Everyone loves a quick hoagie at a relatively sketchy chain that smells exactly the same across the country. But seriously, I actually do enjoy eating at these places for a quick and relatively healthy meal. For vegetarians a hoagie shop may not seem like an ideal place to eat, but I’ve learned to work with each menu to make a delicious and filling sandwich. I try to stay low in saturated fats and high in nutrients for each of my hoagies, but honestly, if you’re feeling a nice mayo-filled Jimmy John’s hoagie at 2 am – go for it, you probably will only regret it the next morning. Each place has its pros and cons with unique ingredients, hours and signature items. Here are my pros and cons for vegetarians for each place, plus what I order at each place.
Pros of Jimmy John’s: Open super late, fast delivery during your sober cravings, great for drunk eating, the vegetarian “un-wich” as a super low calorie option (think salad to go), you can order online and great pickles.
Cons of Jimmy John’s: not that many vegetable options to add on your sandwich, the hoagie directly off the menu relies on high fat spreads like mayonnaise and avocado.
My JJ order: hoagie with EZ cheese, XTRA tomato, XTRA cucumber, REG lettuce, EZ avocado spread, REG onion, No Mayo, REG Mustard, Oregano
Pros of Subway: TONS of vegetables to load onto your hoagie, veggie burger/patties, ability to toast your own hoagie, variety of sauces/dressings to add on and more of a variety of breads and cheese to choose from
Cons of Subway: shorter hours, no delivery or online ordering, no un-wiches
Photo by Amanda Shulman
My Subway Order: veggie patty, melted provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, banana peppers, honey mustard, oregano, pickles (on honey oat bread)
If you’re creative, your options are endless and you won’t be that annoying vegetarian or vegan stuck picking at your friends left over tomatoes when you go to grab a hoagie!
Address (Subway): 4004 Spruce St. Philadelphia, PA 19104
Hours (Subway): 9 am-9 pm
Address (Jimmy John’s): 3925 Walnut St. Philadelphia, PA 19104
Hours (Jimmy John’s): 10:30 am-10 pm