Potbelly's: Smaller and Bigger Sandwiches Now Available

Remember when I said that Potbelly's sandwiches are not the most filling lunch? That was true. If you are starving for lunch, that little sucker won't last too long. BUT, it will cost you under $5, which is a small miracle in any city.

Potbelly recently rolled out "Skinnys" and "Bigs." The Skinnys are automatically on the thin-cut bread, and only have 1/3 of the meat and cheese that's on a regular. Supposedly. This is obviously kind of confusing. It reminds me of Starbucks, where if you get a "Skinny Vanilla Latte" it's made with sugar-free syrup and skim milk. I appreciated saving the breath it took to say "Non-fat sugar-free vanilla latte." But what if you want the regular syrup but skim milk? Then you'd say non-fat vanilla latte. They might double-check with you, as in, "The Skinny Vanilla?" To which you would reply, "No. Regular syrup, thanks." At Potbelly you'll probably be asked to clarify between just skinny bread and regular contents v. skinny all around--I was asked yesterday. Maybe if they called the new little guys Slims this bread-only confusion wouldn't happen.

MOVING ON. Let's compare cost and nutrition facts. My particular sandwich (hereinafter Sandwich) is skinny wheat bread with turkey, mustard, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. It has 5g of fat, 328 calories, 26g of protein, 1600 mg of sodium, and 45mg of cholesterol. It costs $4.50.

The TKY (that's Potbelly's slang for the turkey skinny) sheds 36 calories from Sandwich, along with 300ish mg of sodium, 4g of protein, and 15mg of cholesterol. The fat content is the same, somehow. I guess this sandwich could be more like a snack, or an accompaniment to a salad...or milkshake. I can't see myself ordering this little guy, but maybe it would be good for catering snacktime. Skinnys are $4.00 apiece.

On the other hand, if you enjoy building your own sandwich, you love Potbelly, but you are STARVING (or sharing with a friend), you can now order a BIG. The Big version of Sandwich would add 3g of fat, 266 calories, 16g of protein, 13mg of cholesterol, and 900mg of sodium. It'll set you back a buck more than the original. $5.50. Still a good deal.

I know it's not Cafe Atlantico, but we all need cheap lunch. We need to save our pennies and eat healthily so we can go to Blue Duck Tavern and eat their insane fries a couple times a year. OH MY GOSH THE FRIES. We'll discuss another day. For now, get over your shock that I actually care/think about calories/fat content to protein ratios.

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