I ate a pleasant lunch recently [5-31-2022] at Firehouse Subs Grandview #693 at 955 W. Fifth Ave.

I had been on a self-guided walking tour in the "Fifth by Northwest" neighborhood that day and had arrived at Firehouse Subs exactly at the correct time to be able to order and eat lunch.

The dining room at Firehouse Subs Grandview is at least twice the needed size for such a restaurant; there is plenty of room; the tables are widely separated.

I had studied the Firehouse Subs website several times in advance of my visit and had chosen the following sub to order: "Firehouse Hero®" [USDA Choice roast beef, smoked turkey breast, Virginia honey ham, and melted provolone, served "Fully Involved," which means "loaded complete with mayo, deli mustard, lettuce, tomato, onion, and a kosher dill pickle on the side"].

The website had not mentioned that there are three sizes of subs from which to choose so I had to quickly decide which size of sub to order while standing at the ordering counter.

Sometimes, on-line menus are based on the premise that the customer will be ordering "on line" at that moment rather than walking into the restaurant later and ordering at the counter.

The one odd thing about the ordering-and-paying process is that I had been asked to insert my debit card without knowing the cost of my order. Usually, credit card machines display the total amount due but I had seen no "amount due" on the credit card machine so I asked the cashier the "amount due" after I had already paid that amount.

My one criticism of my recent visit to Fireplace Subs is that the website had clearly stated that there would be "a kosher dill pickle on the side" served with my sub when in fact there had been none.

I am surprised that the "default" "serving style" for subs at Firehouse Subs is that they will be served "hot." My "hot" sub had actually been "lukewarm" which in my opinion is never the best temperature at which to serve a sub.

The next time I order a sub from Fireplace Subs, I will request that they serve my sub cold.