Panera Bacon Turkey Bravo

Today, we are reviewing the Panera Bread Bacon Turkey Bravo Sandwich. The Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich has been on the Panera menu for over 20 years. Recently, some changes have been made. In early 2024, it was announced that the Bravo Club sandwich would replace the Bacon Turkey Bravo. The new Bravo Club would include ham among the meats and use white cheddar cheese instead of Gouda. This change prompted some backlash, leading to the return of the Bacon Turkey Bravo, now featuring white cheddar cheese.

Panera Bread is a bakery-cafe store chain in the United States and Canada. Ken and Linda Rosenthal founded it as the Saint Louis Bread Company, and there are still stores in the St. Louis, Missouri, area that carry that name. Au Bon Pain purchased the brand in 1993 and rebranded it as Panera. In 2017, JAB Holding Company acquired Panera for $ 7.5 billion. There are over 2,000 franchises currently in operation.

The Construction

In 2024, I conducted a series called the Turkey Sub Quest, which focused on turkey subs made in similar styles. I decided not to include Panera’s Bacon Turkey Bravo in the series, as it is a highly specialized sandwich that would require significant customization. This would essentially detract from the original intent of the offering. The Bacon Turkey Bravo used for this assessment uses all of the default options, although customization is available.

Oven Roasted Turkey
Tomato Basil Bread
White Cheddar
Applewood Smoked Bacon
Mixed Greens
Sliced Tomatoes
Bravo Sauce
Salt
Pepper
Location Purchased: Indian Trail, NC
Size: Whole
Price: $11.49

Some points to note:

White cheddar is now the cheese for the Bacon Turkey Bravo. Gouda is no longer available.
The Bravo sauce is a mix of vinegar, tomato paste, and a mayonnaise component. There is also an olive puree mixed in.
Weight and length measurements were somehow not recorded for this assessment.
While Panera has several hot sandwiches, the Bacon Turkey Bravo is one of the few served cold.

The Experience

While the Bacon Turkey Bravo is a specialized sandwich, the same scoring algorithm used for Turkey Sub Quest was used:

Turkey and Cheese: 4.0 points
Bread: 2.0 points
Condiments: 2.0 points
Intangibles: 2.0 points

A decision was made to include the bacon as a “condiment” because there was only a small amount used on this sandwich.

Turkey and Cheese

The heart of this sandwich is the turkey, and a sufficient amount is served on the Bacon Turkey Bravo. This is an oven-roasted turkey. It didn’t have much smokiness, but it was pretty flavorful and had a nice savory component. There was a well-defined trim around the turkey, which is something that I like.

The white cheddar is on the mild side. It has a creamy texture. It’s not a bad-tasting cheese, but I preferred how the Gouda from the previous iterations contributed to the sandwich.

Score: 2.75 points out of 4.0 points

Bread

Panera Bread is known for its bread, and the Tomato Basil Bread is quite good. From what I understand, it’s sourdough-based, and of course, it has tomato and basil blended in. There is a very interesting sweetness to this bread, and that’s because there is some sugar and honey mixed in. Texture-wise, the bread has the right amount of density and airiness. Overall, a very nice sliced sandwich bread.

Score: 1.5 points out of 2.0 points

Condiments

There are several condiments, so let’s take them one by one.

Applewood Smoked Bacon: Although I usually prefer bacon well-done, the bacon here is certainly cooked sufficiently. This is an absolute star for this sandwich. You get a pleasant smoky taste.
Greens: It’s a mix of green and red lettuce leaves. You get a slight bitter component. This is the one condiment that isn’t a loss if eliminated from the sandwich.
Tomato: These were average. I would have preferred a little more ripeness on them.
Bacon Turkey Bravo Sauce: For the most part, the mayonnaise component is neutralized. Given that I dislike mayonnaise, this is a good thing. The sauce is interspersed between the different layers of this sandwich. While there are light amounts on each layer, they do add up, and ultimately, it’s still a little more sauce than I wanted.
Salt and Pepper: They do their thing.

Score: 1.25 points out of 2.0 points

Intangibles

I have to say that, aside from the greens and sauce, the balance of meat, cheese, bacon, and tomato was just right. Although the bread is a bit thinner than it used to be, it still pairs well with the sandwich. I would have liked a touch less sauce and found the greens somewhat unnecessary, so I would have opted for fewer of those. However, the most crucial point is that this sandwich is quite filling. Ultimately, the positives regarding the proportions significantly outweighed the negatives.

Another thing I look for is whether the overall sandwich experience is greater than just the sum of its parts. In this case, it’s a definite yes. Everything works together beautifully, and the most important thing is that it tastes delicious.

Score: 1.5 points out of 2.0 points

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

This sandwich received a solid rating of 7.00 out of 10 points. However, I believe it could have earned at least 0.50 points higher if they had used Gouda cheese instead. While the cheddar cheese is decent, it doesn’t quite match the unique flavor of the Gouda. As I mentioned earlier, this is a specialized sandwich, and aside from potentially making it slightly less green and less saucy, I wouldn’t recommend too many changes. Overall, it’s a filling and tasty sandwich that I haven’t seen replicated.