I decided to start a new segment: Cookie Showdown! In special Cookie Showdown episodes posts, I’ll compare two cookies that are in competition for marketshare (or at least, have something in common, like in this case) and declare the winner after a head-to-head match.

Today it’s Quizno’s vs Subway. Come on, $5 footlong? Subway has Jared and now Michael Phelps, while Quizno’s is…toasty. Two chocolate chip cookies from two different but similar huge sandwich fast-food chains. Let’s see which… well, as they say in Iron Chef America… whose cuisine reigns supreme!

Quizno’s cookie:

Very large, wrapped in plastic. After the process of trying to find out where the end of the plastic was (clear wrapping could really be a bitch sometimes) I took a small bite. It’s softer than it looks, chewy but…a rather interesting “tough” cookie. I feel like it takes longer to chew than it should (not in a good way). Rather than the typical chocolate chips, they have chocolate chunks, which pack in more chocolate per chunk which makes for tasty chocolate. The cookie part is very flavorful and the chocolate complements it very well. The taste lasts in your mouth for a while. It’s a bit thin for this kind of soft cookie.

Subway cookie:

MUCH cruchier. Hard, even. There is definitely room for more chocolate chips, but the buttery smoothness of the batter almost (almost) makes up for it. It’s sweeter than the Quizno’s cookie, perhaps due to the more sugary-ness of it. Ah, got to the center — it’s softer in the middle.

Winner:

At $1.40 for a cookie that’s barely larger than its competition, Quizno’s loses to its competitor on the price point alone. You could buy almost 3 Subway cookies with the same amount of money. In addition, the packaging makes a Quizno’s cookie feel sub-par: Quizno’s cookies are wrapped in plastic which make them seem like they were made a while ago and shipped to the stores whereas Subway’s “fresh baked” cookies look much better as they’re in a glass case and you can look at them and know that they were at unbaked dough at least that morning (and I don’t think that Subway would be able to sell those cookies on the shelf today tomorrow, whereas I feel like Quizno’s might). Quizno’s cookies, while being very flavorful, are a bit tough in contrast to Subway’s crunchier cookies with buttery taste and sugary taste and texture. However, Subway could take a hint from their sandwich cousin and pack some more toppings into their cookies just like how Quizno’s packs chocolate chunks into every bite. (Actually, this is in stark contrast to Subway’s white chocolate chip mac nut cookies, which are loaded with both big and small pieces of mac nuts). Overall, based on the price, size, taste and texture, I’d root for Subway’s cookies to accompany my sandwich. Now THAT is eating fresh.