The Sandwich Factory
 Youngstown, Ohio         Date of Visit  07/21/13            No Known Website

A turn and burn trip to Youngstown to pick up a couple of things we forgot after our short tenure at the lake, we figured we should seek out a quick bite. Years ago when I used to pretend I knew what I was doing repairing electronics we had a wide variety of dining options we partook in through the week. From Jib Jab family packs to Antone’s mess of random pasta lunch special, even the first Monday of every month a full rack of ribs and loaf of home cooked bread from the owner of the long gone Rob’s Rib Roost...we ate pretty well.
 

These Are The Halves
 

Being back in town I remembered a place we used to go to regularly but I had not been to in years. I don’t remember it being anything special and we decided to see if it were any different.

Our old stop was near the line between Boardman and Youngstown but we headed to the Austintown outlet since it was on our way home. It used to be on the corner but they have all moved around a bit if I remember correctly. This sandwich factory is a fair sized building with a large open kitchen and limited booths.

They are busy and the haphazard and cold feeling counter style service does a pretty good job keeping up even if friendly isn’t an option. We ordered three half sandwiches, a mini and fried veggies and ended up taking most of the sandwiches home.
 

The fried veggies were actually better than I expected. Green peppers, zucchini, shrooms, cauliflower, onion were all shrouded in a tasty batter, piping hot and still had enough texture to keep them from the baby food aisle. By the way, be ready to pony up an extra 35 cents if you want something to dip it in.  Apparently the profit margin is really tight on the veggies and ranch dressing is climbing like a barrel of oil.  We got the mini just to try their meatballs which I had never had previously, it turned out to be my least favorite. Roll, slices of okay meatball, a little gravy and grated cheese. It’s not bad it just doesn’t provide what their cold subs do. The sausage was about the same as the meatball with a more flavorful meat mix and loads of sausage, peppers and provy.

What makes the Sandwich Factory’s cold subs special? The answer is really nothing. Nothing at all. We ordered an Italian and a roast beef and swiss (my old favorite). The meats are fine, you get a fair stack of it. It lays on a supremely soft roll and gets a light garnish of lettuce, cheese and onion. The whole things gets a dose of oil and vinegar and that’s it. They’ll never blow you away but you will get an enormous sandwich that is simply very tasty. Fresh stuff with a nice dose of vinegar that really makes a difference. Just stick with the cold stuff, at least for me, the magic disappears with the heat.