It’s always around this time of year that I’m struck with a pre-season hankering for turkey and dressing, made preferably into a sandwich like the ones crafted from Thanksgiving Day leftovers. Fate usually brings me to some shabby lunch counter serving processed poultry that’s been long separated from its carcass. Finding fresh, whole-roasted turkey in June, I’ve learned, is about as improbable as getting run over by a Mister Softie truck on Christmas Day.

Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, however, proves otherwise with a battery of hot and cold sandwiches that includes The Bobbie – a flawless stacking of hand-pulled turkey, springy stuffing and sweet cranberry sauce on a small, medium or large submarine roll. The kitchen roasts several whole gobblers a week, which means the quality doesn’t exceed day-old, and you get to wrap your hands around America’s most comforting sandwich any time of the year.

But you’ll need a set of bear claws and stretchy pants to tackle the large-size sandwiches here, which come on monstrous 20-inch rolls. From the cold-cut selection, the shop offers ham, cappicola, Genoa salami and prosciutini from Thumann’s, a distributor of fine meats known to some of the best delis in New York City. There are also cheese steaks –very good ones made with thinly sliced top round from Hamilton Meats.

Yet on my first forage to Capriotti’s, I couldn’t resist the medium Cheeseburger Sub, which boasted a pair of 5-ounce patties that scored perfectly with the trimmings I requested (shredded lettuce, onions and a scattering of soft sweet peppers.) The burgers were joyfully greaseless, considering they’re flat-grilled. And the 12-inch roll was buoyantly fresh as the shop receives daily deliveries from San Diego Bread Co.

Returning with a friend the following day to cure my mid-summer turkey fix with a medium Bobbie, I realized that 12-inches of mostly white meat piled high over stuffing and mayonnaise could have been easily split. According to Manager Roger Fowler, whose last name is purely coincidental to the flaunted turkey offerings, the small nine-inch Bobbie weighs in at a whopping full pound. God knows what mine totaled. No amount of elastic around my waist would have provided a shred of wiggle room had I downed the whole thing.

Equally delicious was my friend’s Mushroom Cheese Steak, which he ordered keenly with sweet and hot peppers and provolone cheese. The meat was gristle free and the mushrooms and peppers were used sparingly enough as to not overwhelm the sandwich. Yet in what I think was an attempt to keep me at bay, he applied an unnecessary dollop of ketchup to the steak!

The menu also features vegetarian sandwiches made with soy versions of turkey, bologna, salami and burgers on a choice of submarine or Kaiser rolls. Or from the “hot stuff” and “cap’s specials,” you’ll find Eggplant Parmesan, Sausage, Meatball, Hot Pastrami and the Cole Turkey constructed with coleslaw, provolone and Russian dressing.

Service on both visits was relatively fast. And everything leaves the kitchen in sandwich form. Other than bagged chips, there are no side dishes or plated entrées. Only the butcher paper used for wrapping the sandwiches serve as your catchall.

Capriotti’s is a Delaware-based franchise, which brought its first and only California shop to Hillcrest in November. The atmosphere is casual and gleaming clean; the checkered tile floor and shiny black counter hedge toward a retro diner theme. And a row of red, two-person booths along the windows makes for cozy seating – or a very cumbersome fit if you’re attempting the jumbo-sized subs.

Admirably, the eatery has been donating its leftover bread three days a week to Special Delivery. It is also a member of the Greater San Diego Business Association and plans to branch further into the GLBT community with a booth at this summer’s San Diego LGBT Pride festival.