RED LOBSTER of MADISON HEIGHTS, MI

REVIEW

On a special date nite, my wife and I headed for Red Lobster located at 101 W. 12 Mile Rd in Madison Heights, MI to take advantage of their highly advertised Crab Fest. I have some positives and a few negatives I'd like to share.

First, the positives: The food was consistently well prepared and the staff was friendly and accommodating. The things we'd expect to be delicious, were. Actually, there wasn't an issue with the taste of any of the dishes, just some minor texture issues. The Caesar Salad was superb. One of the best I've had in a long time. The dressing was spot on and chilled to perfection. Even the croutons and Parmesan cheese shavings were a hit. The Cheddar Bay Biscuits were amazing as always. The calamari appetizer was adequate. It was a pretty big portion which had battered red bell peppers strips and tiny broccoli florets mixed in with the squid. The squid itself was tender and nowhere near as chewy as I thought they'd be. But, the overall texture of the dish was greasy. After being deep fried, the coating was a little darker than I would've liked.
  

I had been looking forward to the Alaskan King Crab Lover's Dream all week. When I looked at the menu I noticed that this particular combination came with four Alaskan King Crab legs, four Bairdi Crab legs, Crab Linguini Alfredo and a side. I asked the server if I could substitute the Bairdi for King and pay the difference. No problem. I was a happy camper. After finishing my salad and half of my app, the Crab Lover's Dream arrived. It was almost what I wanted. The baked potato was heavily salted on the outside skin. That was off putting since the skin is my favorite part of the potato and now I couldn't eat it. In this regard, the spud was a dud. I added an ear of Parmesan and cilantro buttered corn on the cob as an extra side for $1.99. I'm not crazy about cilantro, but this was pretty good. Those of you who love cilantro, will love this.

Now to rate the crab legs. The eight legs were very small. They were the same size as a snow crab. Alaskan Kings are supposed to be huge. For the money we were spending, I was expecting a creature that could take on Godzilla. I asked the server if they were indeed King Crab, and he assured me that they were. He offered to send the manager over to see if they can do something about it. After she arrived, I asked if the crab I ordered (and was willing to pay extra for) were Kings. She said that they were and that they weigh them out before serving.

She asked what my concerns were. I said that I was in doubt that they were Kings because they looked more like dukes. I had killed spiders in my garage that had bigger legs than what was on my plate. She offered to bring me four more legs at no charge, which would have cost me $19.99. I figured that as long as I got the meat I was looking for, that'd be alright with me. In this regard, they were able to make it up to me.

After I got home I realized that they never served me a crab leg with the big claw. Last week I went to Fuji Japanese Seafood Buffet and they had unlimited Snow Crab, including the Claws, and the whole sushi bar, soup bar, and about one hundred items in the buffet, for the same cost of what they would have charged me for the extra four small crab legs ($19.99). What I ordered at Red Lobster, not including the corn or calamari, was $31.00. Why they would leave out the big claw, one of the meatiest part of the crab, is beyond me. All in all, I did have twelve small crab legs without the claws, but learned a lesson or two about asking about the proprietor's crabs before I go to a place where they serve them. Either way, I think I got my crab fix in for the year, so the chances of me returning to Red Lobster for Crab is a long ways off. I might scout around for a place that doesn't skimp on the size of their kings and includes the claws.

For dessert I had the Key Lime pie. It looked more like a green disc and lay on a drizzle of what appeared to be raspberry coolly. The pie was not balanced. Too much sweet and not enough tart. It's not the old Key Lime they used to serve, so don't be expecting the good old days when Key Lime tasted like Key Lime.

I don't feel cheated at Red Lobster since they made it right, but if I hadn't questioned them I think they would've charged me the same amount for less food and not say a word. To their credit, they took responsibility and action after my questions were addressed. 

My advise is to call ahead and make sure that what they're offering matches up with your expectations. 

Happy Noshing,

~Bobby

SMASHBURGER of TROY, MI

REVIEW

Smashburger at 1735 E. Big Beaver, Troy, MI, just west oh the SW corner of E. Big Beaver and John R Rd is a fairly new burger joint in our parts. As I understand it, this brand is headquartered out of Colorado. One thing they excel at is their service. They are superb at accommodating their clients, their politeness, and you can tell that they strive to be just plain nice. There is an air of wholesomeness about the place, but not because of it's outward appearance. It's the people. In this regard, they get ten out of five stars in my book. Outstanding!

From the beginning, one can tell that Smashburger brings some borrowed assets from other chains and seems to be taking good advantage of them. I'm not complaining mind you. I find it refreshing that a company isn't afraid to adopt some of the outstanding features that have worked well elsewhere. Good features translate into good benefits. Even though they lift some good ideas from other companies, they seem to be able to maintain their own unique spin on them.

Focusing on their burgers, Smashburger uses a smashing method in searing their certified never frozen Angus beef. Because Smashburger is so similar to it's closest competitor, Culver's of WI, I'll be making some comparisons. Culver's offer smashed Butter burgers that are every bit as good, if not better than Smashburger. Culver's beef isn't frozen either. Culver's meat is a combination of Flank Steak, Top Sirloin and 80/20 Chuck. I'm not sure what cuts of beef Smashburger uses, only that it is certified Angus beef. Culver's have been using the smashing technique for many years; way before Smashburger was conceived. The only differences are that Smashburger presses and holds their smasher weight on the meat for ten seconds before releasing pressure to create a caramelized sear that locks in the juices of the patty. 

They boast using a customized smashing paddle weight and special spatula, but the reality is, there is little that is special about them. They're heavy and well made, but these industrial grade kitchen tools have been around for decades. Culver's uses a heavy spatula and cylinder shaped weight to smash their beef, so the differences are nominal. I ordered a heavy duty spatula off of Amazon.com and it's as industrial grade as you can get. It has a beveled edge just like Smashburger and Culver's. For my weight, I get by with a can of green beans from my pantry and wrap the can in foil.  

Smashburger cooks their patties a little longer than Culver's because they offer three different patty sizes (1/5 lb, 1/3 lb and 1/2 lb). The bigger the patty, the longer it has to cook. Also, both companies season their patties with a combination of salt, pepper and according to the Smashburger founder, "natural flavor", whatever that means.

Both chains butter their buns, then toast them on the grill. Smashburger uses an egg bun, which I personally like. They also go a step further by adding more butter onto the grill just before they smash the meat. Smashburger makes a tasty burger, but the flavor of the beef was what I was hoping to enjoy the most since it is supposed to be the star of the show. In my opinion, the beef's flavor was actually a little obscured due to all of the toppings. I suppose if I ate the meat all by itself, I'd get a better sense of the flavor they intended the customer to experience. Instead, the beef was just a member of the supporting cast of components that makes up their burger. I ordered a basic Classic Smash because I wanted to evaluate the burger on it's own merit. Although the toppings are great additions, I think they went a little overboard with them.  

They use two tomatoes, four pickles, two layers of red onions, a good amount of shredded lettuce. Smash sauce, ketchup and of course, cheese. If you've ever eaten a Whopper from Burger King, you'll get the same messy experience eating a Smashburger. Personally, I enjoy a burger when it's in my mouth instead of it dripping down my chin. Perhaps they can utilize their wrapper a little better and fold it into a burger diaper like Hardee's does to keep it's Thick-burger together. The Classic Smash just kind've runs all over the place.
Comparing Culver's Butter burger Deluxe with cheese and a Classic Smash from Smashburger, I'd say that when I bite into a Culver's, the word that comes to mind is 'fresh.' Everything about it screams freshness. Each topping complements the next. There isn't too much of one thing or too little of another. The Butter burger Deluxe is completely in sync with all of it's components and well constructed. When I bite into a Smashburger, the word that comes to mind is 'runny'. The toppings don't enhance the Classic Smash as much as  they dominate it. Like I said, the meat should be the star. In my opinion, sometimes less is more. Five Guys Burgers and Fries keeps things extremely simple and fresh. There is no question one can tell that the beef is the star of their burger. I think that's why they're so successful. For me, both Five Guys and Culver's ranks right up there in freshness and synergy. Keeping it simple isn't the M.O. at Smashburger. 

Smashburger uses a special sauce called, Smash sauce on the top bun. The Smash sauce, if I'm not mistaken, is a mixture of mayo, mustard, relish and a little lemon juice. In the end, the big difference in the Smash sauce and the condiments Culver's use (mayo, mustard, pickles) is that the Smash sauce is mixed together with a squirt of lemon juice. It does make for a more challenging sandwich to eat because it adds to the slipperiness of the burger. Again, get ready to use a lot of napkins. My wife ordered the Club Smash with avocado. She liked it and had no complaints. I liked the egg bun they used because it holds up well against all of he wet ingredients, plus I actually think it tastes better. Culver's bun holds it's own as well, but I prefer the egg bun. 

Now, I'll turn my attention to the Smash fries and Haystack onions. First the Haystack onions... They are more like the shoestring onions you'd get on a pulled pork sandwich at some BBQ joint, so don't be expecting traditional beer battered onion rings when ordering at Smashburger. The batter is pretty salty. After swallowing the onions, I got a backlash of saltiness in the rear of my mouth, which was very noticeable. It made me want to wash it down with my drink. This occurred with every bite. I asked if I could get the onions without salt, but they explained that the salt is in the batter they use. They were very accommodating by first offering and then bringing me a new order of Haystack onions, but when that batch proved to be just as salty, they offered to bring me a Banana shake in it's place at no charge. The shake was pretty good, but didn't measure up to a Culver's frozen custard.

The Smash fries were a lot like Steak N' Shake's fries, only they're tossed with olive oil and rosemary. They were nice, but a bit oily. They were very thin and I pretty much had to eat them with a fork. But, they were tasty. So much so, I ordered another batch. 

My verdict is this: If you're in an area where a Smashburger is available to you, go inside and give them a try. If you like exotic toppings like avocado and blue cheese, you may really like this place. They offer Smash chicken sandwiches and salads as well. You'll have to explore the menu for yourself to pick and choose whats to your liking. For me, what stood out was the service and positive team attitude of the staff. The food was good, but secondary to their great service.

While I was eating my Classic Smash, I kept asking myself, "If I was hungry and had to choose between Smashburger and Culver's, knowing that they were the same distance from my current location, where would I go?" Smashburger is superior to most chains in service, although Culver's is pretty much identical. Some might not agree depending on your own experience with both chains, but for me, I've never had anything but a positive experience at Culver's at any location (and I've been to many). However, I did notice that Smashburger in Troy had an edge in positive energy and 'a go out of your way to please the customer' vibe.

Both companies emphasize serving techniques that are well received in that a customer orders at the front counter and the staff brings the food to them moments after it's cooked. Burger King fiddled this method several years ago, but for whatever reason decided to abandon it. It's a pity too, because it works well. I think it's a better way to serve customers because the result is a nice piping hot meal instead of getting a burger that's been sitting under a heat lamp for minutes at a time. This cook-to-order and bring to the table system is another borrowed attribute from Culver's. If you're going to mimic a service method to make the customer's dining experience a better one, I say, good job Smashburger for taking something that works regardless of who you borrowed it from. That shows that you put the customer first and not your own egos.

Since Smashburger tends to borrow ideas from other chains, I wish they would have lifted the practice of using sweet bread and butter pickles on their burgers instead of dill pickles. This is a Hardee's signature and what I believe makes their burgers so tasty. That one thing is what keeps be coming back to Hardee's. When I make a Culver's style Butter burger Deluxe at home, I always use bread and butter pickles.

I do want to say this about Culver's. They offer more variety on their menu. Smashburger didn't invent smash burgers. Culver's has been perfecting smash style burgers for a long time. Smashburger just joined the commodity slide and put their own spin on it. Culver's not only offers delicious and juicy Butter burgers in many varieties, they also offer up a pretty good Ruben, a Patty-melt called a Swiss-melt, fries, onion rings, cheese curds, real mashed potatoes, green beans, BBQ pulled pork, grilled tender loin of chicken, fried shrimp, North Atlantic Cod, soups, pork loin, fried chicken, endless frozen custard flavors and combinations, and much more. Everything is fresh and oozes with quality at Culver's. Smashburger's spin is that they take a more novel approach regarding their toppings (blue cheese, avocados, etc...), which appeals to the customer's more adventurous side. It gives them a modern take on flavor combinations. Apparently it's working because this chain is growing fast.

I will note that Culver's decor is a bit more inviting and cheerful looking without being gaudy. When I'm at Culver's I'm not distracted by over the top color schemes. It's done in good taste. In contrast, Smashburger utilizes the color red a little too much for my liking. It's not as warm feeling or as welcoming as Culver's. But, I believe Smashburger makes up for this in it's customer friendly personal touch. That's always easy to warm up to. That aside, it's this bending over backwards to please their customers outlook that stands out with Smashburger. Kudos to their efforts. If I'm in the area of a Smashburger, I'd definitely return, but if I had to choose between the two, I'd probably choose Culver's ten out of ten times based on their high quality food and vast variety of choices.

Those who are addicted to Smashburger, I say that there is nothing wrong with staying loyal to your brand. I encourage it. They earned your loyalty through providing top notch service. I'd go back, but I don't think I'd make a special trip to get a Smashburger fix as I would with Culver's. Comparing apple to apples, the burgers are pretty much the same, except for a the few notables mentioned above. All in all, the Smashburger's taste isn't something I'd write home about, but it's better than most burger joints. If I were to rank my top five tasty fast food burgers, and I'd like to be very clear on this point: TASTY. Not fancy. Not gourmet. Just tasty, I'd begin with Five Guys at number one, Culver's 2, Hardee's 3, White Castle (I can't help it. I love White Castle's taste; so sue me. There is something about those little steamed buggers that is uniquely special). 4, Smashburger 5. Steak N' Shake's steak burgers come in with an honorable mention. Notice that McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, Red Robin or DQ aren't even in the running. I didn't include pub burgers in this ranking because they are in a whole other league. For now, I'm just ranking local fast food hamburgers. I wish we had an In-And-Out Burger joint in the area because I've heard many good things about them.

Happy Noshing,

~Bobby 

FIREHOUSE SUBS of BERKLEY, MI

REVIEW

I was very much looking forward to my first ever Firehouse Sub at 28557 Woodward Ave in Berkley, MI. I've read mostly good things about them and I wanted to try one for myself. I also wanted to compare their Steak and Cheese sub to a competitor's, namely Jersey Mike's Subs. I ordered the sub the same way I always do with extra sauteed onions and some jalapeno peppers. 

When I unwrapped the sub, I opened wide with anticipation and took my first bite. I was expecting a burst of that good old cheese-steak flavor. What I got was a mouthful of no flavor. The beef was unseasoned. Completely unseasoned. No salt, no pepper, no nothing. I don't like a lot of salt on my meats to begin with, but no seasoning at all was a surprise. The sauteed onions had no seasoning either. Usually, when one saute's or grills onions, salt is used to allow the onions to sweat and bring out their flavor. Even though I asked for grilled onions, the cook sauteed them, resulting in a finished product I didn't want. I wanted the onions to have that grilled and slightly charred taste. I know this is a bit nit-picky, but if I ask for something a certain way, the cook should be able to accomondate my request. But this was the least of my problems. I was more concerned about them putting mayo and mustard as standard ingredients on a HOT Steak and Cheese? I can see someone requesting these on their sub as I do with jalapenos if that suits their fancy. There's nothing wrong with that. But, serving these ingredients on this classic seems odd at best. It's like painting a big red clown's nose onto the Mona Lisa. It just doesn't belong. Whoever designed the Firehouse Steak and Cheese for their everyday menu needs to rethink this ill conceived combination.

Anyway, after a few bites, I bit into a portion of beef that had the texture of a thick rubber band we'd find holding together stalks of broccoli. It actually snapped back. My jaws eventually lost the battle of tug of war, so I decided to see what I was fighting against. I tried to pull the piece of beef apart with my hands, but it was like a piece of Flex Seal, that rubberized sealant you see on TV? I looked at my wife and said, "Sweety, look at this." She watched me struggling with this tendon and couldn't believe how elastic, but unyielding it was. After I gave up the fight, I felt like sending it off to the Smithsonian so they could display it as an attraction for curiosity seekers. Perhaps I could get some of my money back if they cut me in for a piece of the admission price.

My wife ordered the Smokehouse Beef and Cheddar Brisket with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. From her first bite she also agreed that the meat was flavorless. Not only that, the beef was chopped so fine that it didn't have the texture of brisket. Instead it was more like minced meat that felt very greasy, like a meat lava flow. Her meat had no consistency, while mine was fighting me like it was still trying keep itself from being eaten. Needless to say, the quality of both subs were, at best, substandard.

The dill pickle spear was a nice addition, until I bit into it. My first thought was, "Oh, what a nice surprise! A nice crisp pickle!" It was limp, warm and had no crunch that you'd expect from a dill spear. As it turns out, it was rolled in a plastic baggy and placed inside of the sub's wrapper. Do you know what happens to a dill spear that's rolled into the same paper wrapper of a hot sub? It doesn't make it. It dies. When I have a pickle with my sub, I want it to be firm, crunchy and cold. This pickle was beyond life support.

In the end, with all of their rave reviews, I expected a lot more from Firehouse Subs. I think their marketing strategy is based on selling their Firemen image rather than allowing the food to speak for them. As it turns out, I wouldn't feed their subs to a Dalmatian. I wouldn't want to be accused of being cruel to animals. Additionally, if I saw a Firehouse Subs ever ignite into flames due to spontaneous combustion, I'd be hard pressed to allow the Dalmatian to lift it's leg to put out the fire. Sorry Firehouse fans. As far as cheese steak is concerned, Firehouse is all wet.

Happy noshing,

~Bobby

JERSEY MIKE'S SUBS OF LATHRUP VILLIAGE, MI

REVIEW

My experiences at Jersey Mike's Subs in most locations has always been pleasant, however, this evening things took a turn for the worse. My wife and I received a Value Pack coupon from Jersey Mike's in the mail and decided to take advantage of it. The issuing location was the store at 17655 W 12 Mile Rd in Lathrup Village, MI on the SE corner of W 12 Mile Rd and Southfield Rds. What you're about to read is one of the reasons why I started my blog in the first place. I'm gonna say some things that most people are afraid to, but need to be said, so buckle up and enjoy the ride.

My wife arrived at the Lathrup Village location at around 6:15 p.m. Friday evening on the 15th of July 2016. When she stepped through the door there was only one customer ahead of her who was patiently awaiting to receive her food. After one of the seven employees took my wife's order, three other customers walked in. As my wife was waiting for her food to be prepared (a 15 minute wait), all three of the customers who had come in after her (and after she placed her order) received their orders before her. My wife, who says little, and complains even less, asked a question directly to a counter employee asking if it's their policy to make subs ahead of customers who had ordered their food before others even walked through the door? Four employees looked directly at her but didn't say a word in response. They knew she was there and heard what she asked, but chose to ignore her completely. A few minutes later a woman employee walked right up to my wife, purposely turned her head in the opposite direction, stared at a wall, held the bag of sandwiches with her arm fully extended and didn't say a word. There was no, "Thank you", "Have a nice day", or "Drop dead." Nothing. She made my wife feel as though she was a leper.

We've noticed that at some other restaurants in this area that some on their staff seem to emit racial overtones. Obviously this isn't the policy of Jersey Mike's or any other food service company. But I've seen or heard of it happening at Olga's and Panera Bread who's locations are in the same proximity of Lathrup Village. The perception is that there is a small fraction of folks working in that area, (who may or may not actually live in that area) who exhibit racial misconduct. If you are visiting Lathrup Village and find yourself wanting to get a bite to eat, you may want to brace yourself for the possibility of having a negative dining experience due to the prejudice that is sometimes displayed within that area.

I don't mind being patient waiting for my food to be cooked to order, but knowing that I'm purposely being ignored is a whole other matter. What's more, this isn't a one time occurrence. We've experienced this many times in this area over the years. Sometimes we notice it happening to other patrons who are dining out at the same location at the same time as us. At Olga's it's a rarity that we get the cold shoulder, but it does happen every now and then depending on who is working the floor that day. In the end, no one knows who the offending party is. All we know to remember is the brand of the establishment who employs them. That's who takes the black eye. In this case Jersey Mike's Subs is wearing a real shiner.

Some working in Lathrup Village go out of their way to get the point across that we don't belong. It's a gang mentality. We get the message. This isn't Jersey Mike's corporate policy or image they strive to project. Any Bozo can see that. Still, they are employing people who have this negative attitude and position them in their store. Ultimately, this reflects badly on the corporate body's image. 

You can't see it, touch it or smell it, but the negative vibe exuding from those seven staff members at the Jersey Mike's location in Lathrup was like a pungent offensive odor. It's alarming. One might ask that if it's so bad in Lathrup Village why keep going back? For one thing, I'm willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps they were having an off day. For another, it's close to home and where I've gone shopping and dining for years. But, for it to happen on a consistent basis over a long period of time, in that same geographic area, eventually someone has got to say something.

For some unknown reason, there seems to be a real element of racial tension in this area, which can be felt right away. I don't know why, but I receive decent courteous treatment while I'm in Detroit's establishments opposed to when I'm in some establishments in Lathrup Village. I've  never received any racial abuse from the fine folks who live and work in Detroit, and I used to work those streets every day. I've seen and heard gun shots in the D, but no one was ever discourteous to me. Compared to business establishments in Lathrup, it's like night and day. Like I said, it's much different in Lathrup Village. It's a pity too, because not all shops there behave this way. And, I'm sure that not all employees at the offending establishments believe this is the correct way to act. If this behavior isn't tolerated by the on site manager who supervises his staff every day, that sentiment will trickle down to the least of their employees. There has to be an element of accountability present, and it's the responsibility of management to see that their policy of intolerance toward negative social behavior is met with some form of actual discipline.

If inappropriate behavior is tolerated or even encouraged by an on site manager, we have a problem on our hands. It only takes one bad experience to destroy a company's standing in the hearts and minds of a jilted customer. So far, the Jersey Mike's in Lathrup seems to be excelling at repelling a certain fraction of their customer base. If it's not stopped, pretty soon it spreads throughout the entire community. If we look closely at the situation we'll realize that it's not Jersey Mike's who has brought this infestation to their store willingly. This unwanted culture infiltrated it's way into Jersey Mike's like mold behind decaying wood paneling. Without regular cleaning maintenance this mold will continue to spread. In fact, how the manager goes, so goes the staff. If the manager keeps a sharp eye out for those who are acting inappropriately and takes action right away, eventually the problem won't exist. Upper, mid and lower management needs to take control of this situation before a good location goes down in flames. I'm not blaming the current upper management in this case, but I am placing part of the blame on the management who holds the keys to that one store. I'm also blaming the team member who see's this behavior going on and does nothing to report it.   

Apparently the Area Mgr has several stores he is responsible for. All of the other locations I have visited under his guidance seem to be operating at a high standard. It may be that he simply needs to clean house and get new personnel at the Lathrup store. Perhaps bringing workers in from a different area nearby who know how to lead with positive energy will be the answer. Infusing good people into a bad location will often lift the standards higher than what was expected. It boils down to leadership.

Those who know me know that I'm not big on political correctness, so I don't really care if I receive some backlash regarding this review. I know that 'race' is a buzz word that most people are hesitant to use, especially in today's overly sensitive political and racial climate.  Personally, I don't care about the pigmentation of someone's skin or their ethnic background. As far as I'm concerned, we're all pink on the inside. No one is better than anyone else. Our personal worth is not up for grabs. However, our behavior and performance is up for grabs. The behavior and performance at the Lathrup store on this occasion was unacceptable. What I care about is treating others the way I'd like to be treated, especially if we're in the food service industry interacting with customers. If a food service company advertises good food and courteous service for a fee, that's what the patron should receive. Why should we settle for anything less? The food service provider is in the position they are in because they asked to be there. If they didn't, they should have never applied for the job. The staff at the Jersey Mike's in Lathrup Village doesn't seem to grasp this concept. At the moment all they are serving up is a bad attitude.

Getting back to our unforgettable experience... To make matters worse, they got my wife's order wrong. My wife made sure they knew that her sub couldn't contain jalapeño peppers. She is currently suffering from an acute case of acid re-flux. They didn't need to know why she didn't want jalapenos, they just needed omit them. Someone could get seriously ill if given certain foods that can aggravate a physical condition. Someone could die if they consume an ingredient they're allergic to. I'm sure you would agree.  

Anyway, my wife couldn't stand being there any longer so we decided to eat our subs at home. When she unwrapped her sandwich guess what she found? Moocho grande jalapenos. The sub she ordered was the Big Kahuna Cheese-steak, which is dressed with jalapenos, onions and sauteed mushrooms. To her dismay they added the peppers and left off almost all of the mushrooms. Her entire sandwich contained only one mushroom. Was the sandwich maker trying to mock her? Was that his puny attempt at getting her back for asking about the store's serving policy? I guess we'll never know. I do know this: If someone asks to omit an ingredient, and the staff member does it anyway because they think it's funny, and the customer gets sick as a result, that employee is guilty of assault with a spicy weapon.  

Personally, my sub tasted fine, but in the back of my mind I'm wondering: If it's possible to treat us badly to our face, what could they do to our order behind our backs without us knowing it? It's a fear a lot of people have. This is one of the reasons why I don't think I'll go back to the Jersey Mike's at the Lathrup location ever again. They've completely lost any sense of trust we may have had for them. It's not the company I'm disappointed in. It's those who work at that specific location. It's too bad too, because we don't live far from there and this location is very convenient for us. Now, we'll have to travel several more miles in the opposite direction to get a Jersey Mike's sub. Also, I feel sorry for the middle management who has to oversee this band of malcontents. I know this is behavior not well tolerated by those who are vested in Jersey Mike's. Letting people go and hiring and training new personnel is time consuming and expensive. Also, it's never an easy task to repair a damaged reputation. Damage control is a headache.

Anyway, after this experience, I decided to call the store and ask for the Regional Office phone number. The young woman who answered didn't seem to take my call very seriously. There was a lot of laughing in the background as if the employees didn't have anything else better to do. She yelled, (yes, yelled) to someone near her what the Regional Office number was, came back to me and lied saying that they don't have a Regional Office. Of course I knew this wasn't the case and told her that I'd just call another location and get the number from them.

That being said, I decided to call the Troy, MI location and told one of the Assistant managers about the episode in detail. He was very helpful and agreed that the behaviour displayed at the Lathrup Village location was grossly inappropriate and that he would have their Area Mgr give me a call the next day. He even told me that it's untrue that they don't have a Regional Office. To his credit, he said he would call the Area Manager as soon as he got off the phone with me and relay the situation to him. Within ten minutes the Assistant Manger from Troy called me back apologizing for the behaviour of the Lathrup Village location. He also said that his Area Manager takes these things very seriously and that this isn't the first time people have reported similar complaints about the Lathrup location.

What's lost in all of this is the fact that Jersey Mike's makes one fine tasty sub. Too bad this experience with them was tainted and left a bad taste in my mouth. I love Jersey Mike's Subs, but will no longer put up with the Lathrup Village location's attitude or behavior. If I want a Jersey Mike's sub, I'll be going to the Troy location. It's much further out of our way, but it'd be worth it knowing we'll be treated well. They know how to properly receive and service a customer. 

My recommendation is this: If you happen to notice the Jersey Mike's next to Olga's on the SE corner of W 12 Mile Rd in Lathrup Village, BEWARE! They lie, are slow to serve, purposely get orders wrong, play favorites and make you feel unwelcome to be in their store. That's not a place where I want to spend my dining out dollars.

Update: (7/18/2016). I received a call from the Area Manager from Jersey Mike's. All of the managers I spoke with were gracious and courteous. They all seemed genuinely sympathetic to our complaint and very concerned that such a thing would happen under their brand. They apologized for the behavior of those involved and assured me that an investigation has already been launched and steps are being taken to correct the situation. He also attempted to make thing right by offering a couple of free sub cards. I politely refused the cards, but I let him know that his gesture of offering them was more than enough. My goal was to see that the employees at Jersey Mike's of Lathrup Village were aware that this type behavior will not be tolerated and will be met with swift action. Our thanks to those at Jersey Mike's who are comitted to giving their customers an experience that would make them want to return.

I will continue to patronize Jersey Mike's; just not at that location. 

Hope this helps somebody.

Happy noshing,

~Bobby