Syracuse Sandwich: Applebee's California Turkey Club

Who: Applebee's What: California Turkey Club
Where: Route 11, North Syracuse Phone: 452-5670 Website: Applebee's
Parking: Shared lots Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No

     After a long day of registering gifts for the wedding and then going to church on Saturday, we decided to hit up Applebee's because they are pretty reliable and we all liked their food. I found myself immediately scanning over the sandwich selection so I could do two blog posts for this past weekend. Check out my post on Sardo's. I really wanted the Oriental Chicken Rollup but wraps are not sandwiches so that was out of the question, luckily Christine ordered it and I was able to snag a bite of hers. The promise of bacon, jack cheese, and an avacado ranch dressing drew me to the California Turkey Club. After about ten to fifteen minutes of conversation, our food arrived and the sandwich was just loaded with turkey.
 

     Okay so this isn't the best picture but it looked better in the dimly lit restaurant when I took it. Served with some seasoned crispy fries, the sandwich was looking good; but could it stand up to my expectations? The bread was perfectly toasted and held up well, even with the weight of piled high turkey. The bacon was nice and crunchy, just the way I like it. Jack cheese played a nice roll while being melted to the top slice of bread. All signs pointed to a tasty sandwich until I got to the turkey. The turkey was your run of the mill deli cut and you could tell it came from the fridge because it wasn't completely warmed through. The usual suspects, shredded lettuce and sliced tomato came along for the ride but added very little to the overall taste. My biggest issue with this sandwich came in the avacado ranch dressing which it seemed to lack much of to start. I didn't expect the dressing to be oozing all over my plate and down my arms but a little smear of it on the bread just doesn't cut it. Also, adding avacado dressing and jack cheese isn't enough to make a sandwich "Californian". Serving this on a nice ciabatta roll with a few thin slices of avacado and then some sort of dressing would have made this a much better sandwich. I might order this again but only if I'm craving a turkey sandwich and I'm sitting in an Applebee's.
Rating: Satisfying - More dressing, sliced avacado, and different bread please.