Firehouse serves up hearty subs

Might as well get the embarrassing bit over right away: The cups at Firehouse Subs made me cry.

It's true that I'm a bit of a soft touch in this area — commercials make me cry, as do magazine ads, every school program I've ever attended and sometimes just the sight of my kids running to my car after school.

But the cups at Firehouse, an eminently likable chain eatery in the South Towne area, might make nearly anybody cry, bearing as they do the real-life stories of firefighters (or, in the case of the kids' cups, firefighters' kids) who have acted heroically to save lives, pulling people out of burning houses or rescuing a 5-year-old from drowning.

It's all part of the theme of this restaurant, which hands out plastic firefighter hats to kids and serves up hearty, delicious subs featuring some of the most succulent meat I've ever seen on a roll.

It was a blustery evening when we took the kids to Firehouse for some sandwiches and Monday Night Football, and I'm sorry to say that the autumnal chill in my bones prevented me from getting anything from the cold-cut side of the menu. We all had toasty-warm sandwiches.

But steamed, juicy meat on toasted buns is one of Firehouse's signatures, so I don't feel too badly. And the food was so good it was hard to call up even a smidgen of regret for cold subs. Maybe when summer comes around again. ...

Firehouse has several specialty subs, along with the de rigeuer make-your-own option. The kids ordered ham and turkey subs with melty cheese from the excellently priced kids' menu, which serves up a kid-size sub, a couple of Oreos and a drink for $3.50. More capacious kid appetites could add a bag of chips and still have a good meal at a reasonable price.

My husband and I often do a little private consultation before ordering at restaurants I'm reviewing, to make sure we're not getting the same thing.

But at Firehouse, just as my eyes lighted pleasurably upon the description of the "Smokehouse Beef and Cheddar Brisket" sub, he stepped up and ordered one for himself.

Darn it. I would have loved more than a couple of bites of this fabulous meal of slow-smoked brisket, Cheddar cheese and a tangy barbecue-type sauce.

Sounds simple, right? The sandwich's specialness lay in the tremendous quality of each ingredient and the way they were steamed awake and allowed to shine. He had it on a wheat roll, a hearty, slightly sweet touch that played well with the other ingredients.