Every superhero needs to refuel in order to fight crime and the Great American Hero, a quaint little sub shop in Dallas, offers a variety of hero sub sandwiches and a great dining experience for all superhero needs.  

    Although it is about a 30 minute drive from Plano to Dallas, it is well worth it. Upon approaching the restaurant, the exterior looks like something out of the movie Grease/ an Adam West Batman movie. The giant sign itself is a sight on its own, featuring a comic booking looking font. Painted in a bright yellow with soft pink and baby blue highlights, everything about it draws in potential customers to answer the question of whether the interior is as cute as the exterior.

    Despite the small space, the diner fills up every square inch with menu items, superhero paraphernalia, like stickers and buttons, and merchandise, like water bottles and lunch boxes. While it may come across as too cluttered, it gives a cozy feeling to the dine-in customers.

    This is not a typical sandwich shop like Subway or Jimmy John’s. They provide 10 types of bread for the customer to choose from, including a selection of wraps. They also have high quality meats and cheese from local Farmers Markets, according to their website, and have an extensive menu, including soups and salads to provide a delicious meal for each individual customer. Although, it takes a minute for the customer to look over the huge menu for the first time, the employees are happy to help walk them through the process.

    There are four categories of sandwiches on the menu: the hot heroes, cold heroes, veggie heroes and the salad heroes. Surprisingly, there are differences between men and women on what the most popular sandwiches are. As reported by the owner, Dominick Oliver, the most popular sandwich in the cold column for men is the number one: The Italian. It comes with genoa salami, capicola, baked ham and mozzarella cheese. For women, the number seven is the most popular sandwich in the cold column. This is a turkey and provolone cheese sandwich.

    On the hot sandwich list, the most popular sandwiches are the Cuban Panini and the Heroletta. The Cuban Panini is a Florida special that has roasted pork, baked ham, turkey, capicola, swiss cheese, sliced dill pickles and whole grain dijon mustard. This cuban delicacy is a must-try.  

    “People who have tried the Cuban Panini have told me ‘you gotta go to Cuba and teach them how to make this,’” Oliver said.

    The Heroletta is inspired by New Orleans cuisine. It has baked ham, turkey, monterey jack cheese, genoa salami, capicola, provolone with a cajun blend of green and black olives, pepperoncinis, mushrooms, oils and spices.

    Oliver, being a vegan himself, knows the struggle of finding a delicious meal. That is why he also has a veggie and vegan column listed on the menu. The most popular veggie sandwich is the number 27, Vegan Delight. They substitute the meat for hummus made in house. Also included in the sandwich are marinated bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and pepperoncinis with hero dressing.

    Popular or not, customers cannot go wrong with any sandwich they order, whether that is the Italian Meatball Hero, New York Reuben or one of the four styles of cheesesteaks.

    The last column on the menu is titled ‘the works.’ This poses two questions asking what condiments, spices and oils the customer would like on their sandwich. By accommodating various customer preferences, Great American Hero is the perfect stop for a lunch date, family or friend outing.  

    Once the order is placed, it only takes a few minutes for the meal to be prepared. During that time, first time customers receive a free gift, either a cookie or a brownie, and a coupon. This little act of kindness and clever marketing strategy shows that they value long term customers, and that they strive to please the consumer.

    They also care about their community outside of just preparing food. The Great American Hero diner is the first penniless store in Texas, Oliver said. This means that they do not keep the pennies they receive, but rather donate the loose change to their community. According to Oliver, they choose a charity once a year to donate to. In the past, they have made donations to SPCA, the Children’s Hospital and Genesis Women’s Shelter among a variety of others.

    “We don’t nickel and dime you either. Everything on the menu bottoms out to either 25, 50 or 75 cents,” Oliver said. “It’s just easier that way for us and the customers.”

    For those wanting the delicious food to go, a drive thru option is also offered. Driving through it, customers can see a beautiful, hand painted fence featuring the diner’s name, and artwork of a sandwich next to a glass of lemonade.

    It is also located adjacent to the famous Dallas Love Wall mural. After a satisfying meal, the mural offers a perfect backdrop to cap off the day with some cool pictures to commemorate the experience.  

    Overall, making the drive to the Great American Hero diner provides a fun day trip for the family, or a group of friends, allowing for a healthy, tasty meal and some unique pictures to remember the day.