I am not a fast-foodie. I generally stay away from the likes of McDonald's and Taco Bell, but I do enjoy a Market Fresh sandwich from Arby's or a salad at Wendy's every once in a while. When the pandemic hit and fast-food joints consolidated their menus to remove any presence of something that could be considered "fresh" or "healthy," I resolved to just stay away unless I found myself in a pinch for a quick and convenient bite to eat.
One of my favorite now-exiled "healthier" fast-food menu items was McDonald's snack wrap. You could order one with grilled or crispy chicken and it came with lettuce, shredded cheese, and your choice of sauce (grilled chicken and honey mustard was my personal go-to). So, when I heard that Wendy's came out with a grilled chicken ranch wrap that echoed my long-lost snack wrap, I had to try it.
Now, I know that the snack wrap has been absent from the Golden Arches' menu entirely since 2020, but back before COVID spiraled into rampant inflation, those yummy little tortilla treats were less than $2, which was undoubtedly part of their allure. Wendy's new chicken wrap, albeit bigger than the O.G. Mickey D's version, set me back a staggering SIX BUCKS. A meal, complete with a medium drink and medium order of fries, would've cost closer to $12. Honestly, I was so blinded by my quest to find the snack wrap 2.0 that I didn't even pay attention to the price until I got to the pickup window. Oops.
When I opened the foil, I was met with an unraveling tortilla that I'm not even sure constitutes a wrap because the thing was hardly wrapped at all. In a menu item such as this, lettuce should exist as a filler, adding some color and crunch. Wendy's didn't get that memo — there was considerably more lettuce than there was chicken. Speaking of the chicken ... it had an off-putting rubbery texture with pungent seasoning that I could only describe as what my teenager's baseball cleats smell like after a doubleheader. Not. Appetizing. While the chicken was lukewarm, the tortilla was cold, which made the experience all the more unpleasant.
Photo credit: Rachel Schneider / CheapismSeeing as how the going rate for a chicken wrap meal at my local diner is less than $10, I would much rather support a local business and enjoy an actually edible lunch option. Wendy's grilled chicken ranch wrap isn't it, folks. Don't just stay away from it, run from it.
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