The chart table

As is the case in almost every avenue of dining, what you see in an advertisement or on a menu is never what you should expect once your meal arrives. However, looking at the menu picture for the Floridian Club Sandwich, found at Gasparilla Grill and Games in the Grand Floridian, the sandwich seems to be nothing to write home about, a typical deli type sandwich that you could easily make at home. With such a lackluster presentation on the menu, what appears in the take away box may surprise you!

The printed description of the Club is, “Turkey, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Avocado Ranch Dressing on Multi-grain Toast.” Sounds pretty generic, right? Okay, well, let’s dispense with the lettuce and tomato, they were both fresh and added their desired flavors and textures to the sandwich. Similarly, the multi-grain toast was an excellent, and hearty, bookend for this sandwich. That leaves us with the turkey, bacon, and avocado ranch dressing.

This was not the thin, slimy, flavor-lacking turkey I expected. Nope, the turkey was sliced thick and presented an excellent smoked flavor to the ensemble. As for bacon, any quick sandwich, both on property and in the world beyond, tend to use the same flat, precooked bacon. But not the Floridian Club. In this instance, this bacon had dimension, both in terms of the essence of pork it exuded and in thickness. I’m serious when I say I want this bacon to magically find its way onto every sandwich I eat, everywhere!

As for the dressing, it had a nice tang to it, though I did not get as much avocado flavor as I would have liked, but I forgive them because I know how tricky it can be to work with avocado. The dressing was not slopped across the sandwich, an ample, but suitable amount was applied to give the Club just the right amount of lubrication in the presence of so many drier elements.

As for sides, the sandwich came with handmade chips, which had a great crunch to them and were not overly greasy, and a choice of tomato and mozzarella salad or cucumber salad. I opted for the cucumber, a cucumber and onion concoction that played with the vinegary zones of my tastebuds. My only complaint is that there was only a couple of bites in the dressing-sized cups.

This sandwich rocked my view of quick service deli sandwiched found around property. It is an entrée I will be sure to stop by and enjoy again when I happen to be in that corner of Walt Disney World. The great part is that it is served ready to go, you can stay and play a few games while you eat, enjoy the sun just outside Gasparilla Grill and Games’ doors, or take it with you to wherever you next destination might be!