The rapid transition from Halloween to Thanksgiving often catches us off guard. Even though Halloween was just last Saturday, we are suddenly expected to acknowledge and prepare for the upcoming holiday season. During such busy times, it is easy to let certain tasks slip down your priority list. We hope that food is never one of those things. No hectic season is reason enough for subpar dinners to become the norm, and they certainly won’t be with the newest addition to the Publix Deli menu.
The Turkey Cranberry Holiday Sub has arrived, making a festive, satisfying meal easier than ever to enjoy—or is it? If a sub with “holiday” in its name is anything less than fabulous, we run the risk of feeling discouraged about the upcoming seasonal festivities.
While that is admittedly a hyperbolic sentiment, we do not mess around when it comes to holiday-themed food. More importantly, we want to ensure our readers are only eating the best, so we tested this sandwich to determine if it is truly worth your time. Without further ado, here is our official review.
Pros — The sandwich is crafted using a mix of Boar’s Head and Publix ingredients, which generally guarantees that the quality will be top-tier, as is the case with most pub subs. We found that to be true here as well. The combination of 5-Grain Italian Sub Bread and Boar’s Head Ovengold Turkey Breast is excellent on any day, providing a solid foundation for more nuanced flavors. If only the execution were better.
Cons — The main pitfall of this sandwich is that it seems designed based on individual ingredients rather than how they interact in a single bite. Instead of a balanced profile between the meats, cheeses, and tangy cranberry sauce, the taste is quite flat. The cranberry sauce lacked the intensity to be a defining element, and it was disappointing to see it fall short when we expected it to do the heavy lifting.
All of this is to say that the sandwich was far from bad. With a bit of doctoring, it could even have the potential to be great. However, it needs more acidity from ingredients like mustard or vinegar, perhaps a double portion of cranberry relish, and maybe a sharper cheese like cheddar to give every bite a more defined flavor.
