The Subway on Cedar Street in Holt.
Happy Inauguration Day! I slept right up until the time President Obama took the oath, but J got up “early” so she wouldn’t miss anything. That’s why I bought a TIVO five years ago. Obama wasn’t my choice for President, but I do have a little bit of history with the man so it was neat to see. When I worked and a TV news photographer in Peoria, there was an unknown state senator from Chicago with a funny name who was an underdog for the US Senate seat being vacated by Peter Fitzgerald. We spent a lot of time covering front runners Blair Hull and Dan Hynes. Then, something happened. Blair Hull’s nasty divorce got brought into the race and this unknown made a huge surge. Barack Obama won his party’s nomination. Still, he was the underdog against Republican Jack Ryan. Well, wouldn’t you know it. Jack Ryan’s messy divorce got drug into the race and he eventually dropped out leaving Barack Obama with no Republican opponent.
It was during this time I got sent to the small town of Canton, IL in Fulton County. Barack Obama was stumping at the Fulton County Democratic Headquarters. The room was packed. There was probably fifty people jammed into a room that held thirty. I was jammed into the corner with my big camera near the podium. After the speech, the future President put his hand on my back, thanked me for coming, and asked if I needed an interview. At that time, I declined because I had the sound I needed. I look back now and kick myself. Then, it was no big deal. I had interviewed hundreds of politicians at the state and federal level. It just wasn’t a big deal. I just wanted to go grab dinner and head back to Peoria…a thirty minute drive.
That wasn’t the first time or the last time I covered a story about Barack Obama, but after his speech at the 2004 DNC, everything changed. He became a rock star and events now started drawing hunderds and media availability dwindled.
On February 10, 2007, I stood on a riser between reporters from ABC and CNN in front of the old State Capitol in Springfield, IL when Barack Obama announced his run for the presidency. I was working for the Obama campaign as a freelance camera operator. I was hired by a production company (not the actual campaign) to run the main camera for the pool feed that was being fed all over the world. I think it was then that it hit me what was happening.
Here it is, five years after that meeting in Canton, and J and I are watching the same man being sworn in as our 44th President. The swearing in went to just after noon. As we sit on the couch watching Charlie Gibson, we realized we didn’t have anything to eat. Not wanting to cook, J said she’d buy lunch if I’d drive. I had been seeing commercials for Subway’s new flat bread and got curious. We always forget there’s a Subway just around the corner in Holt, but today, I happened to remember. J was on board so Subway it was.
The Subway in Holt is located in a small strip mall across the street from McDonald’s and L & L Food Center on Cedar Street. It’s really easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. There were a few cars in the parking lot when we pulled up and we found a spot in front of the tattoo parlor that sits a few doors down.
The inside of the store is pretty small. There are a few booths and tables along the wall, but I would assume most people do carry out at this particular location. The “sandwich artists” were working fast when we got there, but there was a couple people in front including one guy who must have been ordering for his entire office.
Sorry for the little rant here, but this is always something that annoys me. When I worked in an office setting, I never participated in the “you’re going to xxxx? Want to get me something?” crap. Are you really that lazy that you can’t get up out of your chair for fifteen minutes to go get your own lunch? What you end up with is one person with a list of all you’re special order crap trying to get everything right then having to pay for each sandwich individually. I always felt sorry for that person and never told anyone where I was going for lunch for that reason. No wonder we’re all overweight. You can’t get your ass out of your seat for ten minutes to go get your own lunch.
Rant over. Sorry. Like I said, I feel sorry for the guy that was trying to handle all of this. The employees were doing a good job of moving along until he got to the check out part. He had to pay for each one individually which slowed things down.
J was up first. She ordered a six inch black forest ham with pepper jack on whole wheat. Usually she goes with the veggie delight, but decided on something different. She said it was delicious
I got one of the new flatbreads. I ordered the spicy Italian with monterray cheddar, lettuce, banana peppers, vinegar, and oil. The flatbread was a little underwhelming. It tasted a lot like regular bread. They toasted the sandwich, but it still wasn’t what I was expecting. The bread was a soft just like their loaf breads. I was hoping for something more like Cosi’s bread, but it was close. They didn’t split the bread, the just folded it over. The sandwich was good. It just wasn’t much different than anything else they already do.
We made our sandwiches meals by adding pop and a bag of chips. To my surprise, they actually had Coke Zero in their fountain. I’m starting to see that more and more and I really like to see that. There’s not a whole lot of different between Coke Zero and Diet Coke, but there’s enough to me. I grabbed a bag of Baked BBQ chips while J got the regular baked chips. I’m just not a fan of baked chips. They have no taste.
Our total was just over thirteen dollars. The sandwich was good for J, but I was still a little hungry. I usually go with a footlong sub, but I wanted to try the flatbread. I enjoyed the sandwich, but it wasn’t what I was hoping for. Next time, I’ll go back to my footlong.
Mid-Michigan Dining 
How old do you have to be to apply for a job?