Got a sub at D.A. Subs today and went to Cheesequake State Park for a picnic (because the weather was perfect). As a sample of price changes, their #5 was $10.45 in 2020, and is $12.45 now.
As for the park, I have a couple of criticisms of the “ambiance”. The tables are sturdy enough, but the configuration makes it difficult for mobility-impaired folks to sit at them. Bring a chair to put at the end. I also wish if some of the picnic areas were closed they would post this at the entrance or the spot where the road forks, rather than having to drive all the way out and then discovering there were no available spots.
Also, bring a garbage bag–they have removed all the trash cans and have a sign that basically says “Carry In - Carry Out”.
That said, it was a beautiful day and a nice picnic.
I don’t know if I should take it personally but the staff always seemed straight up irritated there. It was in our regular rotation but now that we moved way less inclined to go. The no CC thing is always a problem for me too.
I’ve never noticed any irritation or surliness. And the “no credit or debit cards” never bothered me; I always carry enough cash to pay for a sub and soda anyway.
The sub (an Italian sub) was good. One problem is that if you get mayonnaise on it, it’s very hard to keep the bread from sliding off the filling while you eat it. This is a function of subs, and sandwiches in general. I’ve noticed it with burgers as well. What you’ve done is lubricate your sandwich.
Thanks for the info. I used to own a sandwich and sub shop. Even worse than just mayo are the subs that had mayo in addition to oil and vinegar. Not only were they slippery they got soggy too.
If you have a long toothpick holding the sandwich together it can help. However, Mark’s Parkinson’s makes handling things more difficult in general, and a liberally sauced Wendy’s burger can turn into a disaster! Basically, that sort of thing becomes a knife-and-fork meal. Mayonnaise mixed in (e.g., tuna salad) is not nearly the problem.
(Me, I like hot peppers on my Italian subs. They just cause problems after you eat them!)
Agree that long toothpicks help keep things together but making wrapping a sub to go problematic.
I put mayo on a turkey sub but no O&V and O&V on an Italian sub but absolutely no mayo. Hot peppers on both. And I usually end up picking them apart as not really a huge sandwich fan.
Have you ever tried Demarco’s across the street in the Stop and Shop plaza? They are an excellent Italian deli / sandwich shop. I think Livoti’s up the street really impacted their business, but they are still there and still putting out quality subs. As the matter of fact I even sent my daughter up to Matawan to pick up some subs for one of our beach club lunches in Deal. lol It’s worth the trip!!! (FYI If you like tuna fish, they make an excellent tuna salad/sub. Some hot peppers, onions, lettuce tomato and OIL AND VINEGAR (just for you @MsBean ) it is by far my FAVORITE tuna sub.)
Yes, we had a super annoying catering order last year that really turned me off though. We have been ordering from Dearborn for several parties this summer so now that’s in our regular rotation. Generally eating out way less these days. If we are beach bound, we are doing bagels or Brennan’s in Middletown.
As someone who has personally assembled 10,000 subs (give or take a few hundred), I can say I absolutely concur. While I personally enjoy vinegar and mayo (light on both), a standard amount of vinegar and oil and mayo is disastrous. And yeah, if there’s no veggies to absorb any of that, good luck! Then you had the people who wanted mayo on both sides of the bread and/or to have the roll soaked with vinegar. Disgusting. Sorry. By the time it was eaten, they would surely need a fork…or spoon with the amount of liquid we sometimes had to use to appease these people.
And yeah, there is a science to a sub. The place I worked at that will not be named wanted the tomatoes on top. Customers used to remark how stupid that was because the oil and vinegar bounces off. The reason? So that the seasoning sprinkled on (if any) would stick to the tomatoes. Salt and tomatoes are an amazing combo but I just could not agree with their placement. Most places do the lettuce last, so that it will absorb the O/V. What did your shop do?
For me there are only 2 cold subs (that I order), roast beef and the “special/super”. Roast beef gets OV + mayo, the special gets no mayo like with @MsBean.
As for the mayo slide I think this is less problematic with cuts like turkey and roast beef compared to the smooth hams.
There’s something so magical about that OV combo though, you really don’t see it in any other form of sandwich.
@gcaggiano man a both side mayo with soaked roll sounds very interesting!!! I wanna try it now
To me THE BEST 2 subs ever Lazzara in nyc 8 th ave chicken parmigiana since closed a few years ago & any real Italian Deli that uses semolina bread imported prosciutto & fresh mozzarella with roasted peppers & a bit of good imported Balsamic vinegar not the glaze most places use.
Prove me wrong ! btw it’s Ragtops ( Steve) my sign in is screwed up
Luckily I don’t think I’ve made 10,000 subs but we also did a brisk trade in sandwiches, wraps, and panini so may be if you add them up all together I could get close.
We did the onions last. For cold subs the bread was cut completely in half lengthwise to lay flat. Cheese, meat, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, O&V, SPO. A whole sub was cut in quarters, and half in half. If someone wanted mayo and didn’t specify where I usually put it on the bottom.
For a hot sub, the bread was slit hot dog style, like a Vee. Meat, cheese, LTO. I don’t recall if we had a particular order if other condiments were requested but I put the mayo between the bread and the meat and ketchup between cheese and LTO.
I’m sure you know this but just in case someone doesn’t
SPO = Salt, pepper, oregano
LTO = Lettuce, tomato, onion
PEC SPK = Pork roll, egg and cheese (American unless otherwise specified) w/ salt, pepper and ketchup. Pork roll vs Taylor Ham is a discussion for another time.
For us, cold subs were cheese, meat, onion first, then LT, O/V next, and then S and O. Pepper was on request. Go figure. Mayo was always on top unless a customer requested otherwise, which was rare. Roll cut right through and yes, whole subs in quarters, half subs in half.
Hot subs were “hinged” or “butterflied”. I’ve heard both terms used though I say the former. Mayo and condiment placement were dealer’s choice. There may have been the company way of doing it but I essentially ran that grill for the year I was there and I did whatever was aesthetically pleasing. I was also severely guilty of not cutting half hot subs in half because they fell apart or became sloppy. My boss gave up arguing with me because I said it was out of concern for the presentation. Out of a couple thousand hot subs (maybe an exaggeration, maybe not), I only ever had ONE customer complain it was not cut. And he was a regular who liked to jokingly bust chops.
Looking back on it, I wonder why I cared so much what it looked like. Miserable place!
DOH! That is a much clearer characterization than my Vee cut description. And it took a minute to even come up with that.
Sub organization is just such a personal thing. Don’t get me started on presentation of a cheesesteak when you add fried onions, peppers, and/or mushrooms. Do they go on top? Smushed up in the meat? Between meat and cheese? It’s enough to drive you crazy. I don’t think I cut hot subs either.
You cared because you care. Miserable place or not.
Similar to the “vee cut” you couldn’t come up with something better than “smashed up”? lol I am a big fan of smashed up, cheese on top, served on a “vee cut” roll, placed from the grill to pre-ketchupped sub via double spatula transport!!!
