Review: Ham and Swiss Deluxe from 7-Eleven

Posted May 12th, 2012 | 7:58pm by Chefprotoss

Drinking and driving is always a bad idea. If you’re like me and occasionally knock back a few at your local watering hole after a hard days work, taking a cab is the logical idea. Well, when you get home and realize your fridge is empty, you might be prone to bursting into a Hulk hunger-rage that could level a small nation. Luckily for me, I have a 7-Eleven at the end of my block, so safe and anger free grubbing is always an option, and I don’t have to think about how long I would have to boil my shoes to make them palatable. The problem can be that 7-Eleven’s food can be pretty hit or miss. The other night, this exact scenario hit me and I picked up something new and something old; The Ham and Swiss Deluxe Sub, with Lettuce and Creole Mustard, and a bag of 7-Eleven Selects Kettle Style Jalapeno Chips.

7-Eleven’s sandwiches are typically pretty bad. They are made days in advance, and use the lowest quality ingredients possible. This however, was a pleasant surprise. The star was the cheese. While this Swiss isn’t going to win any worldwide acclaim, it’s super nutty, higher quality than you would expect, and plentiful. This isn’t the bland Swiss/American hybrid a lot of quick-serve places use. The Creole mustard has serious kick, and I totally dig that. I’m not sure what’s Creole about it, but it punches you in the face, and that is what I desire in a mustard. Go bold or go home.

Time for the unfortunate flaws… The ham is okay. No strong piggy goodness, but I didn’t feel it was awful either. I shall dub it “indifference ham”. The bread sucked, plain and simple. I can’t think of another way to describe it other than bland and stretchy. You have to tug at it when you take a bite, but not in a good way like a chewy baguette. If a sub roll was created by an amateur chemist instead of a baker, I think this is what you’d get. The lettuce was about a day past it’s prime, but a step up from the lack of greenery that was the norm in the past. I added mayo too. I like mayo on my sandwich, dammit. Sue me.

I also wanted to use this post to talk about a long time favorite of mine; 7-Eleven brand kettle chips. While not as sinfully greasy and thick as Dirty Chips, or as high quality as Utz’ offerings, they do come in a close third place for me with their overuse of unexpectedly tasty flavor powder. I can’t seem to find the salt and vinegar flavor anymore, which was my go-to, but in my humble opinion their Jalapeno flavor is the best in the biz.

The perfect sandwich accompaniment. Frito Lay can suck it.

Wawa will forever be my 2am sub of choice. I have to drive to Wawa though, so if you’re like me and both hungry and drunk at 2am, this sandwich isn’t a bad option at all. Give me better ham and bread, and I might even consider eating this sober. Until then, it will just be there to pleasantly occupy my booze filled stomach. Also, a lot of 7-Eleven’s offerings seem to be regional, so I have no clue if you can get this outside of where I live. The Spicy Big-Bite should be an option for all of you though.