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I became painfully aware this weekend of what a creature of habit I am. A half-hour before The Grub Spouse and I were to set out for a lunchtime review of Penn Station, I mindlessly prepared a sandwich with chips for lunch and promptly sat down and ate the whole thing. Only minutes later did I realize what I had done. But with the rest of the weekend’s schedule already locked in to other activities, this would be my last chance to visit a restaurant before deadline, so I decided to forge ahead and delve into the world of — to twist a familiar fast-food trademark — SecondLunch.

We stepped into the Cumberland Avenue sub shop to find super-slippery, just-mopped floors and a wall menu that presents a manageable selection of sandwiches — a dozen subs, mostly grilled, grouped into four categories. Selections include chicken Teriyaki, chicken Parmesan, pizza, Italian, sausage, grilled artichoke, chicken or tuna salad, and grilled vegetarian.

Most sandwiches are not totally customizable, meaning that the meat and cheese options are pretty well set, although many of the items do allow you to choose whether to include or leave out their recommended veggie and sauce toppings. The Dagwood sandwich, however, is a total custom job; you can pick from meats like smoked ham, salami, pepperoni, oven-roasted turkey and corned beef as well as an array of cheeses, toppings and condiments.

The Spouse and I both honed in on the menu’s grouping of classic sandwiches, ordering a Philadelphia cheesesteak and a Reuben, respectively (a club sandwich is the third classic choice). Any of the sandwiches can also be prepared as a wrap or a salad, but we passed on both options.

I like any sub shop that offers more than just six-inchers and footlongs, and Penn Station came through with four odd sizes — 5, 7, 10 and 13 inches. The Spouse got a 7-inch cut, while I went with the 13-incher, planning to eat half and save the other half for the next day’s lunch. (So the first half would be SecondLunch and the second half would be the next day’s FirstLunch. Got it?)

Penn Station serves hand-cut Idaho fries and cheese bread as side items, so we got a small order of fries for the sake of thoroughness. After placing our order and giving them our name, we were directed toward the end of the line, where the cashier took our drink orders and rang us up. We also decided to try a house specialty — freshly squeezed lemonade — as one of our drinks.

The subs are all grilled upon ordering, and after a few minutes of waiting, our sandwiches were brought out, toasty hot, one at a time, as they were completed. The Spouse’s Philly cheesesteak, topped with melted provolone, sauteed onions and mushrooms (and minus the banana peppers), was superb.

My behemoth of a Reuben featured generous amounts of corned beef, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut, although the Thousand Island dressing was probably glopped on a little too generously for my personal taste. But it was a savory and satisfying experience nonetheless, my consumption of FirstLunch notwithstanding. The fries were enjoyable enough, though not life-changing, and I probably could have stood the lemonade being a tad sweeter.

But overall, I was very pleased with this deliciously hearty alternative to the more established sub brands. And even though that day’s experience came through as a SecondLunch, I’m pretty sure it won’t be my LastMeal from Penn Station.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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