Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Wrap and Chili
Hey, G’Day, Eh!
This is Al Hunter reporting from that vast, foreign land sitting atop the USA. Fast Food Critic goes International with this, my first review of the Canadian fast food experience. I’m based in Toronto, which is a bit like living in Florida or Southern California regions of the US. We have most of the big US food franchises (often with modified menus), and also some interesting home-grown restaurants to add variety and exotic flavour (or ‘flavor’ after translation). This is a strange land that superficially looks and feels like America, but every exploration reveals subtle and satisfying differences.
Although an American restaurant chain established 1969 in Columbus, Ohio and now serving at over 6,500 stores worldwide, Wendy’s endeared itself to Canada in 1995 when it bought our iconic Tim Horton’s donut and sandwich chain. For over a decade, Wendy’s and Tim’s could be found cohabiting the same building.
Even now, after they’ve been separated since 2006, you will often find the two working together. On many trips across and around Canada I’d end up in a rustic motel in a smaller town with only a couple restaurants that were open late. Because of that Tim Horton’s connection, I could almost always find a Wendy’s, and when I did it was the Spicy Chicken Sandwich (introduced May 1996) that I chose, along with a side of Chili. The combo was always consistent, somewhat healthy, and very tasty!
The current trend is towards wraps rather than sandwiches, so I thought I’d check out my old favourite in a new package. The first time I tried the Spicy Chicken Go-Wrap without any personalization, just the default version. It was basically the well known sandwich chicken breast fillet cut in half, with iceberg/romaine lettuce, shredded mild cheddar cheese, Ranch dressing, all wrapped in a soft tortilla. Only the chicken fillet is heated, cooked with a nice mix of spices that are not mouth-searing hot but will remind you that you’ve just eaten the wrap up to 15 or 20 minutes later. The chicken breast coating is light and crispy and complements the tender white meat.
All the rest of the ingredients are cold, including the soft wrap. The combination of tastes, temperatures, and spices is quite nice but not easy to duplicate if you try to reheat it later. I became a little excited when I started to look at the personalization that could be applied to the wrap. To cut down on the calories somewhat, I ordered my next wrap with a fresh tomato slice and replaced the Ranch dressing with Mustard. It saved 30 calories and the result is way excellent! Other choices/substitutions include a light mayonnaise, two dill pickles, two onion rings, or ketchup to complete the wrap.
Sometimes a single wrap or sandwich is not quite enough to satisfy, and those times I add a side order of Wendy’s Chili. It makes me happy to know that I’m getting some significant fibre in my meal and really enjoying it too. The chili is especially yummy during the colder months. A plentiful mix of red kidney and navy beans with ground beef, tomato, onion, celery and green peppers. Occasionally I’ve found the chili to be a little watery, but most often it is a perfect mix of flavours and textures.
I often add a package of hot chili seasoning to boost up the spiciness and a couple of broken up Premium Plus salted crackers to extend the meal (both are available at no extra charge). You can also add shredded cheddar cheese on top but I’ve found it makes very little difference to the taste despite adding more fat and calories.
If you’re Canadian and want to sign up for the WendyMail Program you’ll need to be patient for another month or so until their website is updated to accept our quaint foreign addresses. Americans can sign up now to receive discount coupons!
Price: $1.99 Can + tax / Website: Wendys.ca
Fast Food Critic Score: B+
(standard menu item - Spicy Chicken Go Wrap)
Nutrition Facts - Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Go Wrap (standard).
Calories - 310
Calories from Fat - 130
Total Fat - 14 grams
Carbs - 28 grams
Saturated Fat - 4 grams
Trans Fat - 0.3 grams
Cholesterol - 40 milligrams
Sodium - 860 milligrams
Protein - 16 grams
Fiber - 1 gram
Price: $1.99 Can + tax / Website: Wendys.ca
Fast Food Critic Score: A
(custom - No Ranch Dressing, add Mustard, Tomato)
Nutrition Facts - Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Go Wrap (custom).
Calories - 280
Calories from Fat - 100
Total Fat - 11 grams
Carbs - 29 grams
Saturated Fat - 3.5 grams
Trans Fat - 0.3 grams
Cholesterol - 35 milligrams
Sodium - 840 milligrams
Protein - 16 grams
Fiber - 1 gram
Price: $1.59 Can + tax / Website: Wendys.ca
Fast Food Critic Score: B+
(small side order - Beef Chili)
Nutrition Facts - Wendy’s Beef Chili (small).
Calories - 190
Calories from Fat - 60
Total Fat - 6 grams
Carbs - 19 grams
Saturated Fat - 2.5 grams
Trans Fat - 0.3 grams
Cholesterol - 40 milligrams
Sodium - 830 milligrams
Protein - 14 grams
Fiber - 5 grams
Mr. Hunter,
Thank you for letting us know about customizing these wraps. I was not aware Wendys let you do that. Many times my wife or myself have thought it would be good to add tomatoes but we assumed it was not offered or they would charge extra for it. Next time we visit we can try it for ourselves.
S. Barnes
Welcome aboard!
I’ve always liked the Wendy’s chili too.
Al — Nice work on your first review. It’s great to have you here. I’m still playing around with different ‘categories’ at the moment, and created the new International designation for you and Wendi, but don’t be surprised if that changes a little bit over the next few days. I’m also working on allowing more characters in the titles. It’s time for me to let my obsession with conformity go, as much as it pains me. By the way, you Canadians talk funny.
Samuel — You and me both learned something from Al today because I didn’t know you could do that either. Especially for free!
Rob — Me too. I’ve always enjoyed it. One of my new favorite things is to get Wendys’ bacon and cheese baked potato, then pour their chili on top (inside). That’s a whole meal and delicious!
Wendy’s chili has been my ‘go to’ meal when i need something extra. I’m all about throwing the cheese in there and adding the hot sauce!
I’ll have to agree though that sometimes it does get a bit watery.
Actually, my “go to” lunch at (Canadian) Wendy’s for years has been the plain baked potato (w/ sour cream) and a small chili. When they had their “$0.99″ value menu, this lunch was less than $2! Even now, at $1.39 each, it’s still a bargain, and, relative to most fast food meals, reasonably healthy.