During the summer of 2003, the Washington state ferry system decentralized its dining program, inviting food-service vendors to compete for potentially lucrative spots inside the ferry terminal at Pier 52. Alaska’s Gourmet Subs, whose only other shop is located in Anchorage, is the newest addition to the terminal’s food court. Owner Andy Moussouras offers an idealistic vision on the company Web site—1,000 franchises by 2015—and though the subs ($5.95 small, $9.50 large) don’t quite support that kind of optimism, at least they venture outside the Subway formula. (In addition to various pizzas and pastas, AGS offers both “traditional” sandwiches and quirky ones; the latter group includes hot egg salad, lamb gyro, and reindeer sausage subs.) The seafood melt is a guilty pleasure: crab and shrimp smooshed together under gooey cheeses—four of ’em, according to the menu, but good luck distinguishing them on the bun. The Greek halibut sandwich sounds fantastic (“broiled in Greek olive oil, vinegar, and herbs”) but ends up tasting like fish on bread, with no other flavors to recommend it. Better is the smoked salmon sub with roasted garlic sauce, though our testers split: One found it thoroughly satisfying, while the other described it as much too fishy. While I can think of a few reasons to return—reindeer sausage is intriguing, as is a shrimp sub with “Alaskan cocktail sauce”—AGS will likely sell most of its subs to ferry takers on the go, in search of something several cuts above the neighboring McDonald’s. 801 Alaskan Way (Pier 52), 206-382-1782. WATERFRONT