don't ask, but once they forgot.

You choose from white or wheat bread. They bake it fresh. Then you can choose several toppings, or ask for it "The Blimpie Way" - with everything, that is.

There are lots of subs on the menu - turkey, Italian, you name it, they've probably got it. For vegetarians, there is the Three Cheese.

There is also a pretty limited line of side dishes. Basically chips (a wide selection with all the brands) or Boardwalk Fries. I haven't tried them, but they are purportedly baked in 100% peanut oil, as opposed to something else fattier. (Is that even possible??) For drinks, there is maybe 1 kind of juice sitting around in the fridge, perhaps a bottle or two of water, and then a soda fountain. For dessert, my location had about 6 flavors of Hershey's ice cream, plus an assortment of Spunkemeyer Bakery cookies.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Nutrition
It ain't a lard-hole, but I've seen better in terms of nutrition. I don't count fat grams, I eat what I like. (And stay thin! Lucky me!) I would say the amount of fat you see at Blimpie is moderately low as fast food goes, but it isn't the lowest of the low. Subway with its 6-grams claim probably does better in this right. Altogether, I think it depends which type of sub, and what toppings, you choose. I can't imagine that that crusted mayonnaise is low-fat.
And of course the delicious ice cream packs on the calories.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Food Freshness/Quality
It ain't great. Apparently, they do not refrigerate their toppings during the day. The bread looks alright, but it's all stored in an open plastic bag. The mayonnaise was actually going hard and yellow at the top. The cheese tasted very stale. The lettuce was far from crisp.

The bread seemed to be of good quality. Fast food is not known for impressive freshness, and so I'm led to believe that this did so-so. I deem it better in terms of freshness than what you'd get at Burger King, but this stuff isn't fresh-picked off the vine, or freshly squeezed from the cow. Fugheddaboudit.

I turned away while they prepared the food, so I didn't have to see the grossness of the ingredients. After all, the taste is so good that I'd prefer NOT to let that ruin my appetite.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars.

Taste
Yum! When my triple-cheese-six-inch-sub-w/-lettuce-tomato-and-mayo-on-white was ready, I dove in. I took a big bite into the carefully wrapped first half. Dee-lightful! I was glad I hadn't watched them scoop out heaps of congealed mayonnaise, because the taste was so good I didn't want to spoil it. It was perfect! Whether the individual ingredients were good or not, the whole thing was excellent.

After my first 3 or so visits, I decided to start really analyzing things, just for this opinion. So I took apart the sub and tried all the ingredients separately: cheese - stale tasting. Lettuce - (it was the shredded type) Alright, but not the crispiest I've had. Tomatoes - good, not snotty. Mayonnaise - Let's not go there. Bread - very nice. Yes, it did taste home baked. Everything together - yum!

There's your sub. Onto the rest. Cookies - the chocolate chip ones were great, but a tad too small for this girl! Ice cream - excellent. Smooth, creamy, perfect. Drinks - Their Barq's root beer was almost unbeatable.

Taste essentially sums up the whole reason I like Blimpie. Blimpie doesn't rank too highly in the other stakes, but in terms of taste, give me more!

DISCLAIMER: It ain't the Savoy, and this food isn't five star. But my taste buds don't lie…and what can they say but, five star, five schmar!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Cost
Yippee! Some more high points. Blimpie is cheap. You aren't paying eight bucks for a sub. Unfortunately, it's not rock-bottom cheap, but I'll happily say I can get a good meal on a five dollar bill. Which is really "a beautiful thing".

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Convenience
Woo-hoo! Very convenient, too! There is consistently lots of empty parking on the street in front of my Blimpie. Just walk right in. There are hardly ever any crowds when I go -- I'm usually the only one in the shop. So it takes them literally five minutes to get a meal in my hand. Very nice.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Overall
Let's look at the scores:

Ambience - 2
Service - 4
Selection - 3
Nutrition - 3
Freshness - 2
Taste - 5
Cost - 5
Convenience - 5

…It averages roughly to about 3.6, and I'll make that a 4!

Blimpie's final grade, 80%…with a bonus just because I like them, so let's say B+ ! (Oh, no, now I start recalling the days of algebra, and my, well, interesting! grades). Anyway, Blimpie is easier than algebra. Remember, it's simple -- ain't the Savoy -- but, boy, is that simplicity a beautiful thing!


Recommended: Yes