Valletta, Malta: "Sunk" My Teeth Into This "Submarine" And Boy Was I Glad I Did

The Submarine

Italian, Fast Food, Mediterranean

Triq II Merkanti, 42B (aka 42B Merchant Street)

Valletta, Malta 1173

Phone: +356 7706 4944
Facebook Page

Prices: €€€€

TripAdvisor has this little place listed about four blocks East (toward the fort) on Merkanti, so we had to call to find out exactly where they were. The owners have been begging TripAdvisor to fix the map issue for months, but have been ignored. That is one of the reasons why I resigned as a Top Contributor on TripAdvisor, because they do not respond to customers (merchants or reviewers - aka the people that pay their bills) and because they selectively publish reviews, a practice I found deceiving and dishonest.

The Submarine is run by a very nice Italian couple from Bologna and boy do they make great sandwiches and at reasonable prices. Fresh breads (ciabatta, baguette, ftira and others) and fillings of your choice (salami, prosciutto, mortadella ... you name it ... and dozens of cheeses, toppings and sauces ... all for just €3.50 ... MAMMA MIA ... CHE BUONO ... HOOAH!

If the map is wrong, which like most addresses in Malta is very likely, ask a local where 42B Merkanti Street is. I can guarantee you it is worth the effort.

Salami, Gouda, Mushroom and Tomato with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette on Ciabatta

Half of a Finocchiona, Provolone, Olive and Pesto on Toasted Ftira

It is a tiny place, but the sandwiches are big and scrummy. I had a salami, gouda, mushroom and tomato sandwich with an olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette, toasted on ciabatta and YUUUUUUUUM, it was delicious. My wife's finocchiona (a Tuscan salami), provolone, olive and pesto on toasted ftira (Maltese bread) was equally as good. Include a cold pint of beer and an ice tea, and we were satiated and happy as larks for just €13 total. What more can you ask for?

CombatCritic Gives The Submarine 10 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Ten Bombs Equates To:

HOOAH!: "Phonetic spelling of the acronym HUA, which stands for 'Heard Understood Acknowledged.' Originally used by the British in the late 1800's in Afghanistan. More recently adopted by the United States Army to indicate an affirmative or a pleased response." - Urban Dictionary

"The Department of Military Science and Leadership, University of Tennessee claim HOOAH 'refers to or means anything except no' ... Regardless of its meaning ... the term is an expression of high morale, confidence, motivation and spirit." - WarChronicle.com

"The U.S. Air Force stole 'HOOAH' from the Army because we were part of the Army until 1947 and rather than waste a bunch of time coming up with something new and unique like "ROO-YAH" or "HAL-A-LOO-YAH", we said 'screw it, let's go with HOOAH' ... thanks Army ... HOOAH!" - CombatCritic

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17 - 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over  1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

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Title: Valletta, Malta: "Sunk" My Teeth Into This "Submarine" And Boy Was I Glad I Did

Key Words: Valletta, Malta, The Submarine, the, submarine, 42, Merkanti, Merchant, street, sandwiches, sandwich, shop, fast, food, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato

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Lawrence, KS: Sad, Depressing ... Like Subway Only More Expensive

Yello Sub
Sandwiches
1814 W 23rd Street
Lawrence, KS 66046
Phone: (785) 843-6000
Web: yello-sub.planetsub.com
Prices: $$$$

There is not a lot I can say over and above what I said in the title. I love a good sandwich. I do not eat them often, but when I do I go to my "happy place", reminiscent of childhood, summers in SoCal, and being outdoors. Yello Sub did not take me to my happy place.

There are few decent restaurants and fewer good sandwich shops in this city of nearly 100,000, a college town no less, and I had high expectations after reading Yello Sub's reviews. Four-plus (4+) stars out of 5 on Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Zomato? Really? What are you people thinking?

I stopped eating at Subway years ago, not just because of their false advertising (I have never seen a real sandwich that looks anything like those in the photos, online or in commercials), but because they are not a good value. A "$5 Footlong" has maybe 4 ounces of meat at most (although those in their advertising likely have 8 to 16) and so do Yello Sub's although I could not find a single photo of a sandwich in their store or on their website.

I grew up on "submarine" (Italian cold cut) sandwiches in Los Angeles where good delis are a dime a dozen. Those sandwiches were two-fisters. You had to wrap your hands around them, if you could, to keep all of the meat, cheese, and veggies on them from falling out. If you grew up in the Northeast or in Los Angeles, you know what I am talking about. YUM!

I ordered the footlong Super Hero ($8.49+ tax) with salami, pepperoni, spicy capicola (spelled "capocollo", an Italian ham made from the meat of a hog's head [capo] and shoulder [collo]), provolone cheese, red onions, lettuce, banana peppers, oregano, vinegar, and oil. The first thing I noticed was how light the bag was. When I got home, I found out why. The sandwich was smaller than a Subway Footlong with about the same amount of meat and cheese, but with less veggies. Notedly absent was sliced tomato, an absolute requirement for an Italian "hoagie" or "submarine" (depending on where you grew up). The sandwich was underwhelming to say the least and at nearly twice the price of its "low-value" Subway counterpart, a massive disappointment and poor value.

Well, I guess I had more to say than I thought I did. The only reason they got more than one bomb was because the service I received was friendly and professional and because they do not mis-advertise.

CombatCritic Gives Yello Sub 3 Out of 10 Bombs ... More Bombs Are Better!

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:
Yelp - "Elite '14/'15"

TripAdvisor - "Top Contributor" 

Tabelog - "Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - "Super Foodie"

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Title: Sad, Depressing, Like Subway Only More Expensive

Key Words: Yello Sub, yello, yellow, sub, submarine, Lawrence, Kansas, 23rd, sandwich, shop, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor