I tried club sandwiches from Subway, Jimmy John's, and Jersey Mike's, and there's one I wouldn't order again

• I tried classic club sandwiches at Subway, Jimmy John's, and Jersey Mike's to find the best one.

• Jimmy John's and Jersey Mike's impressed me with their bread and meat, respectively.

• My Subway sandwich was somewhat of a letdown for me, largely because I felt the portions were small.

I love sandwiches, and if I had to pick just one to eat for the rest of my life, I'd choose the club.

In my book, a club sandwich consists of bread, mayo, turkey, lettuce, tomato, and sometimes bacon. It can also be made with other meats, however, such as ham or chicken.

I set out to try classic subs from Subway, Jersey Mike's, and Jimmy John's to see which popular chain serves the best.

Here's how they stacked up.

I started my club-sandwich journey at Jersey Mike's.

Jersey Mike's started serving sandwiches in the 1950s, and as its name suggests, the original location was in New Jersey. Now, however, it has more than 2,000 shops across the US and Canada.

The Jersey Mike's club sub consists of turkey, ham, provolone, applewood-smoked bacon, and mayo. I added lettuce and tomato since they were also included in the photo on the website.

My 7-inch sub cost me $11.57.

Jersey Mike's piled on the meat.

The turkey and ham were stacked high on the club sub — the pile was easily an inch thick, and that didn't even include the bacon strips. The meat was shaved thin and tasted fresh.

The tomato slices were a good size, and the mayo wasn't slathered on too heavily.

Unfortunately, the wheat bread didn't seem particularly fresh or soft to me. I also wasn't thrilled with how readily the finely chopped lettuce fell out of the sandwich.

Despite those minor flaws, I'd 100% order the Jersey Mike's club again.

Next on my list was Jimmy John's.

Like Jersey Mike's, Jimmy John's has more than 2,000 locations, but its roots are in the Midwest. The first shop opened in Illinois in the 1980s.

The Jimmy John's country club features turkey, ham, provolone, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. My 8-inch sandwich cost $11.97.

I thought the Jimmy John's club had the best bread.

The Jimmy John's French bread, which is the default unless you change it, is sublime. Maybe it was made shortly before I placed my order, but it seemed unusually fresh for a fast-food joint.

I could've enjoyed it with a pat of butter instead of toppings, but I was glad for all the other ingredients.

Though it didn't have bacon, the meat and cheese were cut thicker than Jersey Mike's, and the cheese was more flavorful.

I also appreciated the fresh veggies. The lettuce was chopped but not veritably minced, so it didn't slide off the sandwich as easily.

My country club had a bit too much mayo, so if I ordered it again, I'd definitely specify the amount. Aside from that, the sandwich was pretty much perfect.

I ended my sandwich quest at Subway.

Unlike the other two chains, which operate out of only the US and Canada, Subway is a global sandwich behemoth with tens of thousands of locations.

I'm an unabashed fan and take comfort in knowing that wherever I travel, there's probably some familiar food nearby.

That said, I don't usually order its oven-roasted turkey and ham sandwich, which is the closest thing it has to a club. You pick your own toppings at Subway, so I added mayo, provolone cheese, lettuce, and tomato.

Subway's standard sub was the smallest of the three at 6 inches, but it was also cheaper. I paid $8.68.

For me, Subway's take on the classic sub was a mild disappointment.

I wish I'd added a lot more toppings because this was the most diminutive sandwich of the trio by far.

There wasn't much meat, just two pieces of cheese, and the veggie portions were modest. In my opinion, the meat was also a bit less flavorful than the others.

Adding bacon would've helped, but it wasn't on the basic sandwich, and it would've cost extra. I think I'd rather stick with one of my usual Subway orders anyway.

All three chains had their own take on a club, but some were better than others.

Though none of the sandwiches ticked all of my boxes, the ones from Jimmy John's and Jersey Mike's came pretty close.

Both chains offered substantial subs loaded with meats, which were particularly flavorful at Jersey Mike's. Plus, Jimmy John's had the best bread.

The club I made at Subway, by comparison, fell flat. It was smaller, had fewer toppings, and didn't pack much flavor, so I probably wouldn't order it again. I'll still return to the chain for other subs, however.

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