REVIEW – I used to think Subway Restaurants’ made the worse sandwich in Madera…. then I tried Jimmy Johns. I didn’t think anyone could be chintzier with the meats than Subway, and then I ordered a Jimmy Johns roast beef that had thinner mayo then the roast beef. I used to think the rudest franchise owner of a sandwich shop was the lady at the Howard Road location of Subway, and then I had a conversation about my complaints with Eric, the franchisee of the Jimmy Johns in Madera.

Sunday I took my wife into Jimmy Johns on Cleveland Avenue in Madera and what I saw is a company that is headed down the same road as Quizno’s.  We ordered a GIANT #2 Roast Beef sandwich for a little more than $13. It was a sixteen inch sandwich with lettuce, tomato and Jimmy John mustard. We wanted regular old American yellow mustard but the staff refused to put in on the sandwich saying we had to do that ourselves with mustard packets. We went with the Jimmy Johns mustard which my wife and I had not tried previous to this and both decided we do not like.

Unlike other sandwich shops you cannot watch the employee build the sandwich because of the steal condiment tops that block your view when they are open. So we had no idea what the portions were like on the sandwich until we got home. What we found was a layer of meat that was thinner than the layer of Jimmy John’s mustard. Despite what the photo on the menu showed, what we got was sixteen inch bread with 14.5 inches of roast beef spread out one slice thick. In other words, there wasn’t even enough mea t to cover the full length of the bun, even spread out in a single layer.

Had I seen the lack of meat portions at the restaurant I would have refused the sandwich, gotten my money back and drove across the street to Deli Delicious where for the same price we could have purchased a sandwich that is lacking in nothing. The sandwich they passed off as “the greatest” was terrible. The lack of meat notwithstanding, the Jimmy John’s mustard was so overwhelming you couldn’t taste what little meat was on the sandwich. My wife had to throw away the side of the thin French roll that had the brown mustard because she felt the mustard overpowered the few toppings included on the sandwich (a tomato slice and shredded lettuce).  

Being this was our first time in the restaurant, we were not aware of what types of breads or toppings were available. The two employees did not take the time to explain out options either. I know this place is known for being “Freaky Fast” but considering there was no other customers in the restaurant during the “dinner rush”, how hard would it have been to offer some real customer service and explain the options?

Speed does not equate to (and cannot replace) quality. Remember when Domino’s Pizza would guarantee their delivered pizzas in 30 minutes or less? Dominio’s has never been rated the best pizza.  I can’t seem to find any ratings or articles that say Jimmy Johns is referred to as a ‘great’ sandwich, other than on Jimmy Johns own website. Just the opposite, all the ratings I found have Subway and Jimmy Johns on the same level with overall value going to Subway. But last night I was not looking for value, I was looking for a tasty sandwich. What I found at Jimmy Johns was far from even an average rating. I couldn’t even honestly say it was a “good” sandwich.

In Madera there are two great sandwich shops, both regional chains. For me Deli Delicious and TOGO’s are the standards for what a satisfying sandwich shop should provide. While they don’t offer the “five dollar foot-longs”, which Subway just discontinued, they both make a sandwich with a decent amount of meats and cheeses to select from. While their prices are up there with Jimmy Johns, you don’t have to open the bread to find the meat. The picture of the sandwich on the menu is the sandwich you are going to get in your order. Unlike Jimmy Johns that made me call on my inner Clara Peller when I asked “Where’s the beef?”

#jimmyjohnsucks

Bathroom Humor?

 Does it bother anyone else that this is Jimmy John's sense of bathroom humor? What bothers me is that in every single tile the "man" peeing into the toilet didn't lift the seat. Am I to assume that Jimmy John's is ok with peeing all over the seat? Makes me wonder how clean the kitchen is?