Wax Wednesday #2 - Hal of a Sub

It's safe to say that we are the newest to the strip on this end of, what is becoming, the long stroll of Pacific Avenue. Art, boutique shopping, speciality food and UW of T on end and yoga, tattoo, resturants/bars, a bodega, some vape and eTcTacoma. Hal of Sub is the hub. We are fortunate enough to share a building with the Tacoma staple. Ran by lovely Korean women Hal of A Sub has been around since we were babies. BUT due to downtown's boring and bummy rep when we were young and mischievous hours of the night when we were around - Hal's never happened for us. So immediately upon figuring out where were we going to be setting up shop it was decided the corner eatery would absorb 90% of our lunche choices - on some "keeping it local doing it for the TOWNbiz" altered mentality we still hold near and dear. So after attempting our favorite category of food with teriyaki we decided to roll with the majority vote and try out the locals.

Left: Hal House Sub Right: KBBQ Bulgogi Sub

Food prep time - The protein is cook and slice or marinated in the morning and the bread is freshly baked in the back. It's like where Subway stole the whole blueprint. The rest of the ingredients are placed on the sandwich at your request. Once the bread for the day is gone Hal's is done for the day. 

Quality of ingredients - Because everything is prepared the day of, which you can see in apparent when inside of Hal's, the quality of the bread and the veggies are very nice. The KBBQ could have been a better cut but sometime you just get dealt wrong piece.

3. Portion control - A half a sandwich is a nice size but not enough to fill up anyone. It's almost like eating a slider basically. The full sandwich, 12inches, is a healthy portion that doesn't leave you filling stuffed but you are full. When you order a full the protein portion steps up a whole lot. We also tried the Teriyaki sandwich and they packed the sandwiches. Very impressive.

4. Menu diversity - The menu is a full spectrum of subs from the basics of a turkey club to the intricacies of KBBQ marination. They also do chips, juices, and light snacks due to their lunch time rushes from the nearby business community.

5. Customer service - The women are so nice. They sometimes keep a stern exterior look if you're just walking by and peeking in the window but upon entry they really become hospitable. They start with a big hello and then they will walk you through building a fresh sub - also they aren't pushy with the add-ons they just let you do what you want to - very respectful but very attentive.

6. Ambiance - The dining in experience isn't the best but it suites the environment and customer base. Business professionals come down and slick their outerwear over the back on a chair and dig in to make the walk back in time from Hal's to their office. There is nook sitting with a few stools that face out of the store front. That part of it reminds us of NY eateries and how they use space for allowing a dining in experience but keeping open space for people waiting in line and those being taken care of at the order window. 

7. Taste/Overall Rating - Hal's is easily an 8. But we are giving them a nine for how easy they make it look. Hal's has been around forever and they maintain the quality and the culture and the quick day lunch experience. It's nice to know that Tacoma has something so mom & pop and landmarked in downtown, there are not many like Hal's - they have consistency. As we imagined pre-opening the shop, Hal's is going to be a place we eat a majority of the time. We might go for a turkey club mixed with teriyaki to get experimental on em.