Faceoff: Potbelly’s serves scrumptious subs

Rotten subs, terrible service and bread with knives in it are some of the complaints Subway customers have expressed over the years. Potbelly’s on the other hand, is a much better sub chain, serving delicious, hot sandwiches, tasty milkshakes, a warm welcoming atmosphere and knife-free subs; and not to mention, owner Bryant Keil is a CHS alumnus.

Potbelly’s has been providing these wonderful life essentials since 1977, when it started as an antique shop selling sandwiches to beloved customers. Unlike some other sandwich chains, Potbelly’s has maintained the same atmosphere and charm that it had when it first started, and the food is stellar.

Sandwich competitor Subway offers thin, processed slices of meat, terrible customer service and a lack of delicious milkshakes. Potbelly’s on the other hand, has quality meat, friendly employees and has a large supply of frozen treats.

Eating at Potbelly’s is a pleasurable experience, coupling delicious food with dessert and live music. At Subway you get a sub-par sandwich, wallpaper, and in my experience, unwelcoming employees.
A toasted sub at Subway consists of a roll of bread, meat and cheese going into a microwave on steroids and coming out seconds later stale and soggy. Potbelly’s toasts subs on a magical conveyer belt of deliciousness. Potbelly’s cares if your sandwich comes out the way you like it. Subway cares about throwing toppings on a piece of bread and collecting exact change.

Potbelly’s locations such as Rio, Rockville Town Center, and downtown Bethesda are all right next to movie theatres and entertainment attractions. The sandwiches, baked goods and frozen treats are a wonderful way to enjoy a night out with your best buds.
Subway relies on commercial pulls and catchy jingles to sway consumers rather than using their actual food. “Jared lost weight,” “Eat Fresh” or “5 dollar foot long” are all pathetic marketing pleas that a sandwich consumer should not be fooled by. Even Subway.com admits that Jared’s weight loss was due to exercise and his results are not typical.

Potbelly’s stays true to the one thing people love, food. The bottom line is people go out to enjoy food and have a good time, not lose weight or “Eat fresh.”

Faceoff: Subway offers great variety

All day long your teachers and parents tell you what to do, but at Subway, you are the boss.
 Subway is an exceptional sub and sandwich shop, and hands down the best sandwich restaurant around in comparison with Quizno’s and Potbelly’s.

Subway is so great for two reasons. One is that, unlike its inferior opponent Potbelly’s, you get to watch the freshest and most nutritious ingredients being added to your food.

At Subway, a 6-inch marinara meatball sub, including cheese and various vegetables (lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, olives, onions and green peppers), only has 580 calories. At Potbelly’s, a meatball sub not including cheese or anything except the meat, sauce and bread is 618 calories.

When you enter  Subway, you are directed to the start of the line where you can pick one of eight hearty and fresh baked breads.
Proceeding from there, you are offered the choice of 13 savory meats, six delectable cheeses, nine fresh vegetables and 11 different sandwich condiments. The possibilities are almost endless and are sure to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters.

In a world where obesity is at an all time high, Subway offers eight healthy sandwiches containing “6 grams or less” fat, meeting the dietary and nutrition needs of the healthiest of eaters.

Another plus about Subway is that it has a location in every state and in 90 countries ranging from Argentina to Zambia.

Due to the recent, economic downturn, money is scarce and people are reserved about eating out, but never fear, at Subway you always get your money’s worth.

While a six-inch sub at Potbelly’s is $4.77, Subway offers eight different foot-long subs for $5 each. Potbelly’s also offers a larger nine-inch sub for $5.77, which is smaller and more expensive than the average Subway sub.

Subway and Potbelly’s may be completely different, but they share one thing in common–they both live up to their names. Subway is named for its specialty subs and makes no claims to being anything more than its name. Potbelly’s is also appropriately named because a pot belly is exactly what you will get if you eat their fattening subs.