Chipotle, Mr Hero, Quiznos, Firehouse & Jersey Mike's

Sometime in the late 90s or early 00’s, I was living in Rosslyn, Virginia.  Near the corner of Lynn Street and Wilson Blvd., across from where Tom Sarris’ New Orleans Steakhouse used to be, a new fast food joint opened up, one of the first – if not the first – in the Washington metropolitan area: CHIPOTLE.  It promised upscale Mexican cuisine.

I’m militantly bourgeois and antagonistic towards anything “upscale”, “trendy”, or “pretentious”.  I don’t drink wine, IPAs, microbrews, PBR, and stay away from overpriced restaurants that serve food on square white plates.  So naturally I was hostile to the premise of Chipotle, and so continued eating at the Taco Bell up the hill (Wilson, near the Arlington Courthouse).

One day, out of boredom and morbid curiosity, I tried out Chipotle.  As you may well know, they make the food in front of you.  The ingredients, particularly the steak, look appetizing and fresh.  I ordered steak soft tacos – hot sauce, cheese, and lettuce – and my mouth woke up.  Even since then I’ve been addicted to Chipotle.  It’s too delicious to ignore.  I don't care how pretentious it is.

Mr. Hero.   I also love steak & cheese subs.   Over by Bailey’s Crossroads, next to the dry cleaners I currently use, was this s&c place.  In addition to fantastically delicious steak & cheese subs, they also made waffle fries, which it’s hard to find anywhere else. 

To my intense regret and sorrow, Mr. Hero went under a few years ago.  RIP Mr. Hero.  Not relocated, out of business.  Gone.  Dead.  Etc.  By the way – the Bailey’s Crossroads, VA store was NOT the only location.  The company started in Cleveland, OH, and several locations still exist there.  But there are no locations within 150 miles of Virginia.  Too bad.

In its place came… Quiznos.

Quiznos.   The first one I saw was in Rosslyn, on the same block as Chipotle.   Like Chipotle, it was an upscaling, this time of subs.  Since I tried Chipotle, and liked subs, I tried Quiznos.  BLECCH.   Not good. Throw it back.  No no no.   So put Quinzos down as a NO.

Incidentally, I’m not a big fan of Subway.  They add some onions into the steak & cheese, and while their meatball subs are OK, I’m overall not impressed.  Sorry, Jared – though he has more to worry about these days than my sub sandwich preferences.

Firehouse & Jersey Mikes.   By the way, Jerry’s Subs & Pizza were very good – but they’ve been slowly disappearing in my area.  I don’t know why, I can’t explain, but it's sad but true.  Two newer chains are expanding.  Firehouse I first encountered in Manassas, on Sudley Manor.   They have a FIREMAN motif and exploit it mercilessly.  They even put up all sorts of tributes to the local fire department.   Although I don’t share their fetish for firemen, I do like their subs.   And they have those great soda machines with a zillion different flavors.

Jersey Mike’s is my current favorite.   Oddly, despite visiting New Jersey every other weekend for the past 6 years, I’ve never been to one in NJ:  the closest one to us in Northern NJ is in Wayne, which is 40 minutes west on I-80.   A bit far for a sub, sorry.   I go to the one in Springfield, Virginia.  Again, fantastic, just a little better than Firehouse.

Chipotle again.   Anyhow, it was with zero regret that I noticed the Quiznos that took over from Mr. Hero also went out of business.   Too f’in bad.   I picked up dry cleaning the other day and saw a notice that the next contestant for “who wants to operate a successful fast food place at this location” is …. CHIPOTLE.   The nearest others are at Seven Corners, Broad Street, and Tyson’s Corner.   In the opposite direction there’s one in Old Town Alexandria.   So by all means, continue expanding, Chipotle, and I’ll keep eating your delicious steak soft tacos.   :D

Gone But Not Forgotten

Hostess has been in the news lately as imminently disappearing, though I believe the brand is too strong to stay dead for long; someone will resurrect it…I hope.  Here are others which have yet to rise from the dead.

Tower Records.   I loved this record store.  The branch at Tyson’s Corner consistently had a great selection, and I got quite a few Hawkwind CDs here.  The staff were arrogant hipsters, I know, but I’d take that if it meant a better selection than what we could find at FYE or Sam Goody.  Objectively, though, it’s hard to beat Amazon’s model of online buying, especially if you’re looking for something you’d never find at Best Buy.

Borders.  My two favorites, books & music, in one place.  I’d lose myself at the Bailey’s Crossroads branch (now an Ashley Furniture) reading the Osprey Men-At-Arms books.  Borders kept them all together on a spinning rack, while Barnes & Noble spreads them out by era throughout the military history department.  WRONG!

Burger Chef.  The food itself wasn’t that special – generic burger-oriented fast food.  But they served it in these very clever boxes that opened up.  THAT was imaginative.  Each time you went, you had NO idea what the theme would be, like the Grateful Dead of fast food.

Mr Hero.  This was  a fast food place at Bailey’s Crossroads, in Virginia.  Although it looked like a franchise, it was the only one.  They served excellent steak & cheese subs with fantastic waffle fries.  The owner lost the lease, and now it’s a Quiznos.  ZZZ.

Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, Purple Potamus Video.  Most people know of the first two.  I joined the third, formerly on King Street near NOVA, because they had a naughty movie section…then never rented a single one.  Instead, I rented movies like “Repo Man” which BB & HV didn’t carry.

The Village Mall.  I came back from Paris (France) in August 1990 and looked for this in Montgomery Village.  I looked, and looked, and couldn’t find it.  Finally the CVS – formerly People’s Drug – people informed me that the Mall was gone.  It had been a very 70s place, with wooden signs, cobblestone floors, huge fountains.  I have to ask if the equivalent in Columbia is still around.

Rockville Mall.  This was in downtown Rockville near the Montgomery County courthouses.  It wasn’t too special, but it was a mall.  The 50’s era Giant down the street is closed too.

Malibu Grill & Greenfields.  These two Brazilian steakhouses, churrascarias, have gone out of business, plus the similar one in Paramus, NJ, on Route 4 at Continental Plaza, next to Riverside Mall.  These featured a flat rate for all-you-can-eat steak, which is typically delicious.  Greenfields was considerably more expensive than Malibu Grill.  The remaining chains, Texas do Brasil and Fogo No Chão, are still around, but are very expensive.

Close, but not quite.  Jack In The Box and Dairy Queen disappeared.  Jack is still in business on the West Coast, whereas Dairy Queen made a comeback in my area in recent years.