Potbelly’s Secret Underground Menu Available on 44th
Ever since Andrea posted about her unsuccessful attempt at ordering from Potbelly’s secret “underground” menu downtown, I’ve been on a mission to get my hands on these elusive little sandwiches. My only previous experience with Potbelly was years ago at the Chicago airport (I remember them being quite tasty) and I certainly wasn’t hip or in-the-know enough at that point to ask for one of their secret sandwiches. All the underground sandwiches use the same ingredients from one of their signature menu items, but in a different arrangement. So unfortunately, there’s no secret hidden ingredients involved. No foie gras or face bacon, I’m afraid.
After doing some research online, I learned the names of some of the creations, so I was prepared when I walked into the 44th Street Location (between Lex and 3rd). I ordered “the Wrecking Ball” without flinching and to my surprise, the employee seemed to know what I was talking about. He had to check with a manager to find out exactly what was in it, but he made the sandwich no problem. For those curious, the Wrecking Ball is a combination of their Meatball sandwich (minus the marinara sauce) and their Wreck sandwich. I could have also ordered the Fire Ball (meatball sandwich topped with chili) or the Cheeseburger (meatball sandwich with ketchup, mustard, cheese, and pickles).
As they made my sandwich I asked them more about the availability of these secret sandwiches. I told them I heard the downtown store wouldn’t make them and the employee here assured me that they would eventually. Since all the Potbellys are brand new to New York, they’re still getting on the same page. It just so happens one of the managers at this location was transferred from Chicago, so the underground menu is something these employees learned about quickly.
I can attest that the Wrecking Ball is a delicious sandwich. The smoky, spicy meatballs were awesome and gave an extra meaty flavor and texture to the already overloaded Wreck sandwich (it contains salami, turkey, ham, roast beef, and swiss cheese). With so many ingredients, I was amazed that none overpowered the other. There were a lot of strong flavors working together. And if you’ve never had a Potbelly sandwich before, the toasty bread makes all the difference.
Since the Wrecking Ball was basically two sandwiches combined into one, I was concerned that they were going to charge me double. Fortunately, it was still a very fair $6. That’s a small price to pay for such a delicious sandwich, not to mention all the cool points you’ll earn for ordering off the secret menu.
Potbelly, 150 E 44th St (646) 289-4202
Posted by brianhoffman at 11:30 am, October 28th, 2011 under Potbelly Sandwich Shop.
13 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
13 Comments
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where’s the beef?
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The PB&J is the most caloric sandwich on the menu, (as well as the cheapest). Impressive!
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clever how they hide the calorie counts with these off-the-menu offerings, isn’t it?
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Nice touch with the multigrain roll to make sure made the sandwich healthy. Did you order a diet soda too?
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Ouch! I feel like I’m in one of those Miller Lite commercials. Multigrain must have been the default bread because that’s what the guy made me. I have no problem with multigrain. It actually added a nice sweetness to it.
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Haha nice analogy but I’m just busting you. I usually choose whole wheat/mutligrain when it’s an option as well because I think it tastes better most of the time.
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Like the taste here, but the portions are just so unbelievably bad. That picture you’re showing…hate on Subway all you want, that isn’t even in the same league as a $5 footlong.
I’ve ordered double meat from Potbelly and barely found it filling.
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agreed. the wreck, although having salami, turkey, ham, roast beef- you got like one slice of each. or at least i did. and the bread reminded me all too much of subway.
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Comparing Subway to Potbelly isn’t even close… maybe on these underground sandwiches they come up short, but Potbellys menu sandwiches are so much more with getting then sSubways $5 footlong… you get a footlong for $5 with about $1 worth of meat, $3 worth of vegetable fillings, and $1 worth of bread… Not to mention the quality isn’t even close to Potbelly.
And Double Meat at Subway is equally as laughable…
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i just ordered the wrecking ball and they charged me $11 instead of $6. I was shocked when they told me the price since you said they only charge $6. For the price of $11 with 2 meatballs inside, it was definitely not worth it. I rather just get the wreck.
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I just spoke to the manager at the 44th location who said the price for The Wrecking Ball should be The Wreck plus two add-ons (60 cents each) which would be roughly $7.50 including tax. He told me that the underground menu is a new thing for the NY stores so it’s been tough to make sure they’re consistent. Explains why I got charged less and you got charged more. He said none of their sandwiches should ever cost $11. I agree.
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I actually work for Potbelly, regarding the portion of meat. The original 6inch sandwiches all receive 3.5 ounces, while the big 9inch have 4.5. The prices of the Wrecking Ball is already put into the computer system. All of the secret sandwiches are available on the computer screen at the register, so the price remains consistent.
Anyone tried ordering from the secret menu at the Rock Ctr location?