Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Jimmy John's (an ode to Kevin Durant)

It is gourmet.  Dude.

If you've ever spoken to me for any extended length of time, you most likely realize that I have some sort of weird obsession with Kevin Durant. Not gonna lie, that guy's a stud, no bromo. After reading Danny's post on cupcakes (see here), in which he seems to imply that KD is not currently the best player in the NBA, I was livid, and felt obliged to respond. When the debate about the 'Franchise Player' pops up, Lebron's the easy choice. He's gaudy, annoying, and yeah... he puts up big numbers, but Kevin Durant's that guy that people respect, but don't talk about as much. He does everything right, has untapped potential, keeps his mouth shut and just plays the game. In the sandwiching world... that's Jimmy John's.

For the 22 years that I've been on this earth, I had never heard about Jimmy John's, despite the fact that they have locations in a bajillion states. It wasn't until a friend of mine, who wouldn't stop praising their sandwiches, forced me to try it, and then I was absolutely hooked.

Beach club (Jimmy John's)

The 'Beach Club' in all its glory. For $7, it's a monstrosity of a turkey sandwich filled with guacamole, alfalfa sprouts, and all the standard fixings. While nothing about the sandwich wows you at first glance, its excellence is subtle. The bread is actually fantastically special, a french bread that's good enough to stand on its own. A firm, yet not quite crunchy, outer shell contains a matrix of fluffy innards. The only way to describe the flavor would be... delicately sweet. It's a sandwich that's fundamentally sound in all aspects.

Insides of beach club

The turkey is certainly passable, the veggies all fresh, but this is definitely a case where the overall surpasses the sum of the parts. I don't even like alfalfa sprouts or cucumbers, but in the overall equation, they were good. They made sense.

Bootlegger club (Jimmy John's)

Or you can get the 'Bootlegger's Club.' A combination of roast beef with turkey and the standard lettuce, onions, and tomatoes. Like Kevin Durant, Jimmy John's isn't a one trick pony. He can shoot the lights out or penetrate like no other. A generic sandwich when it comes to fillings, but yet again it does everything correctly. It's easy to fuck up a sandwich, but to properly execute a number of different sandwiches is infinitely difficult.

Yeah it's true that Jimmy John's is a fast food establishment, but that doesn't really detract from their ability to make sandwiches. Starting with bread baked fresh daily, through wickedly well thought out flavor combinations, they're a franchise that does everything right... loads of potential, fantastic sandwiches, but not quite as well liked/known as the Subway or Quiznos of the world. Maybe it's not so flashy, but just like Kevin Durant... it's already the best in the sandwich game, I think people are just slow to accept it because there are flashier options around right now. In due time, people will realize the awesomeness of JJ's, just as they'll come to accept KD as the unanimous choice as 'The Franchise.'

8 comments:

DSJ said...

If you're going to do Jimmy John's, you might as well do Dunkin Donuts. What if I've never had DD before?

Danny said...

The debate never ends! We don't have Jimmy John's in NYC :( I think the best player in the NBA is al ways a fun debate. A great player must always lead his team somewhere right? But then Kobe was widely regarded as the best player in the NBA pre-Gasol, when the Lake-show was a stink-show. So winning matters because if you're awesome, your team should be good. But then if you have a great sidekick, how much of the win percentage do you account for? At the very least, we can say that Lebron single handily took his team to the NBA finals and got their ass whopped by the Spurs a few years back. haha. But even if KD gets to the Finals, I'm always gonna say he had an easier time because Westbrook is there. The fact is that if Scottie Pippen had played for the Blazers, Clyde might have as many rings as Isiah. And the Bulls? who know?

Nicholas said...

DSJ - calm your tits. I'll get to DD when the pancake sausage bites arrive.

Danny - NYC def needs a JJ's. I don't think a great player has to lead his team somewhere. Case in point, Rick Nash in hockey. Virtually no one would say he's not a great player (heart and soul and all that), but he's had a shitacular team with which he could actually do nothing. I know he wouldn't be considered the 'best,' but it's just an example. I'm not convinced on this Westbrook argument though... Williams wasn't nearly as bad last year as you say, and Westbrook wasn't playing out of his mind like he is this year. I feel like KD + sidekick argument isn't as big a factor as you're suggesting :p

James said...

There's a place in Austin (and elsewhere?) Called "Which 'Wich" that is equally amazing for a fast food sandwich joint. You walk in, customize your own sandwich on a paper ballot, then hand it to the staff, who put that shit together masterfully, toast the thing, and have it in your hands within minutes. Places like that increase my anger over Subway's incredibly shitty shittiness that much more.

Nicholas said...

James - that sounds way more fantastic than JJ's. At JJ's, it's not really fully customizable, and you're kind of stuck with the default menu of 20+ sandwiches (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), but the ability to make a 'Frankenwich' is always awesome in my book. I agree though, if JJ's can make deliciously fresh sandwiches for ~$6, then Subway needs to step up its $5 footlong game.

Mare said...

JJ's is the shite....a staple at my past dropzone (skydiving center), yum. BTW, how did you manage to lose 70 lbs? Good on ya Nicholas!

Unknown said...

Did you order it with a tiny bit of meat?

Dishwasher said...

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