Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich Shop: A Review

Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich Shop first opened in Charleston, Illinois in 1983, and twenty-five years later, they're still going strong. Jimmy John's menu offers the usual lunch fare: tuna, turkey, ham, BLTs, salami, cheese, and roast beef. There is nothing special about the meat, the fillings, the bread, or the presentation, so why this sandwich chain has the word "gourmet" in it is a mystery. Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches doesn't have anything epicurean about it, but the masses don't seem to care about the misnomer.

We frequented the Jimmy John's in the West University area of Houston, Texas, and admittedly, we were lured by the name. Upon entering the restaurant we were greeted by all of the staff - and there were about 10 people working there - with a huge "Hello!" The atmosphere certainly was jovial and it made us more apt to eat there - as opposed to the Chili's just down the street. However, after reading the menu my instinct told me to leave, but my husband was intrigued by this new eatery - new to us anyway - so I accommodated him and stayed, like a good wife. Sit Bobbi, sit. Good girl.

I ordered the Turkey Tom sandwich (#4 on their menu) sans the mayonnaise, the tomato, and the alfalfa sprouts. I was hoping I could get honey mustard dressing but they only had packets of yellow mustard and Dijon mustard - how boring. They made the sandwich in about 3.5 seconds - literally - so that was impressive, but it's the taste that counts, and unfortunately, the taste let me down. The bread was freezing cold and stale. How difficult is it to keep bread at room temperature? They like to scoop the actual bread out of the submarine shaped roll to make room for all of the filings, but my sandwich only had two fillings - shredded lettuce and turkey - so I would have appreciated it if they left my bread in- tact. The turkey was ordinary, bland, and lackluster; I wanted some pizzazz to my "gourmet" sandwich, but what I got was an over-priced disappointment.