While I always try to shop local and stay away from franchises who ship their profits to some corporate location outside of the city, I am a loyal Subway customer.
After 9/11, when they finally started letting people go on the next block north on Greenwich Street, Subway was one of the first and only places to open. I would go there when ever I could just to show my appreciation. I even had a full stamp card to get myself a free sub and I didn't spend it so I could give them 5 more bucks in the hopes they wouldn't close. (They didn't.)
When we lived on 34th street, I would walk up to the one on 42nd and 9th. A jokey Afghan kid worked there and he would be silly the whole time he was making my sandwich. I'll never forget there was one time he asked me why it was that people automatically associate Afghanistan with terrorism. This was before 9/11, but even then I knew that the answer was Osama bin Laden. Eventually he told me he was moving to another shop and it was a last day. It was weird because he seemed really sad to be leaving. I wonder what he's up to now.
When I worked at Court TV I used to walk up to the Subway on 3rd ave and like... 46? It was a bit of a hike to get there, so it was usually only as a treat that I'd go that far. when the weather got warm and people started thinking about maybe they should eat better because they'd soon be wearing less clothing, the line for a sandwich would sometimes stretch out the door.
After band practice at Ultra Sound, I'd go to the one at 30th and 8th and get a meatball with extra american cheese. (I don't know why I sometimes get in the mood for a really chewy gooey sub.) The guys there always look exhausted.
When I lived on 15th street I would walk up 7th ave to the one just below 23rd street. A nice clean and bright place, and probably the fastest Subway sandwich makers in the city. The guy would should "what else? what else?" as I would name the toppings I wanted. I couldn't say them fast enough for him. That guy taught me to order with better efficiency. Now I say, "footlong tuna on parmasean oregano please. No cheese." Then I say, "lettucetomatoonion, pickleshotsandsweets." And of course, dijon horseradish sauce. (and I know the price just went up, $6.50) Incidentally, I'm not sure I agree with Gothamist that the food quality varies from store to store. Sometimes the tuna has a little more or less mayo, but by and large the differences are in how quickly the sandwich is made, how much stuff they put on it (some guys pile on the pickes, some actually separate the individual slices and lay them on like they're tomato slices) and how clean the place is. I might also add that the 7th ave Subway has a great sitting-and-eating window even though the place is small so you can't always get it. (and not to digress too much, but these days if I'm up there looking for a tuna sandwich, I go to Murray's for tuna on a garlic bagel.)
I've been to the Subway on 8th ave around 20th street. I've been to the subway on 9th ave on the same block where Twin Donut is/was. What's that, like 26th? Did you know that down south, instead of red and green sweet peppers, they have what they call "banana peppers" and they're yellow, but they taste basically the same?
There's one around the corner that opened not too long ago, but I don't go there. If I'm eating Subway down here, I go to my guy.
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