Wawa Oven Roasted Turkey & Provolone

Today, we are reviewing the Wawa Oven Roasted Turkey & Provolone Classic Hoagie. Earlier this year, we did a series called “Turkey Sub Quest.” The concept was simple: I visited six chain sandwich shops and reviewed a similar turkey sub from each. The goal was to rank how the subs stack up. One piece of feedback I got was that Wawa was excluded. The reason for this is Wawa is not located in my region. When I happened to be in an area with a Wawa, it was an excellent opportunity to do a bonus review and see how their turkey sandwich rated.

Wawa is a convenience store and gas chain located mainly in the Mid-Atlantic States and Florida. As of 2023, there are 1,032 locations. It was founded by Graham Wood in 1964. Before 1964, the Wood family had been in the dairy business. While many will say Wawa is a gas station, its roots are as a convenience store, and it did not have its first gas station until 1995.

The Construction

Our sandwich follows the format of the six sandwiches used in the Turkey Sub Quest. All sandwiches will have turkey meat as the foundation. Provolone cheese is part of the sub. Lettuce, tomato, and onions are the toppings. Oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and oregano are used if available. 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, the Wawa Classic Hoagie was used, which is ten inches long.

This was ordered using Wawa’s kiosk, so the whole sandwich is constructed a-la-carte from the ground up.

Wawa Oven Roasted Turkey
Provolone Cheese
Lettuce
Tomato
Onion
Oil
Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
White Bread
Size: Classic (10 inches)
Sandwiches Eaten: One
Location: Middletown, PA
Price: $7.49

The Experience

Meat and Cheese

Both the turkey and cheese were quite tasty. The turkey had a subtle smokiness, and the provolone had a touch of sharpness. The turkey meat had a roasted trim, which is a positive in my book.

One thing I would have preferred was a slightly thinner cut on the provolone and, to a lesser extent, the turkey itself. The turkey seemed very cold, and while it wasn’t frozen, it made me wonder if it had been.

The meat and cheese quantities were satisfactory, but I would prefer a bit less lettuce. There was more meat than cheese on the sandwich.

Score: 2.50 out of 4.00 points

Bread

Wawa did an excellent job on the bread. It had a slight crustiness, although I prefer a roll to be a little harder.

Another bonus is the dusted bottom. I couldn’t determine whether this was dusted with flour or cornmeal, but it wasn’t as dusted as the top.

Score: 1.25 out of 2 points

Condiments

In terms of condiments, Wawa does well in several areas. The tomatoes were nice ripe and sweet. The onions were not pungent. The salt, pepper, and oregano were balanced and did their job to enhance the flavor. The oil and vinegar were not overpowering.

Lettuce seems to be an area where many sandwiches struggle—including Wawa. There was a slight wilt to the lettuce, and there was way too much lettuce. My assessment is to go less with the lettuce and a little more tomato. The amount of onion was perfect.

Score: 1.25 out of 2 points

Intangibles

As mentioned, there was too much lettuce, and this threw off the condiment-to-meat/cheese ratio. The lettuce was falling out of the sandwich. A little more meat/cheese and a little less lettuce would work well here.

The “coldness” of the turkey meat was a little excessive. But in the end, the sandwich as a whole tasted very good.

Score: 1.25 out of 2 points

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

The Wawa Oven Roasted Turkey & Provolone scored 6.25, slightly above average on the criteria used when I assessed the other Turkey Quest sandwiches. At $7.49, this is a true bargain. In fact, Wawa will sometimes offer these hoagies at $6.99. I think the ingredients and the a-la-carte ordering options make this a great option. If the turkey wasn’t cold and the lettuce wasn’t overloaded, this could have even scored higher.

Summary

Meat and Cheese	2.50
Bread	1.25
Condiments	1.25
Intangibles	1.25
Total	6.25

Score: 6.25 (out of 10 points)
Value: Slightly Above Average

The Turkey Quest Standings

Here is how the Wawa Turkey & Provolone Classic Hoagie stacked up with the six hoagies that made up 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 (Turkey Pub Sub)	2.50	1.50	1.00	1.50	6.50
3	Wawa Turkey & Provolone Classic Hoagie ()**	2.50	1.25	1.25	1.25	6.25
4	Jersey Mike’s #7 Turkey and Provolone	3.00	1.00	0.75	1.25	6.00
5	Subway Oven Roasted Turkey	2.50	1.00	1.25	1.00	5.75
6	Firehouse Subs Turkey and Provolone	2.75	0.50	0.75	0.75	4.75
	Jimmy John’s Turkey Tom	1.75	1.50	1.25	0.25	4.75