Pile it on! Never have the words “More Food, More Taste, More Personality,” ever rang more true.
After years of dainty panini domination for lunchtime sandwiches here in Asheville, Lenny’s Sub Shop moves the trend toward the big, the overflowing, and the incredibly stuffed. Their large version is 15 inches long and contains about a pound of meat and cheese. The result, the best sandwich I’ve ever had.
I eat out a lot. I avoid fast food. I cannot stomach it anymore, not like I could 20 years ago — the fat, the bland taste, the smell of grease washing over you immediately upon opening the front door. A good tasting, healthy, customer friendly restaurant has always been on my radar. Now when I’m within fifteen to twenty miles from Biltmore Village and hungry for an incredible lunch, I’ll head to Lenny’s Subs.
To say it’s the best sub shop in Asheville is easy. It’s definitely my favorite. I’d be willing to say they make the best chicken salad sandwich anywhere. I’m not exaggerating. They make an incredible chicken salad. I tell everyone I know or meet, when our conversation turns toward food, as it usually does, to try for themselves the best chicken salad sandwich ever. I’m usually met with a nod and a look that says “But you’ve never tried my mother’s or aunt’s or someone’s version.” I then say, “But my mother’s a gourmet cook, my father owned a deli until I was fifteen. I know good food!”
A reluctant friend took me up on my suggestion. A few weeks later I ran into him and he said not only was the chicken salad sandwich the best ever, so were a half-dozen other sandwiches. He now regularly goes there for lunch.
Lenny’s Subs, although a chain, is more like my father’s deli from my childhood than anything with the word “franchise” attached to its masthead, offering heaping crisp vegetables, meats and sauces in quantities and freshness I haven’t seen in over 30 years. They slice their meats and cheeses fresh to order and pile them high on fresh baked bread. Breads made and baked that morning in-house, along with the chicken salad chuck full of chicken, and their famous potato salad that rivals anything my Aunt Rose could make, and believe me, my Aunt Rose could turn any meal into a special event and wonderment for the taste buds.
The first Lenny’s Sub Shop opened in 1998 in a suburb of Memphis, TN to satisfy cravings for authentic subs and Philly Cheesesteaks. Though Lenny’s Sub Shop was originally planned as a single unit restaurant, the tremendous reception from guests at the first location prompted rapid growth and the concept soon became franchised.
It’s not just good food that makes a good dining experience. It’s good service from people who take pride in what they do. It’s the cleanliness of the dining room, the fresh baked bread smells, the friendly hello and welcome back from the cashier. On this, so many other Asheville restaurants could take a lesson.
Lenny’s Sub Shop
645 Biltmore Avenue
Assef Alnasraween, Owner
www.lennys.com
