In the name of chain warfare, there is a weapon available against the Subway onslaught that waits cocked and loaded between Verizon and Marshall’s in Sand City: locally-owned Jersey’s Subs (899-7677).

I’ve been meaning to check out their new salad bar, since there is a dearth of quality options around here. Crazy Horse (649-4771) at the Munras exit off Highway 1 in Monterey and Jacks in the Portola Hotel (649-2698) top my short list – ask for the locals deal at Jacks, and save $2, BTW. (Note: All salad bar suggestions zapped to edible@mcweekly.com will be investigated.)

The short of the all-you-can-eat Jersey’s salad bar: There are four lettuce choices, including spinach; eight dressings; about 30 different toppings; basic fruit, macaroni and pasta salads; and individually wrapped squares of cornbread and 3-inch rolls baked on site every morning.

It arrives for $7.95, $.50 off with a coupon that’s been running in these pages.

But that same coupon has $1 off the turkey-avocado-bacon sub or the hot pastrami Reuben – $8.75 instead of $9.75 for the TAB monster with the works on house-baked wheat – so I had to demur. Damn good and messy sandwich made me feel good about the decision.

I split it and the Reuben with a friend (actually split them with both of my friends, they’re that big).

A slim lady in line told us, “I could eat [their Reuben] every day. I’m buying one for now and one for later. I’m all for taste.” OK then.

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Rather than spend my energy penetrating one of the most intricate mysteries of the food universe – why In N Out employees are so damn happy – I’d rather direct it toward what unknown plunder lies off the In N Out (800-786-1000) menu, at least beyond the fabled “4 by 4.” (For the uninformed, that’s like a double Double Double, with four patties and four pieces of cheese for $5.15; “teenagers and athletes like to order those,” one ecstatic employ told me.)

Before I started quizzing the smiley kid in the little white paper hat, I had prior knowledge of the 4X4, the 3X3 ($4.15), and often ordered half-strawberry/half-chocolate shakes, animal-style fries (despite the spendy-by-comparison $3.25 tag) and grilled cheese (always with grilled onions, $2).

So the young guy looked a little deflated when I asked for more off-the-radar riches besides the first few he rattled off. But then came some fun ones, like a shake that takes my strawberry-chocolate play a step further, a triple flavor treat they fittingly call the Neopolitan, and the Flying Dutchman, two patties and two pieces of cheese, no bun. He also mentioned the root-beer float.

You can customize burgers and buns in ways most are unaware of. Burgers can be mustard grilled, given chopped cascabella peppers on the bottom or layered with extra tomatoes, lettuce or onion for no charge; buns can be extra toasted, lightly toasted or untoasted – or swapped out for a lettuce sheaf in the “protein” version popular among Atkins freaks. The “veggie” ($1.40) comes sans patty. Fries can be had well-done/extra crispy, “light well” and “light,” salt-free and with just cheese.

Salinas currently hosts the county’s only outpost; word that the western chain might set up a station in Seaside generated as many Weekly reader comments as any recent food news.

The latest on that front: Seaside Redevelopment Manager Richard Glenn told me, “We’re still working though the process.” Since it’s in the coastal zone, additional scrutiny will be paid by the state Coastal Commission.

Environmental impact reports are planned to take a look at the issues, particularly traffic-related, of putting an In N Out at 1350 Del Monte Blvd., next to the Holiday Inn Express that neighbors Roberts Lake and Embassy Suites.

“We haven’t gotten any negative feedback,” he says, “but it’s a long process.”

He says the soonest animal-style advocates can plan on hearing that there’s a project is mid-2011, which would also mark the best-case start of construction.

Bet the In N Out addicts around these parts wish they could lightly toast that timeline.

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International Flavors of Marina happens Thursday, July 22, at The Dunes on Monterey Bay. The 25 or so participating purveyors – think Chateau Sinnett, D’Anna Thai, El Palmar, Everyone’s Harvest Marina Farmers Market, Hahn Winery, Kula Ranch, Manzoni Estate Vineyard, Natural Wonders, Scheid Vineyards, Shoreline Conference Center, The Ginger People, Tico’s Breakfast & Lunch, Ventana Vineyards, and Wild Thyme Deli & Cafe – make the $25 price tag (in advance at www.marinachamber.com, Coffee Mia or Wild Thyme) one of the better bargains of the summer… Cool – and free – discussion at Harrison Memorial Library: Mark Marino, long the maestro behind Earthbound Farm’s own fields, talks edible gardening 10:30am Saturday, July 17, 624-4629… The second Big Sur Food & Wine Festival is on come autumn. Oh yes. They’ve added more hiking with stemware and a “Pinot walkabout” to cope with exploding demand, and a new “Gateway to Big Sur” opening extravaganza at the Highlands Inn Nov. 4 with 10 hand-selected chefs and 20 wineries. www.bigsurfoodandwine.org… As the Spanish proverb goes, “the belly rules the mind.”