Subway is hit or miss for me too. I like the BMT and the meatball sub. As far as great subs go, there's a greasy spoon called The West Pier in my home town. When I was a child, the only sub that could be had was there. It consisted of bologna, salami, cheese, chopped green pepper, shredded lettuce, chopped black olives, and onion. It was made of the best sub rolls and fillings the owner could purchase. He made the subs to be sold the night before, so as to let the flavors mingle a bit. If he ran out, he would not make more, or sell them freshly made. Sadly, in our world of bottom line trumps everything, the quality of ingredients available in the 60
2 and 70's can't be had in these parts any more, and so the sub, though still pretty good, is no longer magical.
In El Cajon Ca. there was a place called Grinders. It had wonderful italian subs, dressed with EVOO.
The best I can find now is at a gas station/convenience store in a little town called Guliver, on highway US-2, enroute to Manistique MI. They have a wonderfully light and delicate sub roll, with very good hard salami, pepperoni, and capicola, all with a good provolone, topped with a choice of dressings, black olives, onion, peppers, etc. The sandwich is toasted, which results in a crisp, very thin and delightful outer crust, supremely tender bread crumb, and those great fillings that sing on the palate.
My other favorite sub is only available on Christmas day, in my dining room. We purchase several kinds of cheese, and deli meats, along with a couple different breads, and dressings, and veggies. Then, we make our own subs the way we want, and toast them or not as personally desired. no one has to spend the day cooking.
Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North