Poll of the Day > Subway is to blame for the new "meatball subs" I think.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Seriously.

Eons ago, or at least 20+ years ago, even in California etc, many places had quite good meatball subs.

This meant good french bread, toasted, with a spicy/decent meat sauce on it, meatballs that had been slow cooked in a meat sauce for hours, and a good quality mozzerella on top.

Up till around 2000 or so, you could find multiple places with real meatball subs in almost any town in California at least (not even going to talk about NY).

But see, subway was already around, as was quiznos and Togo's.

Togo's at least had a spicey red sauce, and if you where lucky, they had their meatballs soak in it for awhile (if they ran out they would just microwave them and add the sauce though).

But Subway pretty much killed many togo's/quiznos and many other places that served meatball sandwiches, and to compete most other places ended up using a similar type of meatball/sauce (I call it cheff boyardee meatballs).

This spread rapidly, and now it's hard to find any real meatball subs, with many of the places that don't use the above version, just calling meatloaf sandwiches, meatball subs (meatloaf is not a meatball people).

Now we are seeing the absolute death of real meatball sandwiches in Olympia at least (already had happened in Gilroy years ago). No togo's even, but all subway, firehouse etc (all places with those chef boyardee meatballs).

They are edible, but they are not meatball subs.

I could make my own I guess, but it's alot of work and good meatballs take hours of slow cooking. Something you can do if you have a store no problem, but doesn't make nearly as much sense at home.

Also, the lack of available good Mozzerella on the west coast has escalated in the last few years.

It was possible to get decent Mozz from speciality stores in San Jose a few years ago in CA, but...those stores all closed within the last 5 years. Polly-O brand Mozz was about the only decent east coast cheese you could get, and the stores that stocked it in SJ closed. You can't really even find it anymore (not online, not at speciality stores etc).

All you can get is that crap galbonni, etc cheese, not even close to as good:(

Heck Safeways etc....don't even carry WHOLE MILK Mozz at all anymore!! It's insane.

The world has moved on from good meatball sandwiches it seems:(
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wolfy42 posted...

I could make my own I guess, but it's alot of work and good meatballs take hours of slow cooking. Something you can do if you have a store no problem, but doesn't make nearly as much sense at home.

How do you figure? You toss them in at low in the morning, go to work and when you get home you've got delicious meatballs.

EightySeven posted...

wolfy42 posted...

I could make my own I guess, but it's alot of work and good meatballs take hours of slow cooking. Something you can do if you have a store no problem, but doesn't make nearly as much sense at home.

How do you figure? You toss them in at low in the morning, go to work and when you get home you've got delicious meatballs.

Yeah, I guess. I'll have to make some, just something better about buying a sub, then making it yourself. Still can't get the good cheese either for it:(

But if I have no other option, I guess making my own is the only solution.
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i worked at a Togo's for 4 years and the meatballs were hands down our worst type of meat. The roast beef, pastrami, turkey were all actually of decent quality but I never liked the meatballs.
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Their meatballs (At togo's) where not that good, but the sauce was spicey, so if they actually soaked the meatballs in the sauce (and didn't just nuke them then add the sauce/meatballs to the sandwich) they where halfway decent.

You pretty much had to go to the store and make sure they had the meatballs actually sitting in the sauce though, or it was very hit or miss.

I can eat a subway meatball sandwich, but I wouldn't call it a meatball sandwich really, it's edible, but certainly nothing I would ever look forward to.

Memories of good food are kinda horrible, if you can't get it anymore.
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You just wrote a whole book on meatball subs

You should reevaluate your life

MICHALECOLE posted...

You just wrote a whole book on meatball subs

You should reevaluate your life

Not much left in my life besides food at this point, and doubt that will change soon. Just not motivated even to travel etc. Even food isn't motivating me much (To cook etc), hence the desire for places that actually make decent food.

Perhaps I should sell my house and move somewhere that has good food at least. Maybe even NY hehe.....that would inspire me probably. I might die of a heart attack from eating too much bad food, but at least I'd die happy.
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I've found that Costco has fantastic meatballs. That might be an option if home-making them isn't ideal.

And with a cheese-making kit, you can make over a month's supply of mozzarella of your own in about an hour.
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There are at least a couple of Italian places near me that have the good meatball subs. The kind that has 4 inch meatballs that have to be cut in half to fit in the roll.

I know what you mean by the chef boyardee meatballs, that shit is sub par grossness.
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I didn't know anyone cared this much about meatball subs.
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I lived around place with good meatballs

Never ate them because SCREW YOU MEATBALLS. THERE ARE BETTER THINGS TO EAT

*spits on meatballs*
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I'm planning on a trip to costco soon, I will try their meatballs (never found frozen ones to be good, but it's worth a shot).

Yeah Firewood, I think I'm just cursed or something Gilroy CA was bad (no good meatball subs anywhere nearby, but at least it had a togo's (although I didn't eat there).

Olympia WA though........it makes every other place I have lived seem like a wonderland of food. Seriously no chineese at all (people don't even know what it means, they are like, do you mean Thai food?). My roomate has lived here her whole life and has no clue about mongolian beef, string bean chicken etc. Unless you eat at freaking Panda express you'll never have heard of them.

I have heard of cheese making kits and seen them for sale online. I could try that I guess.....no clue how it compares but it's worth a shot, thanks.

Oh and I care about food because I love it, I always planned where I was going to eat on trips etc first. This is the worst place I have ever lived for good food:(
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ReggieTheReckless posted...

I lived around place with good meatballs

Never ate them because SCREW YOU MEATBALLS. THERE ARE BETTER THINGS TO EAT

*spits on meatballs*

You sir, have spat apon greatness!! Greatness I say!!

How DARE you!!!

I throw a glove in your face!!!
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There is an Italian pizza place around here called Rosati's that makes really good meatball subs

The ones at subway are basically chef boiardi quality
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The East coast still has the real deal ones.
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Too bad the west coast doesn't have an Italian / Greek place on ever corner like the East coast does.
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Have you tried ordering a meatball sub from your local pizzeria?
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Judgmenl posted...

Too bad the west coast doesn't have an Italian / Greek place on ever corner like the East coast does.

I guess you've never been to the west coast Greek places are everywhere

I love me some souvlaki
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Yeah, I have tried a few, some are ok....none are what I'm looking for though (best sub around here is from a itallian place that sounds like a mexican place actually. It's downtown though so annoying to get to.

Almost worth going to get one tonight, but not quite.
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it helps that subway has tasty meatballs
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