People Can't Stop Raving About Alison Roman's Subway Order

Alison Roman is a New York-based chef, cookbook author, and internet personality who's accustomed to having her simple, delicious (and usually very beautiful) recipes go viral online. 

Her latest hit, however, is a departure from her usual style. Roman recently posted a story on Instagram about her go-to order at Subway. She said she gets a 6-inch white bun with turkey, yellow mustard, pickles, onions, lettuce, pepperoncini, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sometimes cucumbers. The accompanying photo shows a great-looking, veggie-centric sandwich that, I must admit, sent me straight to the nearest Subway to place my own copycat order.

The result? Delicious. I had to go with a basic vinaigrette because plain olive oil and vinegar were not an available option—and it did go against my better judgment to say no to toasting—but I have to say, the sandwich was superb. I liked how subtle the turkey flavor was, dominated by the strong and salty pepperoncini and onions (which I always love). I did miss the cheese, though.

In the latest installment of her Substack newsletter, Roman made mention of her Subway sandwich, saying, "Recently, I’ve been skipping meats here because I've been eating a lot of meat (see: ribs, hot dogs, grilled chicken, Subway sandwiches with turkey in the car)." 

The yellow mustard shouldn't be a surprise. Roman is a self-professed mustard fan, mentioning in a Tiktok video with Interview magazine that she needs "20 types of mustard in fridge at all times." 

The Subway order in general surprised many followers, who pointed out that Roman has gone on the record saying she doesn't like sandwiches. But as a fellow sandwich skeptic, I suspect it has more to do with the quality of a particular sandwich than the category altogether. There are good and bad sandwiches; she and I happen only to like the former and have low tolerance for the latter. 

As for her custom combo, will I order it again? Yes, I think I will. There's something to be said for not overloading a sub with deli meat and instead taking advantage of all the wonderful toppings that make getting a sub so special in the first place. Those are the very things I never seem to have at home when a craving sets in, so I will take a page from Roman's book and start embracing those bold flavors in a sandwich.