8 Sandwiches At Jersey Mike's, Ranked

Jersey Mike's got its start when its namesake, Mike, opened his sub shop on the Jersey Shore, calling it Mike's Subs. It became a popular lunch spot for vacationers and residents in the surrounding area. In 1975, Peter Cancro, an employee of the shop since he was 17 years old, purchased the original Mike's Subs as a teenager still in high school. Over the years, Cancro steadily grew the business, withstanding several slowdowns, and becoming a very wealthy man with the chain growing to thousands of sandwich shops.

The menu at Jersey Mike's consists of cold and hot subs. One of the big differences between Jersey Mike's and some other sub shops is that all of the meat and cheese is cut in a meat slicer in full view of the customer. Whether it's the fresh ingredients right out in front of you, the blend of juices and spices, or this very open kitchen design, Jersey Mike's sandwiches feel like something that is fresh and clean. The brand tries to bring a beachfront sandwich shop into your neighborhood, and with the vibe of the restaurants and the outcome of the sandwiches, it's a pretty good sell.

A longtime fan of Jersey Mike's, I take a look at several sandwiches and rate them according to the balance of flavors, ease of eating, and overall taste. Although my favorite has been dethroned, my sampling should give you a very clear picture of the perfect Jersey Mike's for you.

I love tuna fish sandwiches. It's not uncommon for me to drain a can of tuna, add some mayo and pickle relish, and spread that out on white bread. It was my go-to snack in high school. Suffice it to say, I don't need my tuna fish sandwiches to be very unique or over the top. That said, the Tuna Fish at Jersey Mike's is just simply missing something.

Looking at the toppings, it wouldn't seem so, and I wouldn't have thought this to be the case either. It has a tuna salad that is made right at the Jersey Mike's location with chopped celery, pepper, and mayo. I got it Mike's Way, adding lettuce, tomato, onion, red wine vinegar, oil, and seasonings. The flavor was so over the top fishy that I only took a few bites. Having sampled many canned tuna brands, I feel that the tuna used here must be of some of the lower quality because it was so annoyingly fishy. Thanks to TikTok user thatcrazysubguy and a Jersey Mike's area manager, I quickly found my answer. Jersey Mike's uses StarKist tuna in its tuna salad, which is one of my least favorite varieties of canned tuna. Jersey Mike's tuna salad may be made fresh, but when the tuna is bad, the sub will be too. This is much more of a tuna fish sandwich than a tuna salad sandwich, and if you bring it back to work, be ready to clear the break room.

Many sandwich names at Jersey Mike's are very descriptive and will essentially tell you what is on the sandwich. Not so with the Stickball Special. I had to do a bit of digging into this one, but thatcrazysubguy came through again and shared that the Stickball Special is named for a group of neighborhood kids that would ask for the cheapest sandwich that Mike (as in, the original Mike's Subs) could dole out. It turns out that was provolone, spam, and salami. This evolved into the Stickball Special with provolone, ham, and salami.

While the story is cute as can be, this wasn't my favorite sandwich. It ranks rather low overall because the meat just has such a presence. I don't particularly like cured meats like pepperonis and salami, so while I know this might be someone's favorite, it wasn't mine.

Since meat heavy subs are not my favorite, it might be logical to assume that The Veggie sub would be far more preferable. In fact, it was the very first sub I tried at Jersey Mike's. I feel now, as I felt then, that the cheese is far too heavy. Rather than being a vegetarian sandwich that has a whole lot of variety on it, you mostly end up with just cheese and the toppings that are considered Mike's Way. Certainly, you get the crunch of a couple of green peppers, and of course, that's welcome, but it's not enough to call this a veggie sub.

However, all hope is not lost. To add a little bit more slip to the sandwich, I like to add mayonnaise. Pickles make a great texture piece, and to really liven it up, add in some of the hot cherry pepper relish. With all of these additions, the sub becomes much better, but without them, you're going to end up with basically a boring cheese sandwich, like I had here. For that reason, this one ends up pretty low on my ranking. While I appreciate the flavor of the sub after I typically make additions, I wanted to give each of these tasting subs a fair shot at competing against one another as a basic order, so for the purposes of this ranking, I was left without them.

Even though Jersey Mike's is a pretty popular sub sandwich franchise, walking into one always has that small sandwich shop feel. Many of its sandwiches seem to harken back to the days when Mike's Subs was much smaller, and that's exactly what the Jersey Shore's Favorite sandwich is a call back to. According to Jersey Mike's, this was a popular sandwich with both locals and vacationers.

The sandwich is pretty similar to the Stickball Special, but instead of salami, you get cappacuolo. This is a type of meat that is cured to create very juicy meat. It's one of those meats that if you grow up loving it, there's a good chance you'll always love it, but if you're a convert or didn't have it as a child, it might be a tougher sell. Unfortunately, I fall in the latter category, so for me, the sandwich was too pork heavy. It was also distinctly missing something — so I recommend, if you like a little extra bite, add some of that cherry pepper relish.

Watching The Original Italian's assembly is quite the experience and similar to a grinder sandwich. There's layer after layer of meat and cheese, and it's a bit disconcerting if you're not a meat obsessed fan. In tasting it, I found the Original Italian to get a little overwhelming, but it's quite the popular sandwich, so if you are one that loves a loaded down sandwich with a whole lot of different flavors, this is probably going to be a favorite of yours. It's my husband's go-to sandwich.

That said, I can absolutely respect the art of making such a sandwich. Once, a few years ago, when my husband ordered this one, the Jersey Mike's employee preparing the sandwich commented that he was used to making it in preparation for some competition for the chain. I remembered that statement while researching this article and looked into it a little further. It turns out the Original Italian is the sub that Jersey Mike's employees compete against each other with for the company's National Conference competition. In it, they must make a giant version, Mike's Way.

When I visit Jersey Mike's, my go-to order is almost always a Turkey and Provolone. While I don't typically enjoy provolone on its own, paired with turkey, it's delicious — an excellent combo. The provolone makes the turkey stand out a bit more, while the turkey provides a nice base for the more acidic elements of the Mike's Way additions. When I order my own, I typically ask for the cherry pepper relish and honey mustard, but without it and just Mike's Way, the sandwich is still good.

After this tasting, though, I think my feelings about my favorite sandwich have changed. While the Turkey and Provolone is a delicious starter, there is a cold sub on the menu that I like even more. It's very similar to the Turkey and Provolone but has a few additions that really make it stand out. Even still, the Turkey and Provolone sub is great, and the only problem with it is that there are even tastier subs on the menu.

I've never been to Philadelphia, so I've never had the opportunity to sample a real Philly cheesesteak. Alas, I must rely on sandwiches like Mike's Famous Philly to get a feel for it. If the real Philly cheese steak is anything like Mike's, I'm pretty sure I'd be a fan. This warm sandwich comes with grilled onions, peppers, and white American cheese. For my sampling, I did not order it in Mike's Way as this seemed like a weird addition to make to a warm sandwich.

Typically, I avoid warm sandwiches because I don't like the way the bread crisps up to create a too sharp mouthfeel. Thankfully, that's not a problem here as everything is warmed on its own and then added to the sandwich. It is very soft, but the grilled onions and peppers do retain a little crunch, a texture difference I love. The Mike's Famous Philly sandwich is warm, gooey, and richly flavorful. There's the perfect amount of meat to make sure it's not overwhelming and to be quite honest, this warm sandwich is quite addicting. I've ordered a giant on more than one occasion and eaten the entire thing, only to be riddled with an incredibly overfull sensation for the rest of the evening. It's delicious, but try not to go overboard. Trust me, I know it's difficult.

While the Turkey and Provolone may have been an old favorite of mine, I think I've upgraded to the Club Sub as my new sandwich. It builds on the Turkey and Provolone with three important additions: ham, mayo, and bacon.

Before trying the sandwich, I had never had any of the bacon from Jersey Mike's, and I am incredibly surprised by how delicious it is on the sandwich. It tastes fresh and has the ideal temperature and texture to include on a cold sub. The way the smokiness from the bacon and ham plays with the turkey and the provolone makes both absolutely superior additions. I got it Mike's Way, and when I go back, I will probably make my typical additions of the cherry pepper relish and honey mustard to really see if this one can step up its game. Between the balance of flavors, mouthfeel, and just all around outstanding combination, this one absolutely tops the list of my favorite sandwiches I've tried from Jersey Mike's.

For this Jersey Mike's taste test, I visited my newly opened Jersey Mike's shop a few times over the course of the week, each time sampling at least one sub. The selections I chose for this tasting were meant to best reflect the offerings at Jersey Mike's. I feel like most of the sandwiches that come out of the stores are cold, so I opted to only choose one warm sandwich, but I feel it's the most emblematic of the warm sandwiches at Jersey Mike's. The rest of the warm sandwiches appear to be variations of Mike's Famous Philly.

In order to get the real Jersey Mike's experience, I ordered each of these sandwiches (aside from the warm offering) Mike's Way. The uninitiated should know that this will include a layering of shredded lettuce, crisp onions, big tomatoes, and juices and spices. It's really the way to ensure you're getting all the flavors of a Jersey Mike's sandwich.

When tasting and ranking, I took into consideration the balance of flavor, ease of eating, and overall taste of each sandwich. I expected certain sandwiches to be my favorite, and I was actually surprised at which ones ended up winning overall. Likewise, I ended up being disappointed with a few of the sandwiches that I expected to enjoy.