Thanksgiving’s still a couple weeks off, but you’re starting to taste it, right? Salivating in anticipation of the carved turkey and all those sides, especially the stuffing. Stuffing is what I live for this time of year. And gravy. My Thanksgiving dinner plates look like gravy bogs.

Then, mmmm, leftovers. Sandwiches made of leftovers.

It came to my attention a couple years ago that I don’t have to wait until the day after Thansgiving to eat a sandwich that includes turkey and stuffing, that I can get one at a restaurant — ahead of time. So this year I started looking in earnest. It took some doing, but I found a couple places: Firehouse Subs, a chain; and Brooklyn South, a tiny eatery in St. Pete’s Edge District.

But wait. Would indulging in these pre-Thanskgiving sandwiches undermine the sanctity of leftovers two weeks hence? Would it somehow diminish them? This was a risk I was willing to take.

Most of these specialty sandwiches feature cranberry sauce or some derivation of the fruit. I avoid cranberry like I do root canals.

We brought the sandwiches back to the FFF Lab + Photo Studio™ and photographed them on a silver platter to afford them the proper dignity. 

FIREHOUSE SUBS

Appearance

I got the 8-inch sub ($12.62) rather than the 4-inch (whuh?) or 12-inch. At first it was a little odd to see the sacred post-Thanksgiving sandwich on a sub roll. But that didn’t last. It was too tempting to the eyes. The package also came with a wonderful add-on. Gravy. Let’s add punctuation. Gravy! In a styrofoam container.

I asked for the cranberry sauce on the side, figuring I’d at least sample it.

Taste and Texture

The sub roll turned out to be just fine. It was soft and airy, and quickly compressed, making for easy bites — more of a basic housing than a vital ingredient. The sandwich ate neatly. It had carved white-meat turkey rather than deli-style, surprising for a sub shop.

My biggest concern was the stuffing. Could a chain with a dozen locations in Tampa Bay put out a credible rendition? Yes it could. The stuff was moist and well-seasoned, traditional but with its own character. My second biggest concern was the gravy. Firehouse made the grade here, too. It was thick but not gloppy, flavorful but not too rich, and there was plenty of it. Ideal for dipping the sandwich.

The crimson cranberry sauce had the consistency of jam. I took one small dip for thoroughness sake and dipped out.

BROOKLYN SOUTH

Brooklyn South is a mom ‘n’ pop shop, the kind of place that just might run out of certain offerings if its getting late. With that in mind, I called a couple of times in advance to make sure the sandwich was available. Karen, one of the owners, assured me they had the goods to make me a Day After Thanksgiving sandwich ($15). I popped in, paid and was back in the car in two minutes.

Appearance

Brooklyn South’s wrinkle was making its beast of a Thanksgiving sandwich with ciabatta bread. It contained deli turkey, a slight concern.

Taste and Texture

The ciabatta proved to be a major asset — a nice exterior crust leading to dense bread, then into the jackpot stuff. More than a mere housing. That the pile of turkey was deli-style hardly made a difference. Did it have the magic of the slices and pieces from Thanksgiving dinner? Of course not. But neither did the carved version at Firehouse.

The stuffing had that comforting texture but its flavor could’ve been more pronounced. Brooklyn South’s sandwich features a cranberry-flavored cheese. After some chin-scratching, I okayed it but asked Karen to go easy. The cheese added a whisper of tang.

And the Winner of the Thanksgiving Sandwich Skirmish Is …

Brooklyn South’s Day After Thanksgiving Sandwich — with Firehouse Subs Gravy.

Okay, so — yeah, that’s a cheat. But I’m sticking with it.

One final observation about my first experience with restaurant Thanksgiving Sandwiches:  

There were no leftovers.