A Perfectly Fine, Normal Sandwich

As we move away from Halloween now (and the weird items that were on offer, including a pretty awful looking Addams Family selection at Burger King that seemed so rancid I avoided it altogether), we merge into this weird zone where some places want to already offer Christmas-themed selections while others try to see if Thanksgiving is something people can care about. Arby’s, home of the meats, has apparently laid claim to turkey as their holiday selection of choice, coming out with two sandwiches promising Thanksgiving cheer in sandwich form.

Joining Arby’s returning Deep Fried Turkey Club (deep fried turkey breast, crispy bacon, melted cheddar, lettuce, tomato, mayo on a brioche bun) we have the new Deep Fried Turkey Gobbler. This sandwich features deep-fried turkey breast, bacon, big eye Swiss cheese, crispy onions, tomato, leaf lettuce, an herb spread, and everything seasoning in a brioche bun. At least, that’s what’s supposed to be on the sandwich. I went to my local Arby’s to try the selection out and, honestly, I’m not certain they even know what the heck is supposed to be on the sandwiches because that’s absolutely not what I got.

Unwrapping my sandwich I had the brioche bun with turkey, herb spread, lettuce, and tomato, which is all correct, but then there was cheddar on it, which isn’t supposed to be on the Gobbler (and I very clearly ordered the gobbler), and I also didn’t get bacon or onions. I went right after dinner, past the rush but long before the location would close (three hours before) so this wasn’t them just throwing something together to get rid of me. I legitimately think that my location’s staff just wasn’t trained properly on how to create this sandwich. They gave me some half finished combo of the two and, well, that’s what we get to review today.

Of the strange Gobbler-Not-Club I got, there were some highlights. The turkey itself is very moist and tasty. It’s thicker sliced than on a sandwich you’d get from a sub shop, like Subway or Jersey Mike’s, and it’s nice and flavorful. That flavor is turkey, of course, so you have to like turkey to want this (but then, you’re ordering a turkey sandwich so I hope you would). I know there are people that consider turkey to be a bland meat but I didn’t find that to be the case here. It was moist, tasty, and salty enough to hold up on the sandwich and not get lost.

The cheddar (which should have been swiss but it’s too late for that now) was a nice addition. It was a mild cheddar and very melty, but its light cheesy flavor actually worked as a compliment on the sandwich. I find that very often cheese gets lost on a sandwich when you have all kinds of other items on there but not in this case. The cheese was a good compliment that actually added flavor to the sandwich and aided in the overall flavor.

The lettuce and the tomato are necessary items on the sandwich as well. I didn’t really notice the flavor of the lettuce (what little flavor lettuce has) but I did taste the tomato. More importantly, they both added some extra moisture to the sandwich, which did help to combat any dryness the turkey might have had. The deep frying of the turkey avoids that, of course, but turkey can be a dry meat in comparison to other options, so any extra moisture is absolutely going to help that in the long run.

The real winner of the show, though, was the herb spread. This is a light and tangy mayo sauce that is very herb forward. Honestly it was flavorful enough that I could see ordering a little cup of it to dip fries and other snacks, but on the sandwich it’s even better. It accents the sandwich, adding moisture and flavor, but it doesn’t overpower the turkey, making for a really tasty spread for this handful of food. This really brings the whole sandwich together and I’m glad that, at least on this front, my Arby’s knew to put the spread on the bun.

Speaking of, the brioche bun was fine. It was a bun. It was soft and bready, like a bun. Honestly, if I hadn’t looked the sandwich up to confirm ingredients I wouldn’t have even known it was specifically a brioche bun, making me think this is just ad copy, something they can say they used without anyone questioning it. In this case, a bun is a bun and whatever Arby’s says they use, it’s just going to be a bun for their food.

Naturally, since they didn’t give me these items I can’t attest to how good the crispy fried onions are, nor how well the bacon goes on the sandwich. I assume they both add extra saltiness and crunch to the sandwich. I think the crunch would have been good here, but I’m not sold on needing extra flavors. Honestly, I think the blend on the sandwich in general was great and adding too many extra items might have actually pulled away from what was working on this turkey handheld. Of course, I can’t attest to that, though, since I didn’t get to try them.

Now, those items might have made this sandwich feel more special, and I think that’s the bit that was missing for me. I liked this sandwich. I thought it was pretty good, in fact. But there was nothing about this sandwich that sold it to me as a “limited edition, Thanksgiving Day eat”. It’s a really great turkey sandwich, but it also feels like a sandwich that would just be on Arby’s menu all year round. Basic, hearty, solid. My wife, who stole a few bites of the Sorta-Gobbler I was given, even said as much. “This would be my go-to Arby’s item if they had it all year.” That shows it’s a good sandwich but it also doesn’t really sell itself as “special”.

She commented that a side of cranberry for dipping could be good. I agree with that, or maybe some gravy. If they had a side of gravy and potatoes that would be even better, because then you could pair them all up for a delicious combo. This feels like a real missed opportunity for Arby’s because, if you want something for Thanksgiving you want that specific flavor and this sandwich doesn’t bring that. It brings good flavor, just not Thanksgiving flavor.

I recognize I’m being picky on this front, though. If what you’re craving is a really good turkey sandwich, Arby’s has you covered. Just, maybe have them check to make sure they know how to build it right. Or perhaps I accidentally stumbled onto something and this weird concoction they built me is actually the perfect turkey sandwich. Try for yourself and find out…