PENN STATION
Address: 1570 Win Hentschel Boulevard, West Lafayette, IN 47906
Whenever I hear “Penn Station,” I immediately think of New York City’s Pennsylvania Station, from the number of times I’ve traveled through there while taking the train to NYC. In this case, however, those same two words correlate to hot subs, fresh-cut fries, and fresh-squeezed lemonade. Penn Station is a sandwich chain that has a number of locations throughout the South and the Midwest, and West Lafayette is home to one of them.
I do like my fair share of cold subs; just ask my wallet about the hefty amount of money that I spent at Jimmy John’s freshman and sophomore year. But hot subs, those are really something that I’ve been a big fan of ever since I was little. Penn Station specializes in a variety of different hot subs, such as their Philly Cheesesteak, Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Cordon Bleu, and Pizza Sub. All of their subs are made-to-order and extremely fresh, along with their other side items (such as fries and cookies) as well. Because the majority of their subs are hot, you place your order with the person at the front, pay, and then go ahead and sit down. The sub will be brought out to you by a runner, and the turnaround time from order-to-food is usually really quick. The dining area is really spacious, with the windowed storefront bringing in a lot of natural light. The nice, open kitchen area in the front also lets you see what’s going on behind the counter, which I always really like.
For hot subs, I would say that Penn Station is a strong contender for the top. Everything always tastes really good and all of the employees are really friendly. The only drawback is its distance from the main campus, but if you’re ever out by Wal-Mart or something and want to grab a bite to eat, Penn Station is always a good destination.
Here are my rankings for Penn Station:
Food: 5 / 5
The bread is excellent, the menu variety is spot-on, and all of the hot subs pack some great flavor.
Atmosphere: 4 / 5
The dining tables were constantly cleaned as guests left, and the aroma coming from the griddle where they were prepping the subs was awesome. The entire dining area is really well-lit, and the decorations hung up on the walls are a nice touch as well.
Service: 5 / 5
The employee taking down our order was really friendly, as well as the runner who came to bring out our food.
Price: 3.5 / 5
The subs, paired with a side of fries, does tend to run up more on the expensive side of things. I paid around $7.50, and the food-to-price ratio was pretty good. I feel like you get more of your money’s worth if you have it for dinner.
Overall: 17.5 / 20 (88%)
Categories: Indiana, Restaurants
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