Which Wich? Tasty sandwiches but eat them elsewhere

Maybe it speaks lowly of my entertainment level but I was excited to see the new Which Wich finally open in the Kroger Shopping Center at Dowlen and Folsom in Beaumont.

I try my best to find a good sandwich that is not too laden with fat and needless carbs and sodium. That isn’t easy to do here in Beaumont, Texas, on the Upper Texas Coast, where you can go to the original Jason’s Deli or have a nice, fresh fried shrimp po-boy. Subways, we’ve got a few. More like we have enough Subways to build foot-long submarine sandwiches to the Sun. Don’t get me wrong. I like Subway and I appreciate that they give dieters a fairly decent variety of subs that aren’t too shabby. Even that variety isn’t enough though and that is a problem right here in River City, with a capital C that rhymes with P and that stands for “pulled pork.” Sorry.

All manner of sandwiches can be found here in Beaumont. But when it comes to restaurants which specialize in the sandwich, you are kind of SOL (Sandwich Out of Luck.) You’ve got your Jason’s, which I mentioned before, two of them. There is a Schlotzsky’s and a Wienerschnitzel and burgers out the Wazoo. We have a MacAlister’s. There were once two Quiznos and now there are zilch. I don’t know why. There are other little holes in the wall: Chuck’s Sandwich Shop downtown, which has a killer hamburger, maybe in more ways than one but I still like it; A fine gyro can be found at Endari’s Exxon on Gulf St. and I-10 East. There are others I am forgetting for sure.

So perhaps you can understand my excitement, or perhaps “enthusiasm” is the best word, over a new multi-sandwich shop. I think the best direction for a critique of this new place is direct. So here we gooooooo!

Food: I give it an “A.” Now I only ate one of their sandwiches out of one of their numerous categories. Mine was in the “Italian” group and was a grinder much to my order and liking. It was a very tasty mix of salami, pepperoni and capicolla on my choice of wheat bread which was toasted along with my other choices of provolone, deli mustard, light mayo, red onions, lettuce and pepperoncini. Looking later at the nutrition chart, if I had chosen the American cheese over the provolone, I would have had a grinder with 16 grams of fat as opposed to 19 grams. But hey, that wouldn’t have been right. This was an “Italian” sandwich and not an “American,” kinda sorta. The sodium was way over the top for me, which was to be expected along with the carbs at 54 grams from the wheat bread.

Service: I would have to say “C.” First, if you have never eaten at this chain or particular place before, one finds a menu in the entrance way. Below the menu hangs above hoppers holding brown paper sacks. Printed on the sacks are the categories of sandwiches listed above on the menu such as chicken, turkey, ham, seafood, Italian and so forth. You take a sack and a little marking pen and check your choices for bread, size of the sandwich, toasted or not, extras such as double cheese or meat, then you “Work Your Wich” checking — at least in this particular store — off your pick from almost 10 cheeses, four mustards, three mayos, 10 spreads or sauces such as A1, BBQ, pesto, salsa, hummus and the like, six dressings, three types of onion, seven oils and spice and more than a dozen veggies. You can also orders these in a bowl with shredded lettuce and croutons.

Several people were along the line to help explain how to work the menu should this be your first time doing the Which Wich. Whether this is only for new stores I don’t know and I didn’t ask. I did the find these helpers to be just a bit pushy. Perhaps it was because of a growing dinner crowd, but I found their manner almost as much of a turnoff as seating, which I will discuss below. Once you make all your check marks, you then place your order and then your name is called, which in my case was in a more than reasonable amount of time. One does have to listen carefully though as it can be difficult to hear your name announced over the noise of the crowd.

ATMOSPHERE: No question, a solid “D.” The furnishings of this place give me the impression that you should order and get the hell out. There is limited seating. A few tables with backed-chairs are available but not many. There are several large tables with stools and a long aluminum counter also with a number of stools. Those stools. My oh my! Those stools are what gave me the most trouble in deciding between an D and an F. The seats are tiny in sitting area and have no back. If you have a big butt, or perhaps even a medium one and especially a bony one, I’d take my food to the comfort of my car, as was the decision I decided upon.

There is a fairly big TV hanging from the wall but I couldn’t see it because of the glare from the large restaurant windows.

Overall, I would have to give this place an A+ for cleanliness should I have chosen to make that a separate category because this place was doctor office clean. It was downright sterile.

Another big draw for me are several sandwiches specified on the menu as low-fat. A vegetarian choice also exists for those with such inclinations.

Which Wich Superior Sandwiches is a Dallas-based chain that appears from its Website to have about 200 franchises at the moment. The company’s founder, CEO and CVO (Chief VIbe Officer) Jeff Sinelli. The CVO had previously created and later sold Ghengis Grill, a Mongolian barbecue restaurant.

Sinelli says that he wants to “spread good vibes, in the form of superior service.”

 “We want you to walk away from our stores feeling 100% renewed, refueled, and satisfied,” says CVO Sinelli. “There’s no reason to have an inferior experience at a superior sandwich brand.”

It is a very bold guarantee for the growing franchise operation to make. They might just make this goal and I certainly hope they do. While I felt plenty renewed and refueled upon eating, I couldn’t give the entire dining experience a 100 percent just because of the service and seating issues. But definitely, I will be back, next time armed with nutritional information from the Web even though I might be tempted with another grinder because it was so good. I will just plan on eating my sandwich at home or in my car.

Which Wich Superior Sandwiches

3905 Dowlen Road

Beaumont, Texas

(409)892-9424

(409)899-4329 (Fax)

beaumontdowlen@whichwich.net

Hours: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., everyday