The Chain With The Hands-Down Best Club Sub Sets The Standard For Supreme Sandwiches

Club sandwiches can be surprisingly divisive. There's a decades-long debate about whether a club should be made with turkey or chicken, for example. There is also discourse around whether clubs should be served hot or cold. And, in a prime example of his own signature rhetorical flair, Anthony Bourdain famously likened the club sandwich to the terrorist network Al Qaeda. Opinions can flare even further once you start trying to name the best of something, say, chain club subs, which are available to a wide breadth of potential tasters with a deep well of possible opinions. So, Chowhound performed the definitive test to determine the best club sub available at chains across the nation.

We ranked six sandwich contenders, and Jersey Mike's #8 club sub defied its numerical designation to come in at No. 1. Its hoagie roll was soft, but structurally sound, its mayo was well proportioned, its smoked bacon was actually crispy, its veggies were convincingly fresh, and its turkey, ham, and provolone were abundant. This was the club sub to beat, and none could surpass Jersey Mike's excellence.

The major difference between what one might imagine as a standard club sandwich and a club sub is the bread. Not only do club subs swap sliced bread for long rolls, but they eliminate the middle carbohydrate layer that inflamed the likes of Bourdain to begin with. This, of course, allows more room for proteins, vegetables, and various condiments. However, every ingredient has to be good in this higher supply. Each of the six club subs we considered also had to bear a convincing resemblance to the triple decker classic, just reimagined through a mass market lens. Once that fairly low bar was passed, taste and quality were easy to account for from there.

Some, especially Jimmy John's #16 Club Lulu, simply failed where Jersey Mike's excelled. Jimmy John's club sub was overly toasted to the point of tasting stale, and its chief characteristic was lettuce. This lead to perhaps its worst offence: meat and cheese proportions that were unforgivably skimpy. There's better news for both Jimmy John's fans and Jersey Mike's devotees, however. While Jimmy John's lost out in this case, we ranked its roast beef sandwich our favorite among chain varieties, so you still find the Chowhound stamp of approval elsewhere on its menu. There are more Jersey Mike's locations in the nation overall, so it should be a little easier to find one near you in any case.