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Monday, August 8, 2011

Chain Link Chain Link: Great Wraps

Posted by Kat Robinson on Mon, Aug 8, 2011 at 10:38 AM

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: Great Wrap under construction

Kat Robinson
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: Great Wrap under construction

People keep asking me how I feel about certain chain restaurants. Frankly, I don’t go to a lot of chain restaurants. But when I do, it’s only fair I tell you about them. Hence, “Chain Link,” entries that will deal specifically with chain operations that have locations here in Arkansas. Enjoy.

Great Wraps is right next t Bedford Camera and Video off North Rodney Parham. Outside of one of those half off coupon offerings, I have seen no advertising on it… but I had mentally bookmarked the location for a stop-in.

I finally found my reason to go the other day while picking up photography supplies. It was about 11:30 p.m. and there was a short line. Behind the counter there were five people working together to turn out one order after another.

The first thing I was asked, even before I figured out what sort of sandwiches I would be picking up (I was making a to-go order), was whether I wanted fries. So I went ahead and ordered a basket. I came up with a couple other items and called it good.

Kat Robinson

The first guy on my trip through the line went through the hot part of my orders. He pulled out a flatbread and a wrap and put on meat and cheese for each of the two hot sandwiches I was ordering. These went in on individual spatula-like drawers into a toaster for a few minutes to obtain some heat.

The second guy I encountered pulled the orders from the toaster and went through adding vegetation and condiments to each one. He asked if I wanted extras, such as pepperoncini peppers and grilled onions. He slid each one down to a girl who wrapped them expertly.

Kat Robinson

In the back there was a guy at the fryer, turning out perfect fries — and, since he knew I wanted fries off the bat, they were just out of the fryer when I arrived at the register. I paid for the items and was directed towards the Spice Bar.

Kat Robinson

There, six different sorts of spice for the fries greeted me — Hellacious Jalapeno, Loaded Potato, Chili Cheese, Original, Cajun and Ranch. You can put as much or as little as you want on your fries or even mix and match them. For research purposes I did the Chili Cheese, Original and Cajun flavors. I opened the large clamshell box that for $3.99 had been stuffed with round cut skin-on curly fries and applied the suggested spices.

At home, we gave each a try. There wasn’t much to Hunter’s Kid’s Chicken Strips meal — just a beverage, curly fries and a couple of decently fried chicken strips, so I didn’t bother shooting it.

Kat Robinson

For the hubster, I had picked up a My Big Fat Greek ($5.69), a flatbread topped with sliced gyro meat, black olives, onion bits, three cheeses (Cheddar, Pepper Jack and Feta) and the offered pepperoncini peppers. The hubster loved the heat of the sandwich and the blend of the cheeses. His one gripe was that the flatbread came apart at the fold. But we both gave it big marks on its sheer size — a six inch crescent cut in half for ease of dining.

Kat Robinson

I had decided to give the Philly Cheesesteak Wrap ($5.49) a chance, and was well the better for it. The thing was massive, a double-handful of burrito-like substance. Half its internal diameter was shaved beef, enhanced with Provolone cheese and lovely sweet caramelized onions. The other half was packed with shredded lettuce, chunked tomatoes and mayo, so that the entire interior was a moist and juicy mess. The flavor was pretty decent — not quite the Philly I would have expected but so nice with those (incidentally optional) caramelized onions. Better still was the size overall — I’d estimate the

Kat Robinson

wrap was over a pound, and I dined twice from this repast.

Kat Robinson

And then there were the fries. They were nicely and lightly done… the spices added so much more. The original spice is what you would expect for spicy fries. The Cajun wasn’t hot at all, just full of paprika and cayenne notes. I found that my favorite without a doubt was the chili cheese spice — EXACTLY like the chili-cheese spice you get on name brand tortilla chips. And it could be applied in the desired thickness. Excellent.

You’ll find Great Wraps at 11400 North Rodney Parham, next to Bedford Camera and Video and sorta across the road from The Pantry. Here’s a menu on the website.

Tags: Great Wraps, chain, wraps, Little Rock

        
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