Confession: I love sandwiches. At noontime, when everyone else is virtuously chomping on salads, I'm usually the lone luncher who's chowing down on a couple of pieces of bread stuffed with whatever strikes my fancy.

When I say sandwiches, I don't mean wraps. The soft tortilla-like "bread" gets stuck in my teeth. Nope. Make mine a hearty, chewy roll or a couple of thick slices of whole-grain bread, complete with some of the grains. OK, I'll do rye (with seeds) or pumpernickel, as long they're deli-style.

And sandwiches are fun for dinner, too. Grilled, accompanied by soup in the winter. Or perky with crunchy stuff in the summer. Indeed, a summer supper of sandwiches can be a true treat. Cool and self-contained. With potato chips on the side.

And, of course, eminently portable.

Apparently, I'm not alone in my liking for this finger food that's not just a nibble, but a meal. Enter Jimmy John's, a little place on Old Dobbin Lane (next door to Noodles & Company) that has been available to indulge my appetite and those of plenty of neighbors for more than two years now.

Jimmy John's is a franchise out of Charleston, Ill. The concept dates back to 1983, but the local version, which pretty much has this area sewn up, has really picked up a lot of business in the last six months or so, according to owner and manager Michael Woizesko.

The motto for Jimmy John's reads "World's Greatest Gourmet Sandwiches." While Jimmy John's "disclaimer" reads, "OK, so my subs really aren't gourmet and we're not French either. My subs just taste a little better. That's all I wanted to call it: 'Jimmy John's Tasty Sandwiches.' But my mom told me to stick with 'gourmet.' She thinks whatever I do is gourmet, but I don't think either of us knows what it means, so let's stick with tasty!"

This storefront take-out place does feature a quartet of booths and a couple of tables inside, and four tables outside. Several of those tables were occupied on the Wednesday evening the four of us visited. But the carry-out trade was a clear majority.

Indeed, that's what the four of us had in mind as we surveyed the generous menu trying to make our selections. The plan was for each of us to choose two different sandwiches, for a total of eight, then take them back to a lovely screened deck and enjoy them in the balmy evening air. With soft drinks, to be sure. But also some wine, which is not available at Jimmy John's.

The tasty gourmet

For one thing, the sandwiches are reasonably priced, although we did manage to spend a bit over $60 for all our sandwiches, and multiple bags of Jimmy's "gourmet" potato chips (in myriad flavors), plus pickles and anything else that struck our fancy (we were really hungry).

However, you don't need to spend that much. Indeed, you can acquire a satisfying but inexpensive lunch or supper from Jimmy John's. For instance, the eight-inch subs -- seven of them -- will set you back a mere $5.15 each. The "giant club sandwiches" -- 11 of them -- are only $6.15. And there's the "gargantuan," which costs $8.15 (and could feed two not-so-starving lunchers or diners).

Virtually all of the sandwiches come with shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes, in addition to their specialized "designer" touches, such as an avocado spread in the Beach Club. If you want a less "loaded" sandwich, you can opt for a "Plain Slim" for $4.15, and settle for simple ham and cheese, or roast beef, or tuna salad. Like that.

There's also a low-carb sub or club option. Choose the "design" of your sandwich, but instead of bread, you can have the components "sandwiched" inside lettuce leaf wraps.

While there's a plethora of sandwich styles, they make it easy on you when it comes to the bread. Two types only. Impeccably fresh French/sub rolls or impeccably fresh seven-grain bread, cut to Texas toast thickness. Either way, the inside bread is soft and the crusts have the perfect chew factor.

OK, so here's what we chose: The tuna club on seven-grain bread, with chunk light tuna salad (more flavorful than albacore), provolone, cucumber and tomato slices, alfalfa sprouts and shredded lettuce. Really filling, and gloppy, and good.

And the Gourmet Veggie Club on a sub roll with lettuce, sprouts, avocado, tomato and provolone. You should probably request mustard and/or hot peppers with this, as it's rather bland.

The J.J. BLT on seven grain was the "classic," with ample, very smoky bacon, so you can really taste. And the Beach Club (a best seller) on a sub roll, which featured shaved turkey slices in addition to cukes, sprouts, lettuce, tomato and -- being a la "California" -- some creamy, ripe avocado spread.

A Turkey Tom on seven-grain could've used more turkey. Plus some mustard and/or hot peppers. The Vito was a somewhat slimmed down version of a full-blooded Italian cold cut sub. Inside that French bread/sub roll were Genoa salami and capicola, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion and a drizzle of Italian vinaigrette. Good, but I'd probably request no mayo for this one when ordering it again.

Italian-style subs were on the mind of our fourth taster, too. The Italian Night Club, another top seller at Jimmy John's, was similar to the Vito, except it also contained smoked ham. Our fearless guest opted for hot peppers too.

And more hot peppers on the Gargantuan, the biggest sandwich at the shop. Also in the same vein as the Vito and the Italian Night Club, but with the addition of roast beef and turkey. Whew!

We happily sampled some of each sandwich and would be hard put to name a favorite from among most of them. Depends on your mood, of course, plus the ambient temperature, the barometric pressure, all that.

Whatever sandwich(es) you select, you'll realize that Jimmy John's "gourmet" secret is a two-word description: impeccably fresh. From the breads to every filling ingredient, including protein sources and all the vegetables (no rusty lettuce here).

By the way, the house brand (Jimmy's) potato chips are fun too. Kettle cooked-style, so they're really crunchy. And the varieties: regular, skin, vinegar and salt, jalapeno, barbecue and more.

They also vend large gourmet (there's that word again) cookies if you feel the need to carry out your dessert along with your sandwich. Plus soft drinks, including bottled water and fresh iced tea.

Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches (410-872-0010) is at 6191 Old Dobbin Lane, Columbia (across the road from the Columbia Crossing shopping center). Open daily 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Delivery available (three-mile radius). Catering, including party platters, giant/party subs, box lunches available.

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