Many of us live on cheeseburgers, frozen pizza and Pabst Blue Ribbon, but it is important to eat somewhat healthy meals between classes and shindigs.

In order to assist you in occasionally consuming a non-greasy meal, here is a list of the closest sub places in the area of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Many of these establishments are ignored on the way to Oakland Gyros or the next class, but they are worth checking out at least once.

Cousins
2900 N. Oakland Ave.
cousinssubs.com

I entered Cousins with the anticipation of its new, sophisticated sub: the Chicken Cordon Bleu. After I received my order, I was immediately reminded that, even though the sub sounds chic, it is still a Cousins sub. I unwrapped about four feet of gray paper surrounding my sandwich and was greeted with a bland-colored, flat sub.

Its color made me question what kind of nutrients I was actually getting out of this 7-inch hunk of khaki-colored food. It’s also rare to come across a sub sandwich that releases an unknown juice, but it turned out to be pleasing to the ol’ taste buds. They have many more subs, but the ordinary setup persists throughout.

It was an OK meal in an OK place, but it failed my expectations.

Erbert & Gerbert’s
2338 N. Farwell Ave.
erbertandgerberts.com

There were no customers in the restaurant when I walked in at 1 p.m., which isn’t a very good sign. But their lack of business is for reasons unknown, because I walked away a satisfied man.

The menu and sandwiches are strikingly similar to Jimmy John’s, but the restaurant is homier. The menu had interesting names for subs (asking for a “Girf” or “Bornk” is somewhat entertaining).

I had the “Tappy,” which I was pleasantly surprised with. It had a lot more meat than any sub I have ever had, and not having mayonnaise is also a plus in my book and made it a lot less messy. The bread was perfectly crispy and the meat, vegetables and oils seemed equally as fresh.

Unless you feel comfortable asking for a “Pudder” in public, maybe you should keep it strictly delivery, because the subs are fantastic.

Jimmy John’s
3129 N. Oakland Ave.
jimmyjohns.com

Jimmy John’s is one of the many reasons why I love Milwaukee.

If you don’t feel like going anywhere to get some food, Jimmy John’s will bring you one of their delicious subs in, most likely, under five minutes. Or, if you want to get up and go to one of the restaurants, you will be pleasantly greeted with glowing signs that declare phrases like “free smells.”

Many times, while ordering in the restaurant, the sub has been handed to me before my change was, which shows how unbelievably fast they can make subs.

Giving customers a variety of fresh subs with cute names (“Sorry Charlie,” “The Gargantuan”), Jimmy John’s has yet to bore me.

My personal recommendations would have to be the “Country Club,” the “Beach Club,” the “Turkey Tom” and, of course, the “Gargantuan.”

Subway
1807 E. Locust St.
1438 E. Brady St.
subway.com

The immediate appeal of this restaurant was a deal I saw in a commercial offering a 6-inch sub for about $3. That’s less than my usual latte, so I was in. A $3 sub is pretty sweet, and to my surprise, my turkey sub was pretty decent.

There is a specific $3 sub for every day of the week, meaning every UWM student can be Milwaukee’s Jared Fogel!

The bread, along with the overall menu variety, makes this one of my top sub places. One of the best things about Subway is that you can pick from an assortment of vegetables and toppings to smother your sub, working with the “sandwich artist” to build your sub the way you want it.

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