You Won't Be Getting Pure Olive Oil On Your Jersey Mike's Sub. Here's Why

If you don't live in a major city, or really on the Eastern seaboard, it's actually hard to find a good, old fashioned deli, preferably one that specializes in Italian sandwiches. That's why chains like Jersey Mike's exist, to bring a kind of Italian deli-like sandwich experience to the rest of us. It was more like traditional delis before 2012, when the chain served soup. That was discontinued, mostly to streamline operating costs.

Jersey Mike's claim to fame is adding onions, tomato, vinegar, oregano, salt and olive oil to the sandwiches, which is also dubbed "Mike's Way." But there's a slight problem, while the onions and vinegar are real, sadly the olive oil isn't quite all that it seems. Checking the Nutrition & Allergens page of the website, you'll notice that "olive oil blend" is composed mostly of soybean oil and/or canola oil. While it's doubtful corner bodega stores use real olive oil, it's more that Jersey Mike's calls it "olive oil blends," implying that it's a blend of olive oils and not a blend of oils that are mostly not olive oil. This is neither the first nor last controversy the chain has faced. Although, one thing it got right is featuring Danny DeVito in its commercials. 

While the name "olive oil blend" is arguably a little misleading (but legal), Jersey Mike's still has a lot to offer hungry customers. Given the immense customization of their sandwiches, it's not hard to see why one of its sandwiches went viral in 2024. 

Arguably, if you're offended by the lack of olive oil in the olive oil blend, you can simply refrain from adding it to your sandwich. And while it may not have the Mediterranean mystique, nor really the flavor, that olive oil has canola oil is actually quite good for you, as far as oils go. It's neutral, handles heat well, and is low in saturated fats while also high in unsaturated fats. It also has the very high levels of omega-3 fatty acids of any plant based fats.

Study after study shows that used in moderation, canola oil is extremely beneficial to health. While no one worth listening to would advocate for just eating a ton of oils and fried foods, it does seem like health trends and health advice on social media can get out of hand. The same goes for soybean oil, which is also high in unsaturated fats and omega-3s and omega-6s. We think the biggest complaint we'd have is that olive oil, particularly single origin, cold pressed olive oil, just tastes a lot better than canola or soybean. But we doubt you'd be getting that at Jersey Mike's, anyways.