The Meatball Sub

Whether you call them subs or hoagies, we can all agree they rock! I’ve always been a fan of a great meatball sub. So, I set my sights on finding the best meatball sub around Green Bay/ Ashwaubenon. For the purpose of this list I excluded Italian restaurants. As I’m sure they would far surpass a sub shops meatball quality. I stuck with places that are marketed to be for subs. I did this over the course of a few weeks so that I wouldn’t grow too tired of eating them. ( Like that’s even possible 😂). When evaluating each place I was looking for a few things but primarily the overall taste of the sub. To keep things fair. I ordered roughly the same size sub,with just meatballs,sauce and cheese on white bread (some places also include an Italian seasoning) on there’s as well.

First stop Subway:

In my evaluation of Subway I must admit to being a tad biased. I have never really cared for their meatball subs and while their steak isn’t too bad I’ve always thought they’re better to just stick to cold subs. I can’t say there is anything I particularly like about their meatball sub. It wasn’t the best kind of bread. The sauce tasted like chef boyardee and the price wasn’t low enough for me to go there again. Overall rating: save your money 0/5 stars

Next up: Potbelly’s

I was excited when Potbelly’s came to town. I had enjoyed it during my time living in Pennsylvania ,but had never had their meatball sub. Their sub came on a toasted bread that seemed to have been brushed with some garlic butter and some seasoning. Unfortunately, the bread was the best part. They cut the meatballs in half on the sub which I particularly did NOT care for. While it may make consuming the sub easier it left a bad ratio of meat to bread. I wasn’t really able to taste any cheese but I did see that it was on there. The sauce was extremely scarce on the sub. What was their tasted very canned. On a meatball sub as long as the bread holds it together I figure it’s doing its job. It’s the meatballs that I really want to shine and there’s were really lacking any kind of flavor or structural integrity. The bread was the best part. I also felt yet again like what I purchased was not worth the price. Overall rating: Meh,if that’s what you’re into. 2/5 stars.

Next stop the shore: Jersey Mike’s Subs

I had pretty high expectations of Jersey Mike’s going in. They have extremely fresh cold subs and even shave the meat right in front of you. Up until this point however I had not eaten a hot sub of theirs. While I don’t think they did a terrible job I was honestly a little disappointed. The meatballs were huge ,but they looked like they had indents in them; which told me that when they were placed on the bread they were soft enough to smash. The meatballs were a great example of quality over quantity. The portion was huge but lacking flavor or the texture I want out of a meatball. The sauce wasn’t terrible ,but did seem to be a bit heavy on the tomato paste. The place where they really lost points was their bread was extremely soggy and the cheese (I was told it was there) was nowhere to be found in terms of taste. Like alot of things at Jersey Mike’s it was a bit pricey as well. My overall rating : not for me I will stick with the turkey. 2.5/5 stars

Coming in hot: Firehouse Subs

This was my first time eating at Firehouse Subs , but alot of people had really talked up the place. The atmosphere inside was really cool ,but I didn’t take that into account during these evaluations. I chose to eat all of my subs at home. I really wanted to see what the food was like when you were just trying to quickly pick it up for lunch or dinner. All that to say that looks aren’t everything. It might be a very cool place but the sub left a lot to be desired. The cheese was melted to a thin almost plastic consistency. The meatballs while certainly not bad were a little small for the ratio of bread and severely under sauced. I also didn’t care for the texture of the bread it was way too thick for a sub and reminded me more of a medium hard roll. There was some seasoning on it which I appreciated. Due to the lack of sauce it was dry and not something I thought was great. The Meatball quality was average. Overall rating: This is Wisconsin,cheese quality is important! 3/5 stars.

Next up: Cousin’s subs

This place was another first time for me. They had a drive-thru which I quite enjoyed. The menu had the wrong price listed but since it was actually less money than I expected that worked in my favor. This sub was pretty good the sauce was really fresh you could see chunks of tomato and the cheese was amazing it tasted like good quality local cheese. The bread did its job while nothing special it definitely did not get soggy. The place where they lost points were the meatballs themselves. They were just a little too large for the bread and they were not very good tasting. They had seasoning in them that was crunchy. And I think the meatball may have been partially pork and not nearly tender enough for a sub. Overall rating : You didn’t put the “meat” in meatball sub. 3/5

Next stop: Awesubs(pit row)

I know what you might be thinking subs from a gas station? Come on? No way that’s going to be good but,I had actually been told that this was a hidden gem for meatball subs in the area. To be honest this is what piqued my interest in finding the best meatball sub in town. To say I was blown away by the experience is an under statement. The structural integrity of the bread was wonderful (not soggy). The meatballs were great quality. Tender but holding their shape. The sauce tasted homemade. The cheese was not a huge part of the experience but was good. And around 5 bucks I for it all. Make no mistake. This wasn’t “good for a gas station” This was good period. Overall rating: winner winner sub for dinner 5/5 stars.

***An overall disclaimer to mention that I received no compensation for my reviews my opinions are my own. You might like something better****