Stanlieo's Sub Villa (Huntsville, Al)

Home of the Kitchen Sink

In May of 1971,  Glenn Watson opened what would be Huntsville, Alabama's first sub shop. Taking over a tiny ice cream shop on Jordan Lane before out growing and moving next door. Glenn wanted to bring a little taste of Boston to the city in the heart of Dixie and put his own spin on things. He decided that cubing the vegetation that tops the subs was a good idea. It turned out to be a bit of a signature for his sandwiches.

Over 40 years later, Stanlieo's Sub Villa in Huntsville is still going strong. They now have 2 locations and have caught the eye of Al.com, as well as the local TV stations, magazines  and newspapers. 
The whole operation is now run by his daughter, Connie Ward who literally grew up in the store. Recounting, "Cobblers' kids have no shoes, so we didn't have food in the house. If they'd make a mistake (on a sandwich), that would be my lunch."
They now offer catering as well for all your party and gathering needs.

The restaurant shown is the Governors Dr location. Originally located on Whitesburg it's settled here and is a little nicer than the Jordan Ln location but both have a homey feel to them.
I've not noticed any quality disparity between the two places. Always good to be consistent.

It’s pretty much a fast food ordering system. You walk in, place your order and wait in the dining room. The shop is quite friendly and efficient. The family atmosphere of the restaurant is a product of the family atmosphere of the company. Many employees have been with Stanlieo's for years.
They're also using technology well to their advantage. You can text stanlieos to 55469 and receive updates and specials right to your phone.

So all that is fine but how are the subs you're probably wondering. Well, they're terrific. I will point out somethings first though. All their subs come with cubed onions, pickles, and tomatoes. While this is a great combination I've found that for the most part, the pickles don't belong on some of the subs I've tried. Your mileage may differ but I'll ask for them to be excluded if I don't think they'll work. If possible. BTW, the pickles are really quite good themselves. They just, at times, seem foreign to me.
As well, they bake their own bread daily. Uncooked loaves are purchased and cooked as needed making for a nicer bread than normal.

The Kitchen Sink sub, (shown) number 12 on this list is really, really good. I love Genoa salami and it had a very prominent taste here. Since this is pretty much an "Everything" sub I didn't mind the pickles here. 7 meats, 3 cheeses and over a pound of deliciousness. You can't go wrong.
The Steak and Cheese is quite nice. A good beef flavour but maybe needing a bit more cheese. The topping would be good without the pickles but was fine with them. People put pickles on cheeseburgers after all.
The Pizza sub is terrific but here is where the pickles are just way out of place. I made it through half just to see if I liked it. I didn't. Didn't hate it though. I picked as many off the second half and was good to go. Again, a good presence from the Genoa was very welcomed.
 
There are some options for dessert and one of them is a really nice selection of Otis Spunkmeyer  cookies. Resist the temptation these present and grab a bag of the Zapp's Voodoo potato chips. These are awesome. For the life of me though, I couldn't figure out what the flavour of them actually is. There's a good reason for that. According to their website the flavour was created when an employee knocked over some spice boxes. The resulting amalgum was tasted and thought to be "Great." Not the first time a shop accident has been the genesis of discovery.

So there you have it folks. Fine submarine sandwiches that are a definite cut above the chains in a nice friendly place.
 
You can find Stanlieo's Sub Villa at 605 Jordan Ln and 602 Governors Dr in Huntsville, Al.
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You can also find them on the web, facebook and Twitter.

 
Well that's all for now folks. I'll see you next time in the food court.