Subway Chicken Florentine Flatbread Sandwich - Mmmmm

I was just about to write a review of the Subway Chicken Florentine Flatbread Sandwich that I just ate when I realized that this guy already did a great job with a review. Mmmm mmm mmm. 

I try to check out non-chains or local chains but sometimes it's easy and healthy to swing by Subway. I was delighted to see a little something new on the menu today and gave it a shot. Since the sandwich isn't as healthy as, say, a turkey club, I "held" the cheese. 

REVIEW: Subway Chicken Florentine Flatbread

By Marvo | December 1, 2008

After trying the Subway Chicken Florentine Flatbread sandwich, I have realized that all other Subway sandwiches are as boring as watching child actors who don’t get addicted to drugs grow. The simple formula of bread that’s fluffier than a Jonas Brothers’ hairstyle, meat, veggies, and condiments gave me an option when I wanted fast food, but didn’t feel like eating a burger and fries, fake Mexican food, mediocre pizza, or 11 secret herbs and spices.

But there hasn’t been anything from Subway that has blown my mind or made me dream of bouncing up and down on a bed of Subway sandwiches. It turns out I didn’t eat them because they were good, I ate them because they were better for me than most things I could get though a drive-thru window. However, the Subway Chicken Florentine Flatbread sandwich is the first Subway menu item that I would want to take home, sleep with, and then cook breakfast for in the morning, although with some regret days later because of the fear of catching an SHD (Sandwich Heart Disease).

The limited-time only sandwich is supposed to consist of chicken, olives, tomatoes, Tuscan spices, melted cheese, and a creamy spinach artichoke spread in between a folded piece of flatbread, but since Subway offers enough topping options to make extremely indecisive people freak out, I chose to fill my sandwich with provolone, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers to go along with the chicken and creamy spread.

The flatbread has the characteristics of pita bread and Keira Knightley — white, soft, slightly chewy and, of course, flat. It isn’t freshly baked, like their regular breads are, but who fucking cares? Their meats aren’t slaughtered in the back and their vegetables aren’t picked from an organic greenhouse on the roof, so I think it’s okay that the flatbread isn’t fresh. I do recommend you get the flatbread toasted, which warms it up very nicely and can provides some temporary heat during these winter months if stuffed into the right clothing pockets.

The ingredient that stands out, but doesn’t overpower, is the creamy spinach artichoke spread, which tastes like spinach dip and makes this sandwich so much better than all the other Subway sandwiches I’ve consumed that I want to build a time machine so that I can give younger versions of me this sandwich right before I order whatever boring Subway sandwich I decided on at the time — and so that I can bet on the Giants instead of the Patriots in the last Super Bowl. If you do decide to try this, I highly recommend that you do not add any mustard, mayonnaise, or any other extra sauce to it because the creamy spinach artichoke spread is all you need. Although, like most creamy spinach dips, which contain cheese, mayonnaise and/or sour cream, I imagine it can’t be very good for you.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a Subway Chicken Florentine Flatbread sandwich in front of me and I would like to spend some quality alone time with it.

(Nutrition Facts - 1 sandwich - 520 calories, 22 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 85 milligrams of cholesterol, 1330 milligrams of sodium, 47 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of dietary fiber, 3 grams of sugar, 35 grams of protein, 25% Vitamin A, 30% Vitamin C, 40% Calcium, and 20% Iron.)

Item: Subway Chicken Florentine Flatbread
Price: $4.99
Size: 7 inches
Purchased at: Subway
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: It’s the best Subway sandwich I’ve ever had, thanks to the creamy spinach artichoke spread. When toasted, it can provide some temporary warmth during these cold winter months. No trans fat. Watching the train wreck lives of child actors who get addicted to drugs.
Cons: Only available for a limited time. Not the healthiest thing on the Subway menu. Creamy spinach artichoke spread can’t be very healthy. High in sodium. Flatbread isn’t freshly baked. Losing money on the Patriots in the last Super Bowl.

Topics: 8 Rating, Fast Food, Food, Subway | ShareThis|

Spoke Too Soon (and Almost Was Scammed!)

(photo from Cnet)

Okay, I'll admit it. I spoke too soon about TECHON Digital. 

When I made my order and filled out my customer profile, I accidentally mixed up the "a" and "i" in gmail when I typed in my e-mail address. Despite it being frustrating to not be able to "edit my e-mail address" on TECHON's user information page, I didn't think this was a big deal. I did, however, e-mail the customer support e-mail address to ask them to change my e-mail address in their records. I didn't get a response. 

I will also be the first to admit that I sometimes will be tolerable of nuisances if it means I'm getting a really great deal (examples: a poorly organized web site or physical store, bad customer service, etc.). 

Yesterday, while standing in line at the post office, I got a call from a TECHON representative, saying they'd been trying to e-mail me to confirm my order. I said I would be happy to confirm it over the phone—and mentioned that I tried to correct my e-mail address online but their site didn't have the functionality allowing me to do so. The rep tried to upsell me a few different things, including a lifetime battery, but I declined. Then the call was dropped (I believe on their end, not mine).

I called back. The representative to answer the phone could have cared less about my dropped call and said he couldn't help me without my order number. I vowed to call back when I was in front of my computer, which ended up being this morning since their customer service office closed before I made it home yesterday.

The representative who took my call this morning picked up the phone with a rather perturbed-sounding, "Yeah?" I explained my situation (again), only to have him respond that the camera I wanted was out of stock. I thought this was odd, since it sounded like it was in stock yesterday. I mentioned this aloud as well.

I picked out a similar camera and inquired about it. The "gentleman" tried to upsell me with batteries and a nice carrying case. I declined. Then he told me that the camera was out of stock, but I could buy the battery and carrying case but get the camera elsewhere. This was becoming annoying. 

From there, I looked through the online inventory a little more to see if they had any similar cameras in stock. I asked about two different ones, including the exact camera I misplaced/lost/whatever during our travels. When those searches yielded zilch results, I asked, "do you have ANY other cameras in that price range?"

"No, we don't have any cameras in that price range," was the dude's response.

Forget it, TECHON Digital. Seriously?

So, I navigated my way over to Buy Dig and found the same camera we had pre-Italy trip (except in blue, you know, to mix things up a little). That set me/us back $162 but included free shipping. I received a prompt confirmation e-mail... and I'm crossing my fingers this round of camera shopping works out a little better for us. 

UPDATE. Dan e-mailed me the following, so I filed a Better Business Bureau complaint: "Couldn’t add a comment on your page without logging in but here it is - Report them.  A number of others have... "

Also, this link has a slew of other consumers complaining about the company. Several others found that when they declined the fancy battery or add-ons that their cameras were mysteriously "not in stock." Scam! I can't believe they almost got me!

New Camera Ordered!

So, tonight we ordered a new camera to replace the one eaten by Air India.

I did some comparison shopping online and found that the 8MP Canon Powersho SD1100 ELPH camera we had before was $164 on Amazon and $199 on Target. Dan put a good deal of research into choosing that camera, and we enjoyed it for two months or so and during our honeymoon. While looking for a replacement, I found the camera also on TECHON Digital for even less—$139 plus shipping. 

While browsing, I saw that a few other similarly-priced cameras had a few more options (a slightly better zoom and a better preview screen as examples). I'm no pro photographer, but these seemed like fine enough things to buy for just 10 more dollars. I'll pick up an inexpensive case at Target.

So, we purchased this Canon Powershot SD870 digital ELPH camera (also 8MP) for $149 (goes for $216 on Amazon). If you're looking for an electronic for yourself or someone else, I suggest you check out this site. The camera prices seem they would be hard to beat.

Also, I'm not sure how long they'll be running the special for, but Target is offering a Lexar 4GB SD memory card for just $22.99, down from the usual price of $39.99. I used one of our Target gift cards to snag that.

Our new plan is for Dan to eventually get a camera as well so we can both take photographs on trips... and likely not lose both cameras. Also, I've made a very important "note to self" to leave my name, phone number and address in the camera case. 

I look forward to posting my final positive reviews after it arrives!

Lipstick that Stays Put

The Mission: find a lipstick that won't wear off within 30 minutes that also didn't break the wedding budget.

Solution: Maybelline Superstay Gloss.

I'm usually more of a Chapstick gal than I am a lipstick maven, so I was a little handicapped when I began my hunt. I wasn't impressed with staying power of the Loreal Infallible lip color I'd picked up about a month and a half ago—but since I did like the color, I brought the tube with me to Target for color comparison purposes.

I tested this "superstay" gloss for about a week leading up to our wedding this past Saturday. I officially marked it with my stamp of approval and wore it on the big day, maybe applying only three or four times (just for good measure) across a seven hour period.

And at about $8 at Target (less at some other retailers), it didn't set our wedding budget back too much at all!