#153 - Firehouse Subs, Stillwater , OK

Last night was Preakness, so of course I had to have a party.  When I was in my 20's and living in Maryland, we went to Preakness every year for like 5 years, in the infield.  It was a huge party.  It still is, but not nearly at the same level as it used to be.  I always said I wanted to go back and dress up, do the big hat and pretty dress, and sit in the grandstands with the fancy people.  But since I couldn't get back to Maryland this year, I decided to bring a little Maryland here to Stillwater.  It was a long, very fun, night, so I spent most of the morning cleaning my house.  But it was well worth it.

Eventually I realized I was starving.  And I really didn't want to cook anything; not with a freshly scrubbed kitchen.  I wanted something relatively quick and easy, and it hit me that I had never been to Firehouse Subs.  It began 20 years ago, started by 3 firemen. They've now got over 850 restaurants, and lo and behold there's one in Stillwater.  It's located on 6th Street, not too far from campus.  It's not very big, seating maybe 30 people.  You order at the counter.  I got my order to go so I'm not sure if they bring the food out to you or not.  

The first thing I noticed as I walked in was the hot sauce bar

It's about 50 different types of hot sauce.  And they are very clearly numbered on each bottle.  They've got Bone Sucking Sauce, which happens to be one of my favorite BBQ sauces.  So just because of that, I knew I would have to do something different.

I asked the cashier about the sauces, and he said that they can't put any sauces on for you.  You've got to do it yourself.  Makes sense really If you don't like the sauce, it's your own fault.  And you determine how much you put on, so if you scald your tongue, you can't sue them.  And they've got mini to-go containers for you to put different sauces in. I wanted something a little hot, but not crazy. So first I did the Mountain Man roasted habanero sauce

I accidentally spilled a little, and when I wiped the edge of the to-go cup I tasted it. And immediately scalded my tongue.  WOW that has got some serious heat.  I mean ridiculous. Roasting the habaneros doesn't do nearly enough to tone it down.  And this is just a level 6!  I smelled a couple others in the same range, and settled on the Virginia Gentlemen bourbon chipotle hot sauce

Same level 6, but less kick.  It was a little sweet and really good.  

They've got specialty subs, regular subs (hot & cold), and subs & salads under 500 calories.  All of the subs come Fully Involved (Loaded complete with mayo, deli mustard, tomato, onion, and a kosher dill pickle on the side). After much contemplation I went with the steak & cheese.  I did wheat bread, added mushrooms and also added lettuce & tomato, because for some odd reason this one does not come Fully Involved.  But it does have mayo, deli mustard and the pickle.  Kind of weird but oh well.

This was really good! I really liked that it was still more than warm enough even after I got home, put away my groceries, and cut flowers and put them into water.  I do wish they had a smaller size.  They only do medium (8") and large (12").  I wish they do would do a small, about 6".  And by 1/3 through the second half, the bread was super soggy. Not sure if it's because they went heavy on the dressings or because I didn't eat it right away. So I just dumped the bread and ate the insides.

Will I go back? No question.  This is a nice change of pace from Subway for when I'm in the mood for a sub.  And I want to try some of the other subs.  And sauces.