It's a little odd that it took Subway this long to come up with a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, considering the popularity of everything Buffalo — except the city. But Subway has done Buffalo differently. Instead of greasy, drippy, breaded, deep-fried Buffalo, Subway has done Buffalo low-fat. Let's see how that works out.

Here's the blueprint: a 6-inch sub made with strips of white-meat chicken, tossed rather forcefully in Frank's hot Buffalo sauce, with lettuce, tomato and green pepper, and topped with a gentle slather of light Creamy Ranch dressing.

Total calories: 370. Fat grams: 7. Dietary fiber: 5 grams. Carbs: 54 grams. Manufacturer's suggested retail price: $3.25.

So far, the only problem I have with this sandwich is that I should have gone with the $5 footlong. Crunch the numbers. Just stop singing that song from the commercials!

The low-fat Buffalo Chicken Sandwich is Jared-approved and part of Subway's Fresh Fit meal choices. You're supposed to combine a 6-inch low-fat sub with baked chips, apple slices and a diet soft drink or water. Yeah, keep looking up that chimney on Dec. 24.

Of course, your calories and fat will head higher if you freestyle the sandwich with cheese. I say go for it. Cheese definitely helps this sandwich. If you want cheese but want to stay low-calorie, lose the Ranch sauce. You've already got the Buffalo sauce for wetness and swallowbility.

You'll just have to get over the fact that this isn't a calorie-drenched, deep-fried Buffalo chicken sandwich like at your favorite sports bar with waitresses in tight T-shirts. I am not thinking of any particular restaurant here. Those greasy sandwiches are fantastic in their own way, but you'll pay in the long run — especially when you get your bill with the waitress dotting her i's with a heart.

Subway's Buffalo Chicken Sandwich has a similar flavor, but the heart-pounding impact is less. I'm talking about the food and the server. Less can be more ... in France. In the drive-thru, we believe that more is more.

On the plus side, Subway's Buffalo Chicken Sandwich lets you eat a full 12 inches and still escape with far less fat and calories than a monster fried Buffalo sandwich and fries and full-octane ranch or bleu-cheese sauce.

Subway packs 3 ounces of precooked white-meat chicken strips on its 6-inch subs. Then comes Frank's Buffalo Sauce. We like when fast-food joints use brand-name products instead of those 55-gallon drums of institutional sauce with a plain white label. Thattoo close to school-cafeteria standard issue.

As with all Subway sandwiches, you can pick whichever veggies you like, but the geniuses in Subway's product development department recommend lettuce, tomato and green pepper. Imagine them having a white napkin draped across their arm when they make this suggestion. I'd also throw on some black olives for more flavor.

Maybe the best thing about Subway sandwiches is the bread. The whole restaurant smells great, like an expensive home that's for sale and the owner won't budge on the asking price. The aroma of bread baking sometimes is the closer.

Subway recommends, and bases its calorie count on, Italian or Nine-Grain bread. I'm good with Italian.

Subway's Buffalo Chicken Sandwich is a limited-time offer, going bye-bye Nov. 16. You'll be so skinny by then, you'll be jogging to the sports bar.