Woman says she ordereded a Smokin’ Honey Chicken Melt from Firehouse Subs. Then she notices something and starts laughing: ‘I’m still laughing’

A Firehouse Subs customer said she kept laughing long after she finished her meal once she looked at how her sandwich had been cut. The woman, who posts on TikTok as AkSaltyGirl (@alittlesalty_mostlysweet), shared a video of a toasted sub she identified as a Smokin’ Honey Chicken Melt and said the roll had been sliced the wrong way.

The TikTok clip has drawn about 700,800 views, 33,200 likes, and almost 1,900 comments. It opens on a close-up of her hand holding a small toasted sub. On-screen text indicated it was the Smokey Honey Chicken Sandwich. As she turned it, the filling appeared to include chicken, melted cheese, and red and green vegetables.

She said in the video, “This is the sub I just got from Firehouse Subs.” She added that she does not go there very often, then said, “I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to be serving sandwiches vertically.” She pointed to one end and said, “This is the bottom.” She then said, “It should be sliced this direction,” and moved the sandwich to show a cut running along the length of the bread instead of from top to bottom.

A vertical slice on the toasted sub prompted talk about how sandwiches are usually cut

In the caption, she wrote, “I’m still laughing about this hours after I’ve eaten my sandwich. My son’s sandwich was cut correctly, I’m guessing someone had a long shift by the time it was my sub.”

She presented her son’s order as having been sliced in the usual way and suggested the person who made hers may have been near the end of a shift. Such preparation methods can yield surprising outcomes, as a woman who cashed in Jimmy John’s rewards points found that her bread made a knocking sound.

CookingIsCool describes sandwich slicing as more than a finishing step. They say a clean cut can keep fillings in place, make the sandwich easier to hold, and keep the ingredients in each bite more even. Those guides commonly list a sharp serrated knife and a steady cutting board as the basic tools, and they note that a long bread knife can help keep the cut straight through a crusty roll.

One method they describe is a straight cut across a sub or baguette, which they say is practical for larger sandwiches and for packing. Another is a diagonal cut that creates two triangles and shows more of the filling on a plate. Some home cooks also use cutters for shaped pieces, though that approach is usually framed as a choice for smaller sandwiches rather than a long toasted sub.

The guide also treats crust as a preference. Some people keep the crust for texture. Others remove it for a softer bite. In this video, the issue the creator raised was not the crust. It was the direction of the slice on a filled, toasted roll that she held upright. Unexpected surprises can happen with food orders, as a woman’s sub sandwich came with one unexpected surprise.

A YouTube video from Hit105 features former sandwich artist Stav showing how he said subs used to be opened. He contrasted a straight cut down the middle, which he said leaves the sandwich to be filled and then pressed shut, with an older U-shaped gouge along the top of the loaf. He demonstrated cutting that channel, taking out some of the interior, placing cheese, meat, lettuce, and sauces inside, and setting the top back on like a lid before cutting the sandwich in half.

One commenter who said they work at Firehouse wrote that the sandwich in the video was not cut the way that the store usually does it. They said it is supposed to be cut meatball style. Other viewers focused on how the sandwich looked in her hand and on how the chain has been serving them lately.

Commenters compared the upright sub to other foods and questioned how it stayed together. One wrote, “Lmao I thought it was a baked potato.” Another wrote, “Gave you a loaded crouton.” A third asked, “How’s it not falling apart in your hand?”

Some comments turned to who might have made the sandwich and to recent visits. One person wrote, “a man did that, I’m sure of it.” Another wrote, “I work at firehouse and it’s not even cut correctly, it’s supposed to be cut meatball style.” A further commenter wrote, “firehouse has went downhill. everytime i go now, they’ve been out of the fresh veggies that go on the sandwiches.”