Roly Poly’s California Turkey — with Extra Sugar!

Since working at RD2, I’ve been enlightened to sandwichy-goodness of Roly Poly. I hadn’t even heard of them before working here, but I’ve probably had their sandwiches at least once or twice a week since I started. They make regular sandwiches but rolled in a tortilla. And not only are their sandwich recipes innovative, but their ingredients are far above what you’d normally expect from a quick food restaurant.

They have dozens of sandwiches on their menu and I’ve been working my way through the varieties. So far, the Cobb Salad sandwich may be my favorite (with both avocado and bacon, how can you go wrong?). In any case, I decided to get a Roly Poly sandwich for dinner a couple days ago and I wanted to give their turkey sandwiches a chance.

I settled on the California Turkey sandwich which has, among other things, turkey, cheddar, bacon and avocado. I placed my order over the phone for pick-up and it was ready as soon as I got there. So, I paid and headed back home. I unwrapped the sandwich from its paper and grabbed a plate.

As I ate the sandwich, I couldn’t deny that it was full of turkey — it definitely had plenty of turkey flavor. However, there was another flavor that I couldn’t quite identify — a subtle sweetness that I couldn’t ignore. At first, I thought it might be a honey mustard, but there was no honey mustard listed on the menu for this one. I then considered whether perhaps I was encountering the natural sweetness of a ripe vegetable, but that didn't seem to be be it either.

After a few more bites, I realized that it wasn’t just a general sweetness, it was a soggy sweetness — from the dressing itself. Some of the dressing had already began to seep out the back of the sandwich (onto the plate) and I took a closer look to see if that would provide any clues. As I looked over the dressing, I noticed that it was mostly clear but thick and full of colored specks. Aha — Italian Dressing!

So, that resolved the dressing conundrum, but the sweetness? I soon realized that Roly Poly must be using a mass-market Italian Dressing: I hadn’t realized it until I started cutting my sugar intake (and reading more about hidden sugars in foods) but Italian Dressing is full of sugar. Right after water, oil and vinegar on the ingredients list — and before any of the actual spices — is high fructose corn syrup (bleh). So, that must have been what I was encountering in my sandwich.

The sandwich, perhaps contrary to what its creator intended, ended up as a sugary turkey sandwich. That’s not to say that it was bizarre enough for me not to eat the rest of it, but I pondered giving up on it a few times. And, if you’re particularly astute, you may have already noticed that Roly Poly’s menu specifies ”ranch dressing” (and not Italian) with their California Turkey sandwich (I only just noticed this myself). I'm certain that the dressing in my sandwich was Italian, so I can only figure that they gave me #11 by mistake.

In that case, maybe their California turkey sandwich is still worth trying after all. Still, don’t get the wrong idea about Roly Poly — their sandwiches are fantastic. I mean, I wouldn’t be eating them every week if they weren’t. But, if you’ve reduced your sugar intake, perhaps avoid the sandwiches with Italian dressing — they may end up tasting a bit like they've had a sugar marinade.