Subito Sandwich

Address: 389 Gladstone Ave, Ottawa
Hours: 10am – 7pm (Mon); 10am – 8pm (Tue – Fri); 11am – 6pm Sat); closed Sun
Website: http://www.subitosandwich.com/

I don’t come from a place with a strong culinary tradition of cold cut sandwiches. Nova Scotia has its seafood, donairs, Acadian cuisine, and even a shocking assortment of styles of pizza – but beyond the odd deli here and there, it’s not really a thing. So it’s been a pleasure trying out some of the big names – DiRienzo’s, La Bottega, P’tit Epicerie – in the NCR’s sandwich game. When I heard about Subito Sandwich slinging their wares in Centretown, I had to try them out.

The shop is small, with a counter along the window, a couple of tables, and a shelf with some Italian dry goods for your at-home cooking. Naturally, the deli counter dominates. One cooler contains hunks of cured meats, while another features desserts and sandwich toppings.

Hot sandwich fixins and the deli slicer for CUTTING YOUR MEAT TO ORDER!

After perusing their hot and cold sandwich options, I settled on the meatball sandwich ($6.64) to eat-in, and a special combo ($6.19; ham, chicken, roast beef, and spicy salami) to have at home later on. I made one a combo with a drink and cannoli for a few bucks more. Impressively, my cold cuts were sliced to order; either I’m not paying enough attention, or no one else does that. Props to these guys either way. I had my special combo topped fairly simply with lettuce, tomato, onion, provolone, mayo and mustard, while the meatballs got provolone only.

There was plenty of room at the counter by the window, so I settled in to eat my lunch and people watch. The meatball sandwich was a winner. The meat was tender and lightly beefy, while the simple marinara brightened things up. I appreciated the bread as well – having an airy interior that soaked everything up but still stayed together, and a lightly crisp exterior.

Meatbllin’

Seeing someone pass by with a Subway bag, I could only think “Why?!”.

The cannoli was a nice finish to the meal, with a rich and creamy filling, and crunchy shell, although that was a tad bit dry.

The special combo survived the night in my fridge impressively well. The hefty sandwich was still picture perfect the next day – fluffy bread, and layers of meat and toppings, although you’ll just have to take my word on it since I forgot to take a picture of it. The spicy salami was definitely the dominant flavour, although the roast beef made itself known as well. The slightly salty and tangy provolone was a pleasure as always. The bread was light and airy, and served its purpose well, although not particularly impressive on its own.

Subito is serving up great sandwiches in a neighbourhood that hasn’t had that option in a while. With quality cold cuts, and meaty balls, there’s no need to take the Subway.