Today, we are reviewing the Subway Oven Roasted Turkey sub. This is the first of a five-part series called Turkey Sub Quest. The concept is simple: I visit five chain sandwich shops and review five similar Turkey Sub sandwiches. The goal is to rank how the subs stack up.

The Construction

All five of the Turkey Sub Quest reviews will use a similar format. All sandwiches will have turkey meat as the foundation. Provolone cheese will be part of the sub. Lettuce, tomato, and onions will be toppings. Oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and oregano will also be used. No mayonnaise will be used on any of the sandwiches. White bread will be the default.

Here is the tale of the tape with the Subway Oven Roasted Turkey Sandwich:

• Subway Oven Roasted Turkey
• Provolone Cheese (option given to select a cheese)
• Lettuce (by request)
• Tomato (by request)
• Red Onion (by request)
• Oil (by request)
• Vinegar (by request)
• Salt (by request)
• Pepper (by request)
• Oregano (by request)
• White Bread (by choice) – Footlong option
• Sandwiches Eaten: 2 (Two separate purchases)
• Location: Stallings, NC
• Price: $8.59

The Experience

Meat and Cheese

Subway has said they have switched to fresh-sliced meat, but my sandwich was not sliced on demand. One thing I was quite surprised about was the turkey meat had trim on it—which is a huge bonus in my book. The meat itself was flavorful and tasty.

The cheese was more on the mild side of provolone than sharp.

I prefer a little more meat and cheese with the basic options rather than ordering the extra meat option.

Score: 2.5 out of 4 points

Bread

Subway’s has advertised for many years that it’s bread is baked on the premises. There was an option to toast the bread and toast the sandwich, but I opted to pass on both options. The bread was tasty and was not chewy or doughy. I usually prefer a little more crust on my bread.

There were slight tears in the bread, but it did not fall apart.

Score: 1 out of 2 points

Condiments

The tomatoes really shined on this sandwich. They were close to the peak of ripeness and had a nice sweetness. As for the onions, they were fine. Subway only offered a red onion option. Red onion can be a little pungent on a sandwich, and this was the case here.

The lettuce had a slight wilt. Normally, I prefer a thinner thread on my lettuce. However, I do appreciate that the sandwich was not overloaded with lettuce.

I really liked that the oil and vinegar did not oversaturate the sandwich.  I got the basic option here and did not have to specify “go light.”  Oil and vinegar can make or break a sandwich.

As for the salt, pepper, and oregano, these also were not put on in over-saturating amounts.

It’s worth noting that Subway offers a host of other condiments and sauces that can be included with your sub, as well as some premium add-ons. I kept things more basic for the purpose of this exercise.

Score: 1.25 out of 2 points

Intangibles

While I won’t score appearance, the sandwich did have a nice presentation. The ingredients used in the sandwich tasted good and worked well together. The one drawback is that after eating this footlong sandwich, I was still hungry.

Score: 1 out of 2 points

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

There were some pleasant surprises here. The turkey meat, which is the sandwich’s foundation, was good. Plus, I liked the tomatoes and the fact that the oil and vinegar didn’t saturate things. I would have liked a little sharper provolone, better-quality lettuce, and some more crust on the bread.

Overall, this felt like a very light sub. When picked up, it felt very lightweight. I mentioned earlier there could have definitely been more meat and that I was slightly hungry after finishing the sub. While I realize there were options to add more meat and condiments, I think the basic option of a foot-long should have provided more. It was a tasty sandwich, but I still would consider this an average turkey sub.

Summary

Meat and Cheese	2.5
Bread	1
Condiments	1.25
Intangibles	1
Total	5.75

Score: 5.75 (out of 10 points)
Value: Average

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop