It seems that wraps are slowly but surely taking over the world of fast food. The trend McDonald’s started, by wrapping a chicken strip with lettuce, cheese, and sauce inside a warm flour tortilla, has been followed by similar items from KFC, Wendy’s, and Sonic. Recently Burger King joined the game too, but instead of using chicken, they’re offering a breakfast wrap with egg, bacon, cheese, and hash browns.
A few days ago, John reviewed the Cheesy Bacon Wrapper from Burger King, and last month I reviewed McDonald’s Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap. A couple of weeks ago I also reviewed a side order of the same Red Beans and Rice used in this new item.
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Now there’s another player in this war of the wraps, as Popeyes has just entered the contest with their brand new “Loaded Chicken Wrap”. After eating it the past two nights in a row, I’m comfortable saying they have a winner on their hands. Featuring a spicy chicken strip, red beans, and rice, wrapped inside a cheddar cheese tortilla. This wrap tastes great, and it’s filling, with more food than a snack wrap from McDonald’s.
Don’t adjust your monitor, the tortilla is indeed yellow. Despite the color, it doesn’t actually have a very strong cheese flavor, and I was hoping for a bit more cheddar goodness. That’s my only real complaint. The chicken is juicy, tender, and flavorful, with crisp breading on the outside. It has a slightly spicy kick, and the strip itself is a good size. The red beans and rice are very good, a great compliment to the chicken, and make this wrap surprisingly hearty and satisfying for being relatively small.
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On both occasions, there were plenty of red beans and rice surrounding the chicken, creating a noticeably bigger, thicker wrap than some of the competitors offer. They’re wonderful as-is, without any sauce, but I found that adding Popeyes hot sauce (which comes in small packets) pushed these over the top into the mouthwatering territory.
The new Loaded Chicken Wrap from Popeyes is excellent. Not just another wrap, but something with a unique flavor and combination of ingredients. Like the Chipotle BBQ wrap from McDonald’s, I enjoyed every bite and wanted more. They’re both great, and I’d have trouble picking one over the other, though Popeyes has an edge in size. The photo above was taken after slicing one in half with a knife. As you can see, the noodles are plentiful and everything appears in order, but looks can be deceiving. What you can’t detect from the picture is the lack of richness or strong flavor in the cheese sauce. And between the thick coating and the pasta, the cheese is muted and doesn’t stand a chance of making much of an impact on your taste buds.
I still believe in the basic idea. I’m sure there’s a way to make this work, but this is not the right balance. They need a thinner shell, and to increase the cheese content.
