Jersey Mike's Or Jimmy John's: Whose Classic Italian Sub Do Customers Like More?

An Italian sub is a thing of beauty, a sandwich that's greater than the sum of its humble parts: crusty bread, cured meats, veggies, and tangy dressing. Sandwich chains Jersey Mike's and Jimmy John's both serve Italian subs — a few different options, even — but today, we're comparing classic Italian options. Over at Foodie's sister site, Tasting Table, a writer did a taste test on both Jersey Mike's Original Italian and Jimmy John's The Vito and determined that she preferred Jersey Mike's. Honestly, that conclusion's in line with what other online customer reports say, too. We surfed social media hub Reddit and determined that Jersey Mike's Original Italian earns rave reviews (even if this popular sub is a sodium bomb, which is to be expected for an Italian anywhere you go).

"It was honestly a flavor explosion, SO DAM [sic] GOOD lol," one Redditor raved about the Original Italian. They ordered it Mike's Way, which all Jersey Mike's fans know is an ordering cheat code to great flavor. "It's one of the best fast food subs of all time," another commenter enthused. "Jersey Mikes Has The Best Italian Hands Down," a Reddit headline declared, with the body of the post going on to add: "IMO nobody does it better than Mike. I would've posted a picture but I couldn't wait to eat it and now it's just crumbs in the wrapper." In fact, multiple Redditors dubbed Jersey Mike's the best Italian sando anywhere, including at local delis. It's not that there weren't positive comments about Jimmy John's Italian offering; it's just that the praise wasn't nearly as effusive.

Factoring into our calculus of customers' favorite Italian sub was the fact that, when Redditors talked about the Jimmy John's classic Italian sandwich, many required modifications to make it truly great. Even then, the positive words weren't nearly as glowing as when it came to Jersey Mike's. "Not a fan of ham, so the Vito from Jimmy Johns is fantastic. Although Jimmy John's is a bit more bland than Subway or Jersey Mike's," one commenter opined. Right on a Jimmy John's subreddit, a newbie went fishing for ways to jazz up their b-day freebie: "I have a free regular sub for my birthday, and I want to know the best upgrades to make it better. I love Italian subs, so I want to order the Vito." If you really want a loaded Italian sandwich at Jimmy John's, some Redditors surmised, you might be better off ordering something other than the classic Vito, because it's lighter on the fillings.

After fully interrogating the question, we've concluded that customers rave about the Original Italian sub from Jersey Mike's, but not so much the Vito. While folks enjoy the Italian sub analogue at Jimmy John's, some social media users suggested modifications or even a different Italian sub to really get your money's worth. We're left hankering for a Jersey Mike's sub in "giant" size, served Mike's Way. Jimmy John's serves some fine subs, but for many customers, it just can't compete with classic Italian ... that crown goes to Jersey Mike's.

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