Today, we are reviewing the Publix Turkey Sub from Publix – sometimes called the Turkey Pub Sub. This is the fifth installment of a six-part series (we expanded it from five) called Turkey Sub Quest. The concept is simple: I visit six chain sandwich shops and review a similar turkey sub from each. The goal is to rank how the subs stack up.
Publix is a grocery store chain that operates in seven states (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, and Virginia). While it might seem a little regional, the grocery chain has a vast presence, operating 1,373 stores at press time – so while not national, there are many of these stores. Each grocery store has a delicatessen where sandwiches are made to order.
The Construction
All six 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. If available, 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, getting as close to a foot-long option as possible. In this case, Publix has a sandwich option right at the 12-inch mark.
This might be the part that stirs up some controversy. There are two types of turkey meat you can get at Publix: Boar’s Head brand turkey meat and Publix brand turkey meat. A decision was made to use the meat branded with the store—in this case, the Publix brand one. A Boar’s Head version of a Turkey Sub will be assessed in the future.
- Sliced Publix Turkey
- Provolone Cheese (Default)
- Lettuce (Default)
- Tomato (Default)
- Onion (By Request)
- Oil (Request) – Available in side packet
- Vinegar (By Request) – Available in a side packet
- Salt (Default)
- Pepper (Default)
- Oregano (Default)
- White Bread
- Size: Whole (12 inch)
- Sandwiches Eaten: Three (Three separate purchases)
- Location: Monroe, NC
- Price: $8.99
The oil and vinegar option comes in packets, which you can place on the sandwich yourself.
The Experience
Meat and Cheese
Turkey is the foundation of a turkey sandwich. If it isn’t good, you simply cannot have a decent turkey sandwich. The Publix-branded turkey was good, but I was looking for a little more robustness. The texture also seemed right. The provolone was quite good. It wasn’t overly sharp, and compared to the four previous subs assessed for the Turkey Sub Quest, this one had the best provolone. Both the turkey and cheese were sliced on the thicker side. My preference is for the meat and cheese on the thinner side.
The quantity of the meat and cheese was satisfactory.
Score: 2.00 out of 4.00 points
Bread
Publix did an excellent job on the bread. The crust was nice and crisp, and it was soft enough inside. Most importantly, it’s a tasty bread that is not on the doughy side.
Score: 1.50 out of 2 points
Condiments
The tomatoes in the Homemade Turkey were ripe and had a nice sweetness. The onions had some sweetness but were not too pungent.
I liked the oil and vinegar separate in the packs. I was given two packs for each half of the sandwich. This prevented the sandwich from sogging too much. I put the oil and vinegar on top of the condiments instead of on the bread. This is more of a personal preference than anything, as I don’t think there is a wrong way to do this. The salt and pepper ratio seemed perfect. As far as the oregano goes, it was a little excessive for each of the sandwiches I had.
The big miss was the lettuce. It was pretty wilted on each sandwich. I expected better from Publix on this one.
Score: 1.00 out of 2 points
Intangibles
Proportion-wise, I thought Publix did an excellent job with the meat/cheese to condiments ratio. This sandwich’s bread held most of the components together. Some of the onion and an occasional piece of lettuce tended to fall out of it.
While the oil and vinegar packs have some advantages, you will have to disrupt the sandwich to put them on.
Score: 1.50 out of 2 points
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
The Publix Turkey Sub scored 6.50, which is slightly above average on the criteria used for this competition. One factor that makes the Publix Turkey Sub an attractive option is the $8.99 price point for 12 inches. With 6.50 points, Publix ties Capriotti’s for the overall lead in the Turkey Sub Quest competition.
Summary
| Meat and Cheese | 2.50 |
| Bread | 1.50 |
| Condiments | 1.00 |
| Intangibles | 1.50 |
| Total | 6.50 |
Score: 6.50 (out of 10 points)
Value: Slightly Above Average
The Turkey Quest Standings (Through 5 Subs)
Note: There will now be six subs from six different chains as a part of the Turkey Quest competition
| Sub | Meat/ Cheese (4) | Bread (2) | Condiments (2) | Intangibles (2) | Score (10) | |
| 1 | Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop Homemade Turkey | 3.50 | 0.50 | 1.25 | 1.25 | 6.50 |
| Publix Turkey Sub | 2.50 | 1.50 | 1.00 | 1.50 | 6.50 | |
| 3 | Jersey Mike’s #7 Turkey and Provolone | 3.00 | 1.00 | 0.75 | 1.25 | 6.00 |
| 4 | Subway Oven Roasted Turkey | 2.50 | 1.00 | 1.25 | 1.00 | 5.75 |
| 5 | Jimmy John’s Turkey Tom | 1.75 | 1.50 | 1.25 | 0.25 | 4.75 |
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop
