Subway’s muddled menu
This is annoying: Subway’s Vegetarian & Seafood page features two seafood sandwiches, one vegetarian sandwich, and the “Cold Cut Combo” (sliced turkey bologna, turkey ham and turkey salami with your choice of vegetables, condiments, etc. served on freshly baked bread). It’s annoying enough that they lump vegetarian with seafood, but then adding a “Cold Cut Combo” that has nothing to do with anything (it’s a “local special”) on the same page really muddles things up.
And where the heck is the VeggieMax that the used to offer? It’s now called the Veggie Patty, but I can’t seem to find it on their web site. I visited a Subway the other night for the first time in well over a year (I instated a personal boycott when they were in bed with Atkins) and they couldn’t tell me what was in the Veggie Patty because they hadn’t saved any of the boxes the patties are shipped in. They literally showed me the patty to show me to see what was in it. “There are carrots in there, I think,” they told me. I ended up having their Veggie Delite with mustard, sans cheese.
To find anything remotely helpful for vegans, you’ve got to go to their “Ingredient Information for People with Food Allergies” PDF. The good news: all their bread is vegan, except for the ones whose names obviously indicate otherwise (”Italian Herbs and Cheese,” “Monterey Cheddar,” and “Parmesan Oregano”). Some sites I’ve seen have said that the wheat bread has honey added to it… not sure, though, since that’s not shown on the allergin chart. It gets a little trickier with their condoments and dressings, as the only vegan choices there are the yellow and brown mustard, oil and vinegar, and sweet onion sauce.
Subway seriously needs to get some faux meats in the mix. And a vegan saffron aioli. Hey, I can dream, right?
And I bet you think you’re so clever for being the FIRST PERSON EVER to come up with such a witty joke!
(Also, you might want to install spell-check.)
Pardon my spelling. I just think it’s kinda comical, people getting all up in arms because a teenager working minimum wage type jobs doesn’t know his ingredients. The world will now end.
I am sorry, veganism is elitism gone full circle.
If you are what you eat, and I eat only vegan cows, doesn’t that make me a vegan?
btw… I think Subway Veggie Delites are just wonderful. Salad on a bun…. hmmm… now there’s an idea whose time has come!
Pardon my spelling. I just think it’s kinda comical, people getting all up in arms because a teenager working minimum wage type jobs doesn’t know his ingredients. The world will now end.
I am sorry, veganism is elitism gone full circle.
If you are what you eat, and I eat only vegan cows, doesn’t that make me a vegan?
btw… I think Subway Veggie Delites are just wonderful. Salad on a bun…. hmmm… now there’s an idea whose time has come!
The “salad on a bun” phenomenon is exactly what I was arguing against earlier. I really, really hate that. Even more, I hate the expectation on the part of non-vegans that being vegan means *enjoying* eating things like that. IT DOESN’T!
Would you say that vegans are somehow better than non-vegans? My assessment is that the majority of you would. But I guess that makes me just as bogotted.
Veganism is one side of the scale, pure carnivorism (is that a word???) is opposite. Balance is of course the right way.
I think veganism=egotism simply because vegans have this “holier than thou” self-image, i.e. it is a religion whose followers requires strictest adherence to be a part of the inner circle. In fact I suspect that every vegan has inside him a terrorist waiting to get out… much like the PETA religion, and the feminist religion.
By the way, subway rocks. Especially on Sunday, I can get 2 steak and cheese subs for $8.99. Extra mayonaise please!
I am such a jerk. I hate mayonaise.
Don’t hate me because I eat meat. There are so many other good reasons to hate me.
This keeps getting funnier and funnier.
Veganism is one side of the scale, pure carnivorism (is that a word???) is opposite. Balance is of course the right way.
False logic. That’s akin to saying “Complete abstinence from murder is one side of the scale, murdering everyone you see is the oppposite. Balance is of course the right way.” Just because you have two “opposites” doesn’t automatically make the imagined dead-center the “right” way.
In fact I suspect that every vegan has inside him a terrorist waiting to get out
Nice. Good to see you’ve thought this through in a reasonable fashion.
Don’t hate me because I eat meat. There are so many other good reasons to hate me.
No one hates you for eating meat. Calling us terrorists-in-training doesn’t help matters, though.
Re: False Logic…
You are referrig to morals now, good and evil. This example works also for other aspects of good and evil such as abstinence, drugs, terrorism etc… all moral blacks and whites… of course in those situations absolute adherence is a must.
What you eat doesn’t make you good or evil. Morality should play a part in diet only inasmuch that we aren’t eating other people.
I know it appears that I am being arrogant thumbing my nose at veganism. You all go on eating your fruits and nuts, just drop the notion that eating meat is somehow wrong. Me taking issue with vegans I can see now is kind of like bullying the cripple kid. Sure, it may be fun, but in the end, the cripple kid becomes your boss and makes bullying them all the harder.
You realize of course I am kidding, cripple kids carry weapons.
Man, you all really do bring out the worst in me. You should be ashamed.
so i came on here to find out the ingredients for these veggie patties – not to ruin it for you guys but I believe autolyzed yeast extract is a natural form of MSG – : )
Just curious.
Why can’t vegans eat Honey?
That seems to me the same as eating veggies fertilized with manure.
This covers it relatively well:
http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm
If you eat at subway you can expect all of your food to be handled either by unwashed hands or meat juice covered gloves. I think subway is one of the better fastfood restaurants, but it is still just fastfood. If you are looking for a vegan friendly restaurant go to a place that advertises as one. Many of my friends and i have worked at several different chain restaurants and can almost guarantee that they are only up to code when the inspectors come around. If you are concerned i would suggest eating at a local quality restaurant or pack your lunch.
ok to clear up a little bit of the veggie max drama…. they are not vegan. they either contain milk or are shared on similar equiptment. they are moringstar patties though. there are a lot of ingredients, yet not bad ones.. oh and btw. i work at subway.. so im not some uneducated person lol
I am soooooo f*ing pissed at subway right now….i asked to see the ingredients to the bread, and she brought the box out to me…ok, then when i asked for the ingredients to the veggie max, she was like o i cant find the box…bs! another blogger went thru the same thing…they just dont want u to know that its not vegan!!! bastards…i ate 2 before i realized…thats what i get for putting the unknown in my mouth!
Renee, you’re a fool. If you are genuinely concerned about maintaining a vegan diet, don’t eat fast food. Cook your own, or go to a place that advertises a vegan menu. Do you honestly believe that some minimum wage subway worker (the bastard you were referring to) was trying to conceal the conspiracy of the non-vegan veggie-max patty? Is the world really going that far out of its way to screw up your life? That IS what you get for putting an unknown food in your mouth. If you cared that much about it, you wouldn’t have eaten it. Next time you should eat at a burger joint, where at least you can get a whaaaa-mburger with you french cries.
I HATE SUBWAY! I will never go in their again. Twice they made me a veggie sandwich without changing their gloves having made a meat sandwich before me. Why should I have to tell them to change their gloves to avoid meat juice on my food.
SUBWAY – YOU ARE A BIG PILL OF POO!
grrrrrrrrrr
Finally found the veggie patty nutritional information, but not the ingredients (sorry). The nutritional information was not on their main web page along with the other sandwiches, rather, I had to go into their FAQs to find the “Complete Nutrition Information” version: http://subway.com/subwayroot/MenuNutrition/Nutrition/pdf/NutritionValues.pdf
I have emailed them to request information on the ingredients.
Haven’t confirmed but I hate to tell you all that I think the bread subway uses is made w/ Lard.
So much for the veggie delight!
I just asked to see nutritional info and the store employees were all clueless…only one of three of them looked to be a teenager as well. They haded me a takeout menu when i asked for nutritional info. I wanted if for the veggie max that i had just ordered and they showed me the napkins that have some sandwhiches.. Subway is disapointing, they claim health this and health that but they are not even up to date. Still compared to any other fast food they’re way better!!
http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/menunutrition/nutrition/nutritionFAQs.aspx
check it.
ps – go to chipotle! everything that seems vegan there *is*. the guac, all the salsas, the chips, the tortillas (just not the pinto beans – they’re made with bacon i think). yum.
Well…after spending way too much time reading this entire thread I felt compelled to post some sort of response. There’s a variety of things going on here – some good, some pointless (i.e. neutral) and some bad. Please feel free to agree or disagree with any of my following sentiments. But as a prerequisite, I am a vegan.
First, being a vegan is a conscious choice that is not correct for everyone. This is okay. There is no single type of vegan – the simple idea that relative dietary choices would create some homogenous group of people is absurd. We’re all just people who choose not to eat certain foods. However, with that said, it does draw some sense of community because it’s not the norm (that’s right, I fully admit that it is a rouge element of most societies – I’m alright with that). I do not think that anyone who eats meat is a murder or a bad person – we don’t share the same belief in foods but that’s cool with me. I’d let you sit beside me in a restaurant and eat a steak and I would still address you in the same manner as a vegan who was eating some rice noodle pasta.
Second, because it’s not the norm, being a vegan can be difficult. It can become a real pain to check the ingredients on all prepackaged foods (I agree just cooking yourself becomes the easiest). But when you’re on the go it’s the hardest. Thus, it’s nice to know what you can and can’t eat ahead of time – for that, thank you for the list of ingredients. I feel fortunate for living in a variety of cities (Washington, DC, New York, LA, London, and Paris) that have been very vegan friendly – but not everyone has these options, so knowing what’s in these foods is very important to some.
Finally, in all seriousness, what foods you choose to eat have no bearing on who you are as a person. They might be a mitigating factor; however, they were never a sole cause. If someone chooses a diet it’s done so because of many other factors (this includes all vegetarians, vegans, and those who are not). Bigotry always walks a fine line – vegans can be just as bad as those who eat meat (if not worse sometimes). Tolerance is a learned trait – I wish you all the best and encourage everyone to follow what they feel leaves them satisfied (both inside and outside the kitchen). Sorry for the long post – thanks for so much material to respond to.
I emailed requesting that they provide the information on the website. They did not respond to that but at least they provided me with the detailed information. I am in BC, Can, so I don’t know if it’s different info if you live somewhere else.
Hope this helps people who found this site by trying to search for the nutrition info (like myself).
Gardenburger:
Mushrooms, brown rice, onions, rolled oats, part-skim mozzarella, cottage
cheese curd, egg white, cheddar cheese, bulgar wheat, natural seasonings and
spices, autolyzed yeast, sea salt, olive oil, tapioca starch, and vegetable
gum.
Calories 390
Protein (g) 19
Carbohydrates (g) 66
Sugar 6
Fat (g) 7
Sat. Fat (g) 2.5
Cholesterol (mg) 5
Sodium (mg) 960
Dietary Fiber (g) 9
VegiMax is as follows:
The ingredients: Vegetables (mushrooms, water chestnuts, onions, carrots,
green and red bell peppers, black olives), textured vegetable protein (soy
protein concentrate, wheat gluten, water for hydration), egg whites, cooked
brown rice, rolled oats, corn oil, calcium caseinate, soy sauce (water,
soybeans, salt, wheat), contains 2% or less of onion powder, corn starch,
salt, hydrolyzed corn, soy and wheat protein, autolyzed yeast extract,
natural flavors from non-meat sources, sugar, soy protein isolate, spices,
garlic powder, dextrose, jalapeno pepper powder, celery extract.
Calories 390
Protein (g) 24
Carbohydrates (g) 56
Sugar 7
Fat (g) 8
Sat. Fat (g) 1.5
Cholesterol (mg) 10
Sodium (mg) 1030
Dietary Fiber (g) 7
The above values include wheat or white bread, a 3.0 oz patty, and all the
standard vegetables. Cheese or other condiments are not included.
you know they touch ur sandwich w/the same gloves as they do with the meat….ewwwwwwwwwwwww
Hope this post isn’t too far gone to add another voice! I’m not vegetarian btw… heck yes for eating meat!
I’ve been working at Subway for over a year now and I’ve begun helping out with some management type duties. The veggie patties we have here (Metro Detroit) are Veggie Max patties. I finally tried one a few months ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. Tastes like a delicious sausage.
The funny thing is that we usually kept out veggie patties frozen until someone ordered one, which was maybe once every few days, simply because the box suggests so. However, a few months ago we began placing a few patties in a cambro on the bain with all of the other meats. We get plenty of “Ew, what is that,” but as you may have guessed our sales of veggie patties have increased dramatically. We probably sell about a dozen patties a day and now keep a spare bag of patties in our front cooler.
The moral of the story is: the more people want a product, the more we will sell and promote it.
Just wanted to confirm that at least some of the stores in the Cincinnati, OH area have BOTH the veggie patties and veggimax. I just got back from the Mason store. As always, individual stores vary because of the franchised nature of Subways.
the man with the vegan flan:
If you ask us to change our gloves, we will gladly do it, no matter how busy we are. We’re trained to respect people, and say you can’t have pork or something, we WILL change our gloves so that you’re satisfied. Try it sometime :)
metanoia29:
Amen to that brother! I’m the shift manager here at our local Subway. Our main customers for the Vegimax are Indian (no offense) and we get plenty of “What’s that” questions. I’ve also had to yell at my employees for lying to customers because they didn’t want to make it (because they say it smells when they cook it). I think it’s delicious though! (We also keep ours in the freezer). Unfortunately, our bain is too small to have it up there in view.
They carry the veggie patty in Cleveland OH. One store happened to put it on the ‘local favorite’ list, which is the only reason I knew about it. I actually didn’t know it was a ‘national’ thing since I couldn’t find it on Subway’s menu online and had never heard of the ‘local favs’ thing before. I just figured it was just a neighborhood thing. Go figure!
As for the patty. It was way too big for the 6-inch bun with all the salad stuffs, so I had to cut and take off part of it. It was fine. Just tasted like a microwaved Gardenburger with a little too much mushroom if you ask me. Personally I like the salad-on-some-bread-sub, since all I usually want is the bread, the sweet onion sauce, and the black olives. But I get the lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, etc., and I like it. No cheese, too many calories and I usually ended up picking it off anyway since I’m picky like that.
Anyway, I am glad they have that for those who don’t like the salad-on-some-bread-sub. Also, I know that sort of option would have been a lifesaver for me in my early days of vegetarianism, when I didn’t know exactly what I was supposed to be eating now that I didn’t eat meat but knew I wanted something that vaguely reminded me, texture-wise, of meat. Transitions and all.
I don’t get Subway often, but if I bring a veggie sub home, I fry up some of my own fake-chicken tofu stuffs and slap that on the sandwich. Way better than their VegPatty and fewer calories. Plus I know exactly what I put in it which is always nice.
“Twice they made me a veggie sandwich without changing their gloves having made a meat sandwich before me.”
If the idea of such a thing is so bothersome to you why not stay away altogether?
I would not give my money to a business that had so many offensive practices and made their profit from selling items or services that I felt were wrong, immoral or disgusting.
But it’s OK to add to their profits as long as the underpaid employees will do a little dance for you?
If you truly have strong convictions STAND by them. Otherwise it’s all just ego and pretentiousness.
“made me a veggie sandwich without changing their gloves”. Grow up.
I went into subway today and ordered the veggie patty, the guy serving asked me if I was a vegetarian for ethical reasons or just because I didn’t like the taste when I asked him why he told me that the ‘Veggie’ patty contains beef fat to hold all the ingredients together and that they wouldn’t actually tell you that. I’m not sure if this is only the case in the subways in the UK or if the same ingredient is used everywhere.
Try as you may to be a Vegan but somehow you will get a little meat on that sandwhich. I mean it’s not like they change gloves everytime they make a sandwich. So ENJOY!!
After reading this blog I am very saddened by subway, and many other companies choice to offer veggie options which are not vegan. Although I was vegetarian for a few years before becoming vegan, mainly because I became severly lactose intolerant, I think that over the last 10 years or so there have been many new options available at various restaurant’s.
I am still astonished by posts from people such as Lexy and others above which purposefully ridicule others just because they are different. But we have to remember to be accepting of people who choose to eat meat, if we want the same respect back from them. If not are we any better than them? Although I am all for people learning where their meat comes from and being informed consumers.
I do want to say thank you for making this site, I was unsure about the veggie patties at subway and for months kept checking their website and was never really sure why they didn’t post the nutritional information. I really wish someone would open in a chain of vegan/vegetarian fast food restaurant’s. Nowadays so many people have dietary restrictions ranging from allergies to religious beliefs, to health concerns, that companies should be required by law to have on hand all ingredient and nutritional information.
I spoke to a guy on long island and he happened to own a Subway. He actually took my email address and emailed me the ingredients. They were the same as “Vegan flan” posted. Although I live in Selden NY about a half hour away—when I get a craving I drive all the way to his place in Center Moriches, because I know he will always have them ( his wife is a vegetarian and it’s her favorite sub.) Plus he says people know that he carries them now so he says he sells more veggie maxes than meatball subs.
The veggiemax patties are vegitarian but not vegan, they contain milk and egg. I work there an have read the ingredients.
Got a response from Subway re: veggie patty nutritional information.
Hi Ryan,
Wonderful blog you’ve got here. Was searching for good vegetarian food in Subway when I stumbled across yours. Was pleasantly surprised and heartened to see this blog. Nice work. I’m an Indian and have been a vegetarian all my life. I used to have eggs some time when I was a child, but once I came of age and knew the good from the bad, I have stopped eating even items like cakes that contain eggs. I do consume milk though. I am not sure if you have had Indian food, but of all the cuisines in the world I have come across, I realized Indian food offers the most vegetarian dishes, so in case you haven’t tried, I’d really suggest you to try. Here’s a useful link – http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/OtherInfo/Subway.htm for Subway, it also has general info for different restaurants.
Keep it going! Let’s turn the world. Vegetarianism Rocks!
I would love to see them offer fake (vegan) meats – they would be a great venue to bring veganism to the public.
Kate, if you read blog 49, it gives ingredients for the veggiemax. I see no animal products there. However, the gardenburger does. Maybe that’s what your store sells.
I’m sorry, I meant blog 48.
I HATE SUBWAY! I will never go in their again. Twice they made me a veggie sandwich without changing their gloves having made a meat sandwich before me. Why should I have to tell them to change their gloves to avoid meat juice on my food.
SUBWAY – YOU ARE A BIG PILL OF POO!
grrrrrrrrrr (Teawhench)
I guess if you are seriously orthodox Jew, you might have deep objections with your roast beef being handled by the same gloves that handled ham or cheese.
But BIGOTRY certainly includes expecting the whole world (including every minimum wage sandwhich artiste) to read your mind on how orthodox you are in your particular belief system and comply.
PILL[sic] OF POO? (What is this, kindergarten?)
But I have a solution that respects my rights (becuase why should I be stiffed with the cost of something my belief system doesn’t require) and various ORTHODOX minorities – initiate a 25 cents per requested glove charge.
That way, you are particulary demanding, you can have your bread sliced with one set of gloves, your cold cuts inserted with another, two more sets of gloves so your lettuce doesn’t get handled with the same gloves that came into contact with tomatoes, ect., in absurdum.
Are Teawhench, et.al, sensitive a cornivore’s possible preference (depending on his degree of orthodoxy) not to have his meat handled (ewwwwwwwwwwwww!) by gloves that came into contact with this weird veggie concoction?
P.S. Contribute the charge to a tip fund for Subway employs. Then you would get a big smile… “Can I take your order? And how many times would you like me to change my gloves today?”
Somehow, I don’t think Teawhench has ever left anything in any tip jar (anywhere)
Hmm, I like subway a lot. Haha. I’ve been a vegetarian for well over 10 years and I go in there a lot, and get the veggie delight. Everytime I go in there they are pretty dead, so they get a new pair of gloves. Its soo hard to find fast food chains that offer vegetarian options, meat-eaters don’t understand. Mcdonalds is a vegetarian’s nightmare, everything contains meat products, even their fries and hashbrowns.
Burger king has the veggie burger which is pretty good.
I would much rather go to quiznos though, pay a couple dollars more and get a much better veggie sandwitch. Gauc and all. :D