I tend to equate Doc Ford’s and Ford’s Garage, even though they have vastly different themes. Both are chains founded in southwest Florida, 20 miles from each other: Doc’s in Sanibel in ’03; Garage in Fort Myers in ’12.

Both occupy large spaces. Both feature American cuisine, although Doc’s tilts toward fish and Garage tilts toward meat. Both have voluminous menus. Most important, both have reputations for serving good food.

But truth be told, it’s the overlapping “Ford’s” that has prompted me to pit them against each other this week. If that concept seems a little thin, well, I can’t disagree — but I’ll do my level best to make it work.

With November 3 being National Sandwich Day, the choice of dish was obvious. We selected one that overlaps the two menus: pulled pork. And because a sandwich didn’t seem like quite enough, we found an overlapping appetizer: seared ahi tuna.

Let’s get started on this FFF: Doc Ford’s Garage.

FORD’S GARAGE

Stuffed into a corner building at 2nd Street and 1st Avenue South in downtown St. Pete, Ford’s Garage is huge inside: two massive dining room/bars with a full-bore Americana/automobile theme. It’s the only restaurant brand that has licensing rights to Ford Motor Company’s logos and insignia. And they make the most of it.

I was more drawn to the little details — like the silverware being wrapped in a faux mechanic’s rag cinched by a hose clamp, or the gas pump that serves as a handle to the men’s room.

All that was moot, though, because at 2:30 Tuesday we chose to sit out on the covered patio next to 2nd Street. The mercury was in the low 80s, but a light breeze made things comfortable. The dull rumble of heavy machinery — the sound of downtown growing inexorably skyward — provided the soundtrack, drowning out tepid rock music on the sound system.

We ordered Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna ($13.99) and the Pulled Pork Sandwich ($14.50) with fries (and the Bourbon BBQ Sauce on the side).

Appearance

The appetizer came out in about two minutes. My initial reaction was, “Gee, that looks pretty,” and then, “Hmm, that looks pretty small.”

As for the sandwich, let’s take a moment to big-up a detail: The Ford’s Garage logo was branded onto the top half of the Brioche bun.

I noticed something else: one of the smallest servings of fries that I’ve ever seen accompany a sandwich. Not ideal, because Bonnie and I were splitting our meal.

Texture and Taste

The menu says “rare” tuna, but it looked raw to me, which was A-okay. It was heavenly tender, and I liked the way the sesame seeds were free to scatter themselves around. The itsy-bitsy servings of Asian slaw and seaweed salad added ephemeral crunch, and the “boom boom” sauce had a nice tang and a bit of spicy heat. (I let the Wasabi and sliced ginger be — too sushi-ish.)

All told, though, six diminutive pieces of tuna with micro-fixins amounted to more of a snack than an app.

My half of the sandwich immediately fell apart, probably due to Bonnie’s less-than-stellar knife technique. She may have been a little sad to cut through that cool bun-logo. I winced as I watched.

The red-hued pulled pork split the difference between shredded and chunked. It was well-smoked but not quite moist enough for my liking. I used up the sauce, rich and sweetish. The coleslaw didn’t make much of an impression, but worked well with the meat.

The first few fries were first-rate, aptly salted and peppered, but it didn’t take long to get to the dregs, which were crispy to the core.

DOC FORD’S RUM BAR & GRILLE

Thursday’s brisk morning had given way to a refreshing 72 and sunny at 1:30. Our group of four sat at a high-rise on the covered patio, overlooking a small marina and Boca Ciega Bay. We were comfy in every imaginable way.

Doc Ford’s gets its name from Marion “Doc” Ford, the lead character in 25 Florida-based novels by author Randy Wayne White. The restaurant doesn’t shove the theme down your throat, though — after all, there are no known pictures of Doc. The entry area serves as a gift shop of sorts, with an array of T-shirts and a few shelves of Doc Ford paperbacks.

Think of Doc Ford’s as a capacious, elevated beach bar.

I ordered the Seared Tuna Appetizer ($14.95) and the Panamaniac’s Pulled Pork sandwich ($12.95).

Appearance

The tuna app was noticeably bigger than its adversary — three hefty slabs of rare (raw?) tuna lying on a bed of rice noodles and Asian vegetables.

The sandwich didn’t have the same pizazz as the one at Ford’s Garage. How could it without a logo branded into the bun?

Texture and Taste

The tuna app delivered plenty of flavor complexity. Not only was the fish sublimely tender, its companions were exemplary — and substantial. The noodle/veggie mix came bathed in a sweet but not overbearing Thai peanut sauce. Drizzles of wasabi coulis added a deft touch of spicy heat.

There was enough of it to share, although I did so stingily. I don’t think the appetizer would’ve quite made a meal, but it was way more than a snack.

I carefully cut my sandwich in half, but alas it disassembled. (Bonnie gets a pass.) This shredded pork was fattier and moister than the competition’s, but with less smoke and less flavor overall. It needed the sweet-and-tangy BBQ sauce, which I asked for on the side.  The fries were short and chubby, with ample potato flavor.

And the Winner of the Doc Ford’s Garage Challenge Is …

Doc Ford’s.

I’ll call the sandwich plates a draw. Doc Ford’s takes the honors based on its heftier and more creative tuna appetizer.

One last bit of evidence to legitimize my pairing these two brands for a Friday Food Fight: The meals were 59 cents different in price.