REVIEW: Subway Sriracha Chicken Melt

Subway Sriracha Chicken Melt

“Would you like your tomatoes toasted?” the Subway sandwich maker asked after I told her I’d like to try their Sriracha Chicken Melt with Italian bread.

“Fancy schmancy!” I unintentionally blurted out loud in an old woman’s voice, and then followed that with a nod of my head.

My excitement waned after finding out the tomato toasting involved just placing the tomatoes on the meat and cheese of the sandwich and toasting it all in Subway’s proprietary (and somewhat loud) toasters. I guess fancy schmancy would be if she asked me if I wanted my tomatoes fire roasted and then, after me agreeing, proceeded to pull out a proprietary Subway blowtorch and roast those ‘toes.

Because Subway’s shredded lettuce tends dull the flavor of every sandwich, and because I wanted to copy what’s on the promotional posters for the new Sriracha Melts, I also asked the Subway sandwich maker to top my sub with green peppers, red onions, and pepper jack cheese. Before adding the veggies, she squirted on a helping of Subway’s Creamy Sriracha Sauce as if she was signing her name on my sandwich.

However, as she was doing that, I thought to myself, “Subway probably formulated this sauce so that it would appeal to many different taste buds, so it’s A) not going to be as spicy as the rooster sauce most of us know and love; B) not going to be as bold as the rooster sauce most of us know and love; C) I wonder if she notices my fly is open, I should probably zip that up; D) I should probably ask for more sauce; E) I’m taking too much time to ponder about this because she’s asking me again what veggies I want.” After taking off my thinking cap, I asked for more creamy sriracha sauce.

By the way, is it just me or do other people feel they’re not getting their money’s worth when they don’t load up their Subway sandwich with as many veggies as possible?

Subway Sriracha Chicken Melt Closeup

If you go through bottles of rooster sauce because it’s your jam, the bright orange creamy sriracha sauce will disappoint and you’d be better off just squirting your own sriracha sauce on your Subway sandwich, which is probably something you already do since rooster sauce is your jam. As for the rest of you, it’s definitely a nice change of pace from the usual mild condiments offered, like lite mayonnaise, mustard, honey mustard, and sweet onion.

The sauce’s spiciness is almost on the same level as Taco Bell’s Hot Sauce, which is my sauce of choice when I Live Mas. Along with the chili pepper flavor, there’s a bit of sweetness and tanginess, but overall it doesn’t have a bold or garlicky flavor like actual cock sauce. With that said, I have to say the sauce is tasty enough that it made me say to myself, “Wow. This sandwich didn’t make me sad like the others have. It’s the most enjoyable Subway sandwich I’ve had in a long time.”

As for the rest of the sandwich, I wish the chicken was marinated in the creamy sriracha sauce; the red onions and green peppers added some crunch and flavor that enhanced the sauce; and the pepper jack cheese kind of got lost behind the sauce. As for the toasted tomatoes, I don’t think toasting them did anything to improve their flavor. Perhaps being fire roasted with a blowtorch might’ve helped.

(Nutrition Facts – 6 inch – 440 calories, 230 calories from fat, 25 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 70 milligrams of cholesterol, 990 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, 26 grams of protein.)

Item: Subway Sriracha Chicken Melt
Purchased Price: $7.50
Size: Footlong
Purchased at: Subway
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Most enjoyable Subway sandwich I’ve had in a long time, thanks to that sauce. Creamy sriracha sauce has decent heat and flavor. Red onions and green peppers enhance the sauce. Subway employees who use the condiments to sign their names on the sandwich.
Cons: Folks hoping for rooster sauce will be disappointed. Chicken not marinated. Not sure the pepper jack cheese doesn’t anything. Getting asked if I want my tomatoes toasted was kind of weird. Blurting out archaic phrases in an old woman’s voice. Daythinking while in ordering a sandwich.

QUICK REVIEW: Jimmy Dean Delights Garden Blend Breakfast Bowl

Jimmy Dean Delights Garden Blend Breakfast Bowl

Purchased Price: $3.00
Size: 7 oz.
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: As much as I hate the distribution of the cheese in my bowl, its flavor helped this entree from being extremely boring. Potatoes were soft and seasoned nicely. Decent amount of veggies. Nice balanced flavor; I could taste every ingredient. Egg whites provide a lot of protein.
Cons: Egg whites look like they saw a ghost and had Michael Jackson’s skin abnormality. Cheese loves sticking to the bottom of the bowl and to forks. Cheese came in clumps. It’s weird eating a Jimmy Dean product without any meat in it.

Jimmy Dean Delights Garden Blend Breakfast Bowl Closeup

Nutrition Facts: 240 calories, 90 calories from fat, 10 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 500 milligrams of sodium, 120 milligrams of potassium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, 18 grams of protein, 8% vitamin A, 35% calcium, and 2% iron.

FAST FOOD FIVE – 11/20/2013

IMG_1922

Here are five recent fast food news bites:

Oh, sriracha. Slowly making your way through the fast food chains after a year of being used in almost every snack type possible. (via Grub Grade)

Sonic’s Chocolate Holiday Mint Molten Cake Sundae makes me wish there was a Sonic Drive-In here. Oh, who am I kidding? The only reason why I wish for a Sonic Drive-In is because I want to be served by someone on roller skates. (via Business Wire)

Maybe it’s just me, but classic Italian sandwiches aren’t enough to convince me to visit a Quiznos. However, if they were served to me by someone on roller skates… (via Quiznos Twitter)

More Starbucks pastries that’ll be washed down with Starbucks coffee. (via Starbucks Melody)

I wish this McItaly Gran Chianina burger would Mc its way to the United States, but it definitely won’t. (via Brand Eating)

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 11/20/2013

Here are some interesting new and limited edition products found on store shelves by us and your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.

Limited Edition California Pizza Kitchen Greek Recipe

I’d like California Pizza Kitchen to come up with a pizza recipe for every ethnic group because I would totally nosh a Minangkabau-style pizza. (Spotted by Marvo at Safeway.)

Country Crock Simply Delicious

Would it be funny if I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter came out with a spread called Deliciously Simple? (Spotted by Marvo at Safeway.)

Keebler El Duende

Things I’ve learned from a press release, these are somewhat new (available since summer), it “reflects the importance of Hispanic consumers,” and El Duende means “The Elf.” (Spotted by Jamie at Target.)

Collector's Edition Taylor Swift Diet Coke

I’m not looking forward to the day when Diet Coke decides to stop selling their Taylor Swift Collector’s Edition and Taylor Swift decides to write a song about it. (Spotted by Marvo at Target.)

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Deliciously Simple

OMG! That’s so funny…but not surprising now that I know both companies are owned by Unilever. (Spotted by Marvo at Safeway.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new or limited edition product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

QUICK REVIEW: Taco Bell Triple Chicken Stack

Taco Bell Triple Chicken Stack

Purchased Price: $5.99*
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Taco Bell
Rating: 4 out of 10
Pros: Chicken has a pleasant, but mild lime flavor. Lots of chicken. Flatbread is long and not tough.
Cons: Failing at trying to come up with more positive things to say about the unremarkable Taco Bell Triple Chicken Stack. Some Taco Bell products don’t need their sauce, but this definitely NEEDS Taco Bell sauce. Three cheese blend and chicken give it an unmemorable flavor. Chicken kept falling out because some of it was chopped too small. Flatbread makes my fingers feel like I’ve been collating paper all day.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

Taco Bell Triple Chicken Stack Side

Nutrition Facts: 690 calories, 270 calories from fat, 27 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 95 milligrams of cholesterol, 1700 milligrams of sodium, 60 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar, 51 grams of protein.

Taco Bell Triple Chicken Stack Innards