The Lonesome Vegetarian: Planet Sub brings a new world of sandwiches
March 9,2015
Veggie grinder / MARILYN BAILEY
Reposted from DFW.com
By Marilyn Bailey
Special to DFW.com
Posted 12:00am on Thursday, Mar. 05, 2015
Downtown Fort Worth is lousy with sandwich shops, but many of them are not worth a look from vegetarians.
If you’ve been less than delighted with a certain giant sub chain’s “Veggie Delite” (this overreaching name is actually trademarked), you know what I mean.
Potbelly, for one, does have some fine meatless sandwiches, but last week’s Tarrant County debut of Planet Sub, a small chain from the Kansas City area, promised to give meatless diners more choices than we’ve seen here. The national website lists nine — nine! — varieties of vegetarian subs.
So high was my anticipation that I was disappointed that the first Planet Sub to open here—in the Neil P Anderson Building, across the street from Burnett Park and a Subway location — has only five veggie sandwiches, not nine.
Owner Steve Davidson reports that this happened because nationally, the chain is rolling out somewhat reduced menus at every location. His own wife’s favorite sandwich did not make this menu.
But five is actually a lot. Davidson says he spent last October training at Planet Sub in Austin, where the vegetarian offerings were quite popular, and wondered how they would translate here. There’s been good demand in the first week, he says.
Three of the meatless sandwiches are based on cheeses and vegetables, but two feature tempeh, a mild-flavored, soy-based meat substitute that takes seasonings well. It’s very unusual to find tempeh dishes in a chain restaurant.
My first choice was the tempeh barbecue ($5.49 for the half size, which is plenty big at 6 inches). It includes tempeh strips, provolone, red onions and tomatoes, but the dominant impression is of the excellent toasted bread and the generous amount of very decent barbecue sauce. I’ll get this again.
I also sampled the veggie grinder ($5.49 for the 6-inch), which had provolone, Parmesan, marinara sauce, onions, green peppers, black olives, mushrooms and tomatoes. It tasted much like a pizza, naturally, and would have been better with more marinara. Next time, I’ll add jalapeños.
The other vegetarian choices are a tempeh Parmesan, a take on chicken or eggplant Parm featuring tempeh, provolone, Parmesan and marinara; the “Meatless Masterpiece,” with three cheeses (cream, pepper jack and Swiss), green peppers, mushrooms, onions and olives; and “The Veggie,” with Swiss and American cheese, mayonnaise and those same veggies.
A word about the bread: Planet Sub changed its recipe a few months ago to eliminate the butter and make it vegan. (You can also request a gluten-free version.) It’s made in-house, right out front where you can watch, and it’s a crusty, hearty bread that held up well to the sauces we tried.
I love all the cheese on offer here, but I do wonder how vegans will like this place. The website says all the veggie sandwiches can be made vegan if you hold the cheese (also note the mayonnaise on The Veggie). But in most cases, you have to ask them to hold more than one cheese.
Of the sandwiches I’ve tried, the tempeh barbecue seems like it would be the most satisfying without cheese (the 6-inch size has 28 grams of protein when made vegan, the company says). You also could ask to add tempeh to anything, and it appeared that substitutions were welcomed.
My dining companion was happy to count 23 sandwich varieties for carnivores, not including the wraps. (He really dug that vegan bread.) Welcome to Planet Sub and its wide world of choices.
Planet Sub, 411 W. Seventh St., Fort Worth; 817-882-8487; planetsub.com.
Have a suggestion, a veggie news tip or a question? Send it to Marilyn at veggie@dfw.com, or follow her on Twitter, @LonesomeVeg.