Blimpie

Ah, the joys of Jury Duty. The opportunity to explore downtown Norristown without having to duck bullets. Free parking! Semi-​comfortable chairs. Metal detectors. Wonders beyond imagination.
Into this world we must forage to find lunch. Quickly. Nearby. Blimpie is a sandwich chain located inside an office building just across the street from the Courthouse. As it’s a national chain, and the local choices are, er, slim, I figured this was my safest bet. It’s a popular spot with many jurors, I suspect for the same reason.
The outlet is somewhat cramped but it’s clean and the employees are both fast and quite nice. The selection is similar to what you’d find in a Subway. The food is… forgettable. Salad was bland, even with Ken’s dressing. Chip selection and sodas are predictable. Their biggest problem in a hoagie-​loving town is their bread. Falls apart in the sandwich. Not at all like the dense bread we have come to expect on our sandwiches.
Good part? It’s quick, close and affordable. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there, however given the choices, it’s not an awful one. The employees are really quite nice, and funny too.

The sandwiches here are definitely better than the ones at Subway. A lot more meat variety and the servings are more generous. While you don’t get the same selection of bread as you do at Subway, the rolls are fresh and have a nice slightly crispy exterior. If you get the white/​Italian roll anyway, then there’s really no difference, I enoyed my Blimpie Best, which was a good combination sandwich stuffed with a decent serving of ham, salami, cappacola, prosciutto, and sharp provolone topped with veggies, EVOO, and mayo. They also have a variety of paninis. I haven’t personally tried one yet but my friend really liked the club, which did look pretty good, with nice grill marks. We also split a club salad, which had actual romaine rather than some poor shredded excuse for lettuce and plenty of bacon, cheddar, Swiss, and ham and turkey. The peppercorn dressing wasn’t bad and decently creamy with a tangy twist. The actual meat quality is not as fantastic as Primo’s but it certainly isn’t bad at all and more flavorful than the slices at Subway. The cole slaw waa okay but not as creamy as I would have preferred. Service was pretty fast and definitely not stingy with the meat, which is a very welcome change from another chain (3 slices of meat on bread does not a sandwich make). 3 stars for now and will update once I have tried more of the menu. It’s not D’Angelo’s or Primo’s but it’s still a decent sandwich chain option, and one that offers more flavorful and filling fare than Subway does.