I created this thread to avoid hijacking this one.
In that thread, I mentioned my “inexplicable rage” at customers who wanted their bread cut “the old way”, which means cutting out the centre from above, to make the bread like a little canoe. “The new way” is to cut the bread at a 45-degree angle, almost like your average hotdog bun.
The Subway sandwich, although a innocent-looking piece of custom-made fast food, is actually a miracle of engineering. If properly made, it can be delicious, compact, nutritious and not fall apart when you eat it, unlike a Big Mac.
People who complain about the toppings falling out of their sandwich, were being served by someone who doesn’t know how to make the sandwich properly. The meat should be on the top half, slightly hanging over the edge. The lettuce, tomatoes, and other toppings should be put on the outer edge of the lower half.
Now for common customer faults. If you ask for extra extra lettuce and all dressed, then yes you will have some toppings fall out. Suck it up. The bun is not like Mary Poppin’s carpetbag, designed to fit whatever ungodly thing you stuff into it.
Also, losing a little lettuce is not the end of the world. When I get a sandwich at Dunkin’ Donuts, I actually like it when some toppings fall out. It’s like having a side salad with your sandwich.
A special note about meatball subs: If you are stupid enough to get a meatball sandwich all dressed, then yes your toppings will fall out and you will deserve it because you are a dumbass. Meatball sandwiches are never ever photographed with lettuce on them for a very good reason - if you get a meatball sandwich, there will be no room on it for lettuce (also, that’s disgusting). Meatball sandwiches come with onions, green pepper and olive, all of which fit nicely on there. At Subway, we had a saying; If you don’t mess with the sandwich, the sandwich won’t mess with you.
In the end, though, I really can’t explain why it made me so angry to do the “canoe cut”. Most of the time, the customer suffered anyway - if you try to put hot steak on that thing, it makes the tiny top piece all soggy and falls out all over.
In conclusion a well-trained Subway employee can make you a sandwich that maximizes the space inside of the bun (I’m not kidding). If it’s just too messy, ask for a manager, or even better, a knife and fork. We have posh sets to go with our salads now.
Sorry this is less than scintillating, but it feels good to get it all out.