Sub City

Delicious, the «Gregory J way» is the way to go. I stop here every time I’m in town.

Good value. Nicely prepared sub with FRESH sliced meats and cheeses. No prepackaged chain at all. Good & honest folks offering good value subs. Consistently busy with many repeat customers. Will be back! Thanks Sub City for breaking the choices of franchised chains only.

I don’t care what you say, I like this place. There is so much garbage called «food» in this town, but Sub City is one place that rises above the rest. Not saying the food is awesome — note 3 star rating above. The Sub City Special is my favorite. But it is the ultimate in kitsch, and the food is pretty good for the price.
They used to run commercials with a «talking» plastic lobster which they would wiggle across the screen as it «talked.». That was 1990 something, and I ate here then. As of today, nothing has changed. Store interior, exactly the same. Food, exactly the same. Value, same. That’s all probably a good thing.
Now, if I get sick like the girl below, I’ll probably need to update this review. As it stands, I think it’s one of the places worth eating at if you have to visit this godawful town.

Sub City is no chain store, that’s for sure. It’s a simple ma & pa business that specializes in New Jersey style subs. In fact Sub City originated in New Jersey before the owner moved to Iowa over 20 years ago. They use only fresh cut meats and cheeses, never packaged cold cuts. And yes, the quality of meats are definitely better than what most chains use. Why does Subway use factory sliced meats? Because they pump so much water into their cold cuts to make it go farther that it has to be slightly frozen in order to slice it at the plant. I know this because my brother-​in-​law is a supervisor at a meat packing plant that produces cold cuts for Subway.
Sub City doesn’t bake their own bread, which would be a nice touch, but it is fresh and tasty. What makes these sandwiches good is the emphasis on the meat & cheese, not overloading them with mounds of shredded lettuce like Subway does to mask their flavorless meat and cheese. The veggies they do offer (and admittedly not a lot of choices) are always fresh and simple.
Believe me this place wouldn’t have survived downtown for 20 years with Quizno’s, Little King and Blimpie all nearby if it wasn’t really good. If you want bland and watery, factory-​cut baloney with tons of rabbit food on it, then Subway is the place for you. If you want a real, homemade sub sandwich with some taste, check out Sub City.

I thought the other review was way too nice! Sub City sucks! Everytime my fiancé and I go there, we get sick for days. Their mayo tastes like it has gone bad because it has a sour kick to it, and the meat and bread are not much better. I am embarrassed to say that I have gone to this deli around 5 times, and after the 5^th or so time, I was convinced that none of the other horrible experiences I had there were flukes… what was I thinking!!! The service is almost as bad as the mayo. One time, I went there 20 minutes before they closed (at 4pm mind you!!!) and the «sandwich guy» rolled his eyes and sighed in my face while he slapped my nasty sandwich together. Oh yeah, I am really sorry that he might not get out of work in time to go to Subway for a better sandwich and then get home to watch Oprah… I feel so bad for him! (sense my sarcasm) I really wanted to like this downtown deli, but learn from my mistakes and stay far far away!

I don’t want to offend anybody who likes this place but I’m just going to tell it like it is. Sub City puts the veggies out in disposable Gladware. I don’t judge on that, I’m just saying it. They slice the meat in front of you and that might give you the impression that it’s going to be a great sub, but then it turns out to be a trick. What is the point of slicing the meat to order when it is such low quality cheap and fatty meat? I’m sad to say you are better off going to some franchise Subway or Quiznos because the meat at Subway is much better quality. The subs are $ 7.25-$ 7.75 for full size, a little bigger than a subway foot long, and $ 4.75 for a half size. Eating here also made me appreciate the difference between mediocre and great tasting bread. Franchise places got the hookup. Sub City got the bland wholesale hoagies. Go ahead and eat here, though, if you are anti capitalism.