Jerry's Pizza and Subs: Good Meal at Not-So-Good Price

I've been hearing a lot of commercials about Jerry's Pizza and Subs on the radio lately, and remembering the one time I ate them years ago had stirred up quite the craving. Finally, yesterday the five of us ventured out to the location at Stafford Marketplace.

I am not sure when this store opened, but it is so clean and organized that it looks brand new. The kitchen had a unique triangle shape so it could be wedged between the hallway to the left and right behind the cash register, so you can see the cook prepare your food. The staff was friendly enough. The gentlemen at the cash register joked with the kids a little bit, which I love to see, and the cook was busy on the grill. It took a little longer than I expected for our order; the cook seemed to struggle with multiple orders at a time.

I ordered the Fat Daddy sandwich, which is steak, bacon, American and Provolone cheese. It's a good thing I don't have a cardiologist, or he wouldn't be happy with me. I was shocked to see an 8" sub cost me $9, but that is what I had to have thanks to their recent radio commercials. Upon seeing the sandwich that is more of a ton of meat cheese piled on top of bread, I felt a little better about the price. This isn't you typical 3-ounces of meat deal-this is a full meal crammed between the bread. It was a challenge to pick it up because the delicious contents were falling out all around.

I once owned a small steak and cheese place, so I consider myself an aficionado. I was disappointed with the first half because the meat was overcooked and it was very very dry. The second half received the lion's share of cheese and onions, which moistened it up a bit. The meat was still overcooked, but it actually was a terrific sandwich. I chose the rustic Italian bread, rather than plain white or wheat, which added a lot to the sandwich.

The kids shared a steak and cheese, and a sausage pizza. Our test of how well the kids enjoyed is by how much is left over after they are done eating. They cleaned up every scrap-pizza crust and all-and were foraging for more.

The total bill came to $40, which seems a big pricey for 3 sandwiches, fries, drinks and a small pizza. The pizza was only $4, which was a reasonable price. They had buy-one-get-one free coupons plastered all over restaurant, and we were given some after placing or order. A nice touch would have been to give us a coupon for this order, but that would have been above the call of duty.

Overall, it was a good meal at a not-so-good price. I'm sure we will be back when their radio commercials set off my taste buds. Now that we are armed with BOGO coupons and the knowledge that they have $5 large pizzas on Monday Night, I am sure that we will get closer to our money's worth on our next visit.