This Christmas my wish list was pretty much fulfilled because I got the one gift I wanted the most! No, not a GoPro, not a kendama, not accessories for my iPhone, not even a pack of socks. What made me bursting with holiday joy was when on a couple of different gift opening extravaganzas I ripped open a gift box that had what I really wanted…Subway gift cards!

The Subway gift cards I got for Christmas.

I am a mega Subway sandwich fan. By a large margin it is my favorite fast food restaurant (Taco Bell a distant second). If I pick up dinner before I go home, if I am traveling, or if I am working late and need food, Subway is my choice to fill up on. I love it and I get hungry just thinking about sinking my teeth in one of their sandwiches.

Rest assured everyone, I haven’t fallen for the Subway marketing BS that says their sandwiches probably equate to the healthiest meal on earth. I think the whole Jared diet plan is a complete scam. While I would say Subway can be a healthier option than McDonalds or Wendy’s, I do know that SW can push on the calories. Unless you are eating a flatbread veggie six inch sub each time you go, make no mistake about it, sandwiches in general are not the healthiest food choice. Especially if you get a foot long, choose a bread with cheese on it, add sauces, and then decide to order chips and a drink with it, you are looking at a pretty fattening meal. But come on, that is what makes it so good!

So I am definitely guilty of my first two ways of “fattening up” a Subway trip. Unless I am going in for lunch, I am always getting a foot long and my all-time favorite bread is the Monterey cheddar…YUM! Can anyone guess what my sub of choice is? What’s that you say? Oh, you don’t care?!?! Of course! But let me tell you anyway….COLD CUT COMBO…every single time! Subway’s cold cut combo never gets old for me and it is always $5 so it is also a complete bargain. Although I don’t get chips and a drink with my subs I must admit that I always am tempted to get the jalapeno variety while I am paying.

I like nothing more than a fresh cold cut combo from Subway

I think one of the reasons why I love Subway so much besides of it just tasting good is that it is so readily available. There are Subways everywhere! When it comes to the city of Missoula, I think it is an understatement! We have Subway sandwich shops all over the place. You can find various locations on the same streets, you can find them in shopping areas, you can find them in a few convenient stores, you can find one in our mall, and you can even find one in our Wal-Mart! It doesn’t really matter where I am at in Missoula, I am always walking distance from a Subway.

With so many different locations and with my tendency to never really just settle on a certain one, you tend to find out that not all Subways do things the exact same way. Depending on the place I go to the sandwich artist always seems to fold my meat onto my sandwich in a different way. Some lines go from left to right while some go from right to left. Some carry soup while others don’t. Some participate in certain national promotions while other locations act like they have never even heard of them before. Some locations will always bag your sub and put napkins in it while others will just wrap your sub and hand it to you. Some stores will use shredded cheddar cheese while most every other store will use sliced cheddar cheese. However, I like these little eccentricities of each Subway. It keeps things interesting and encourages me to explore the city.

A sneak picture I took at the east Broadway Subway in Missoula

With all the differences of each different Subway sandwich shop there is one thing that they all have in common: That oh so amazing smell! Besides ice cream shops, there is no other place that smells better than a Subway restaurant. That heavenly smell of fresh baked bread mixed with the fresh ingredients mixed with the marinara from the meatballs produces one of my all-time favorite smells. There needs to be an air freshener called “Subway Sandwich Restaurant”. I would definitely buy it.

Sadly, my gift cards from the holiday season are just about exhausted. Lately I have averaged around 2-3 trips to Subway a week. Definitely not the best of habits but I simply love the sandwiches and my stomach definitely feels way better after eating a sub rather than a taco or burger. So go ahead and call me “Jared” if you want but remember I am not doing the walking and I am not losing the weight. EAT FRESH. Don’t Blink.