I even sampled a new chain offering. Check it all out in the word gravy below.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TOS-L-thanksgiving-sandwiches-orlando-2025-05.jpg\")
The Deli Llama’s pressed holiday sandwiches is a popular one that customers request year-round. This year, they’ll have it in a taco version, as well. (Courtesy Deli Llama)
\nDeli Llama<\/p>\n
Brent and Michelle Williams have been \u201cpressing to impress\u201d with their sandwiches since the Deli Llama spun up in Tavares in 2016. But after moving to Mount Dora earlier this year, they\u2019re really in the swing of a busy downtown district \u2014 still doing wild sandwiches, still having fun.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis one\u2019s been around since the beginning,\u201d says Brent Williams, \u201cfeaturing Michelle\u2019s turkey \u2014 which is the best \u2014 as well as her stuffing \u2014 way too much fontina cheese and thinly sliced red onion \u2014 all pressed into an Olde Heart sub roll.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cranberry aioli, served on the side, is a must-do, says his wife.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople love to smudge it onto the sandwich,\u201d she notes. \u201cIt\u2019s just incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Incredibly enough that their phone\u2019s been ringing since the beginning of the month with locals eager to see it back on the menu, which it is.<\/p>\n
Best Bakery: 2023 Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an honor that they remember it all year long,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n I called to make sure they were doing it before its inclusion, as theirs is one that\u2019s been lingering on my board.<\/p>\n The response came swiftly: \u201cPeople would kill us if we didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n No murderous rage necessary, folks, it will probably be on the menu well into December.<\/p>\n More: 334 N. Donnelly St. in Mount Dora, 352-508-5044; delillamafl.com<\/a><\/p>\n For all my love of Thanksgiving sandwiches, and the love of a handful of other folks I polled, the truth is that most people\u2019s favorite is the one they make with their own leftovers. For a twist that supports local, consider crafting this year\u2019s leftovers masterpiece on a Nana\u2019s Stuffing bagel from Jeff\u2019s Bagel Run.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mother-in-law \u2014 all the grandkids call her Nana \u2014 makes the stuffing every year. It\u2019s her contribution to the Thanksgiving dinner we enjoy as a family,\u201d says JBR founder Jeff Perera. \u201cAnd when we were thinking about ideas last year for a new Bagel of the Day, something that could represent the festiveness and the flavors of the holiday, I said, \u2018We should make a stuffing bagel.’\u201d<\/p>\n But, he says, \u201cIt didn\u2019t have a great ring to it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about Nana\u2019s Stuffing?\u201d one of his kids suggested.<\/p>\n It was perfect. \u201cEverybody\u2019s got a Nana \u2014 or someone in their life who fits that role \u2014 bringing a positive, warm feeling and joy into your life.\u201d<\/p>\n Got a pre-holiday hankering? Orlando\u2019s got serious Thanksgiving sandwich game<\/a><\/p>\n Made with vegetable broth and poultry seasoning for lots of flavor, it\u2019s a subtle, sagey hit to your sinuses that whispers the word \u201cThanksgiving\u201d as you take a bite. Toasted with some homespun sage butter, it\u2019d be a dream on its own, but toasted, griddled and piled high with all your family\u2019s favorites? That\u2019s a win.<\/p>\n I\u2019d suggest an open-faced, knife-and-fork variety \u2014 or at least lower-profile construction over my own photo-styled whopper of a creation. Unless you can unhinge your jaw like a seasonally inclined snake.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve got two more chances to fill your freezer before they\u2019re gone. The Nana\u2019s Stuffing bagel will be available at all Jeff\u2019s Bagel Run locations on Nov. 16 and Nov. 26. Follow them on social for announcements on other seasonal flavors \u2014 like orange-cranberry and pumpkin pie.<\/p>\n More: Multiple locations; jeffsbagelrun.com<\/a><\/p>\n Pastronomer George Markward may have a preferred protein, but he does plenty more at his food truck than the beef-injected goodies that got him on Guy Fieri\u2019s \u201cDiners, Drive-Ins and Dives.\u201d<\/a> This sandwich uses the same smoked turkey Markward makes year-round and employs the heels of his very own rye bread for the stuffing along with a scratch-made cranberry dressing. (Pro tip: He sells the bread by the loaf, as well.)<\/p>\n It\u2019s the second year for this sandwich, which proved exceedingly popular.<\/p>\n \u201cIt outsold the pastrami,\u201d he quips, \u201cI have to be careful!\u201d<\/p>\n His inspiration: Pom Pom\u2019s beloved Mama Ling Ling\u2019s Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n \u201cI did it as an homage to the Thanksgiving sandwich she had on the menu,\u201d Markward tells me, noting that his sandwich isn\u2019t just available for the rest of the month, but on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 27), as well.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be open regular hours, 10-2,\u201d he says. \u201cEveryone\u2019s welcome, it\u2019s a safe space \u2026 there\u2019s people who don\u2019t have anywhere to go on the holidays, and so they come and hang out here and get a good meal and relax.\u201d<\/p>\n Don\u2019t want turkey on Turkey Day? Fear not, Markward\u2019s pastrami is ever pervasive.<\/p>\n More: Located Behind Cafe Trastevere: 825 N. Magnolia Ave. in Orlando, 321-804-2686; pastramiproject.com<\/a><\/p>\n Fish Morgan\u2019s quirky Gotha hang has been hosting guests from around the metro for 30 years, but their pressed, panini-style version of this holiday handheld has only been a fan-fave for five, which is when it hit the specials menu. This year, it\u2019s already up and running, luring Yellow Dog\u2019s barbecue die-hards away with its smoked turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce.<\/p>\n \u201cWe make everything from scratch,\u201d says Morgan. \u201cWe\u2019re brining the turkey breast, smoking it, making the potatoes, the gravy, the cranberry sauce, just like your grandma would.\u201d<\/p>\n They use the pork and the turkey fat for that gravy, by the way, so you\u2019re getting some old school Yellow Dog in there, as well as the tart-over-sweet relish, which features a hit of Cointreau, as well. A hint of ginger in the panini\u2019s buttery brush is the proverbial whipped cream on the pie.<\/p>\n Fans love it. So much so that Morgan says the upcoming 2026 specials menu may see it reappearing from time to time throughout the year. That said, if you\u2019re craving it now, get there before the month\u2019s out to lock in your odds.<\/p>\n More: 1236 Hempel Ave. in Gotha, 407-296-0609; yellowdogeats.com<\/a><\/p>\n Eating local is always my preference, of course, but over the years, we\u2019ve included many a chain-based Thanksgiving offering and 2025 is no exception \u2026 exception being that this is one of the better ones in the mass-produced lot.<\/p>\n Arby\u2019s Deep-Fried Turkey Gobbler sounds alluring on its face, what with the whole \u201cdeep-fried\u201d thing. Its soft sub roll does a good job of containing its contents: thicker-than-deli-sliced turkey with stuffing and cranberry spread. There\u2019s mayo and Swiss cheese, too, which I suppose are structural\/textural ingredients designed to keep it moist and hold it together. I could taste them both, but it wasn\u2019t a deal breaker, perhaps because of the crispy onions, which gave us a hint of green bean casserole feels.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a club-style version of the deep-fried turkey, as well, also limited-time only, if you\u2019re curious but resigned to waiting \u2019til Nov. 27.<\/p>\n More: Multiple locations; arbys.com<\/a><\/p>\n Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram\u00a0@amydroo<\/a>\u00a0or on the OSFoodie Instagram account\u00a0@orlando.foodie<\/a>. Email:\u00a0amthompson@orlandosentinel.com<\/a>. For more foodie fun, join the\u00a0Let\u2019s Eat, Orlando Facebook group<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"Nana's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TOS-L-thanksgiving-sandwiches-orlando-2025-01.jpg\")
Nana’s Stuffing bagel will be available on Nov. 16 and 26 only at all Jeff’s Bagel Run locations. (Amy Drew Thompson\/Orlando Sentinel)
\nJeff\u2019s Bagel Run<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TOS-L-thanksgiving-sandwiches-orlando-2025-03.jpg\")
The Pastrami Project’s Thanksgiving sandwich is available through the end of the month and even on Thanksgiving Day, when the truck will be open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (Courtesy Pastrami Project)
\nThe Pastrami Project<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TOS-L-thanksgiving-sandwiches-orlando-2025-01_d06a3d.jpg\")
The Thanksgiving sandwich is a pressed, seasonal favorite at Gotha’s Yellow Dog Eats, one that owner Fish Morgan says customers might see trotted out on the specials menu throughout the year. For now, though, it’s available through the end of the month at the very least. (Courtesy Yellow Dog Eats)
\nYellow Dog Eats<\/p>\n![\"There](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TOS-L-thanksgiving-sandwiches-orlando-2025-02.jpg\")
There are few mass-produced Thanksgiving sandwiches I haven’t had, but this year I might have found my favorite of the lot in Arby’s “Gobbler,” which features deep-fried turkey. A gravy dipper would be a great add, if you ask me. (Amy Drew Thompson\/Orlando Sentinel)
\nArby\u2019s, Deep-Fried Turkey Gobbler Sandwich<\/p>\n