QuizNO's? I say YES!
Written: Sep 23 '04 (Updated Sep 19 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The crispy baked bread makes this sandwich special
Cons: Not a lot of meat on sandwiches.
The Bottom Line: As a fast food sandwich restaurant, I think this place is a step above the competition.
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| popsrocks's Full Review: Quizno's |
Though I have seen this name before I never been in one of these places until a sign went up on a new storefront in my town. We have many fast food places in our town including another sandwich place, Blimpies. I thought I would give this place a try especially after seeing a commercial on TV for a $2.99 Toasty beef sandwich.
The STORE and SERVICE
This particular Quizno's is in a strip mall. It has a couple of round tables with umbrellas outside. Inside it's bright with some Tex Mex colours splashed on the walls. Big full glass windows let in the southern sun and the high bright florescent bulbs make the place even more cheery. A few incandescent lights hang down above the display area and onto the tiled floors. A mix of regular and high tables seat about 40 people on chairs and stools. I noticed a person coming around to clean the tops of the tables from time to time. The floors and tables were pretty clean during this very busy lunch time.
This is a self-serve restaurant where you go up to the counter and order and then clean up after yourself when finished eating. The trash station was kept clean and clear but it was a bit of a problem putting trash into the container because of a small opening.
One thing I immediately liked was some direction as to where to order. It's basically a left to right set up that I have seen in many Blimpies and Subways, but they had stanchions and a clear sign directing people. One thing I never liked it waiting at a counter and somebody comes in at a later time and just walks up to the counter in front of you not knowing there is a clear pattern of ordering and pick-up.
Another good idea are small plastic menus that could be picked up and used as reference for placing orders. In contrast was the fact that the overhead menu board had printing that was much to small to easily read from the ordering station, in fact the ingredients part was impossible to read for this guy.
I still had to wait as each sandwich was made by hand. It is labor intensive slicing, measuring, and getting orders just right. I will say the staff was friendly enough and were definitely attentive. Some piped in contemporary music helped fill my mind while waiting.
The MENU
When I first saw the place I immediately thought of the Subway and Blimpies. After I looked over the menu and the prepared foods, I thought it a step above those places. The food and presentations were nicely done for this sort of fast food place.
The restaurant has quite a large number of sandwiches that are broken down into different categories. The Signature Recipes are the first you'll see. One is the Chicken Carbonara on herb Foccaccia Bread Chicken, bacon, mozzarella, mushrooms, and a creamy Bacon Alfredo sauce. I thought it sounded pretty good. This same kind of attention is given to the many other signature selections like Classic Italian, The Traditional, Spicy Monterey Club, Honey Mustard Chicken with Bacon, Mesquite Chicken with bacon, Honey Bacon Club (they sure like that bacon) Smoked Turkey, Black Angus Steak and Philly Cheese steak.
These sandwiches come in three sizes starting at a 6"" at about $3.99. The different selections are pretty much the same price going from that lowest price to $5.49 and $7.79. For another $1.99 you get a medium sized soft drink and a bag of chips. These prices, I feel, are all bit high, especially if you start to multiply the cost by a few kids. The menu and staff say that they use premium meats and real cheeses.
The menu has many more sandwiches, another two dozen. They all look pretty good and have a good amount of meats between the bread.
What makes this place stand out among its competitors is the "Toasty" Menu. These are sub sandwiches that are filled and seasoned, like the Oven Roasted Turkey, and then put onto a conveyor that brings it through a toasting machine. The Turkey Bacon Guacamole sandwich looked particularly appealing. Besides the turkey, bacon and guacamole it also has mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, and ranch dressing.
Oh yes, that's another thing I like about this place. If you like, you can put on some of your own add-ons at a separate station after you pay. It has chili peppers, sliced peppers, pickles and the like along with the vinaigrette, (how many times do they put on too much and make your sandwich soggy), mustard and a tasty and tangy horseradish sauce, mmm good! Other condiments are there too, including some really spicy-hot brand name sauces.
SALADS and SOUP, Chili Too!
The six salad selections looked excellent. Nicely cut up mixed greens filled the platters. The Black and Bleu Salad with Black Angus Steak strips, bleu cheese crumbles, red onion, special recipe salad blend, cherry tomatoes, and Balsomic vinaigrette dressing, was quite tempting. I know my wife would go for the Yin Yang Chicken Salad that had chicken, red and green peppers, special recipe salad blend, cherry tomatoes and Sesame Ginger Dressing.
They had some soups and chili too. The soups, Clam Chowder, Brocolli Cheese, and Chicken Noodle looked OK. Maybe I'll try some on a cold day.
SOFT DRINKS and CHIPS
I liked the fact that the place has a self serve soft drink fountain or you can get some bottle sodas too. They offer Coca Cola products at the fountain with Coke, Diet, Dr Pepper, and Sprite topping the list. A full selection of bottled Snapple products were in the showcase where you can just grab it yourself.
There was lemonade and three different offerings of iced tea. I tried the tropical flavor. It was good. Another little touch is that freshly sliced pieces of lemon were avilable at the soft drink station for those who might like to add it to their coke, ice tea, or glass of water.
Quisnos offers its own brand chips that are really good if you like flavorful crunchy crispy chips. I liked them. The Salt Vinegar are especially tasty.
They also have a nice sized piece of Carrot Cake and Chocolate Bunt Cake as dessert selections.
The TASTE
On my first trip into this place I tried their special of the day, a Toasty Beef sandwich. I watched them slice the meat and measure it up. They then put on a few spices and then put it on the sub roll and send it through the toaster. I like that the stay-in orders are put into a plastic tray that looks something like a black frying pan shape. Plenty of napkins were given along with a beef gravy to dip in. The end result is a sandwich that is warm and has a nice crispy consistency. The bread is good but does not overpower the flavors of the meat and spices. I liked what I had, though the portion was not all that big. I know that when I get a deli sandwich, the roast beef is piled high. This wasn't. For flavor I gave it high marks for value I brought it down a little bit.
DELIVERY and PARTY ORDERS
I'm sure this place will do its fair share of business on Superbowl Sunday. They offer Party Subs and Party Trays along with Dessert Trays. They serve 8-12 and 16-24, people. The place delivers too.
FINAL THOUGHTS
On one of the walls was a sign that had the letters of the company name with the words they stood for.
Quality
Uited
Integrity
Zeal
Neat
Outstanding
Service
I thought they were trying to live up to those standards and I give this place four out of five stars as a fast food sandwich restaurant.
More chain eateries by popsrocks
Roly Poly
Applebee's / Romano's MACARONI GRILL / KFC / OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE / Wendy's / OUTBACK Restaurant / Cozymel's / Cheesecake Factory / McDonald's / Taco Bell / Checkers Burgers / Red Lobster / The White Castle / TGI Friday's / Charlie Browns / Burger King / Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips / Dunkin' Donuts / Starbucks / Ralph's Famous Ices / Cold Stone Creamery / CARVEL Ice Cream / Boulder Creek Steakhouse / Waffle House / Krispy Kreme / Friendly's / Nathan's / Jillian's / Blimpies / Quizno's / jumba juice / Subway / Auntie Anne's Pretzels
Recommended:
Yes
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