Mr. Subb Bistros

Mr. Subb, localized competitor to the larger national Subway and Quiznos chains, is changing its face and its guts to move closer to the sit-down-and-enjoy-yourself eateries it competes with for the busy lunchtime crowd.

We're torn as to how good a job they've done.

J-Lam Says:
As I walked in, I said to myself, "This looks just like..." and then I couldn't finish the sentence because it looks just like every other semi-fast-food joint within a five-mile radius. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I read "Bistro" on the sign out front, but as I stood looking at the menu it occurred to me that all it takes to call yourself a Bistro, as opposed to a sub shop, is more chairs and lobster bisque.

Perhaps I'm just being cynical, but I don't get the difference otherwise. My personal opinion would be to keep it simple, stay true to the original flavor of the place, and if that means you don't need to spend millions to "keep up with the Joneses" (or the Quiznos) then pass the savings on to John Q. Public, and maybe bring a smile to his face.

I ordered the hot chicken parm sub, which was adequate. That is to say, I enjoyed it like I would enjoy any warm hunk of meat in red sauce with x-factor melted cheese on top. It was fine. It didn't wow me. Now, walking into a simple neighborhood sub shop, I don't expect to be wowwed by anything. Somehow, walking into a "bistro", I do. But I wasn't.

My distinguished colleague let me know that I should have picked one of their new Hot Paninis or their $5 cold subs, which were their advertised specials that day. OK, point taken. I screwed up. But I get the feeling that if I could go back in time and make it right, I'd still be shrugging and saying, "it was alright."

TURD.

B-Com Says:
Mr. Subb Bistro looks like a standard sub place, but they've added flat screen TV's, some light music in the background, and free Wi-Fi, which is pretty cool. I ordered up a chicken ceasar salad and a bowl of J-Lam's accursed lobster bisque.

The soup was forgettable. At first, it tasted fine, but when I hit the lobster puree at the bottom of the bowl, it reminded me of the beach. That is to say, it was sandy. If you find that to be yum-o (all apologies to Rachel Ray, please don't sue me,) then you know where to get it.

The salad was very good even though the chicken looked like it came from Mars. It was reddish-orange. I paused momentarily, but since J-Lam was still alive after scarfing half his chicken parm, I took a leap of faith and popped it in my mouth. It was good.

All-in-all, I have to give Mr. Subb Bistros a terrific, although it is admittedly nothing really special. J-Lam was ranting a raving about the increase in prices that he was absolutely sure would be reflected simply because they now call themselves a bistro. Since I was paying for lunch, and since he's a stoonad, I had to point out that their prices have actually NOT increased, and that they are now following the standard $5 foot-long sub formula their competition has dictated.

TERRIFIC!