While the Caesar salad is a staple and customer favorite on menus worldwide, it has recently emerged in a new vessel: the wrap. The wrap has quickly become known as the more convenient way to eat your greens, eliminating the struggles of tossing a salad.
There is nothing quite like the perfect chicken Caesar wrap. The quintessential bite should consist of crisp lettuce and a tender piece of chicken, both tossed in perfectly balanced dressing. Topped with crunchy croutons and parmesan cheese, it should be sheathed in an exquisitely toasted tortilla holding the wrap together.
Here are five of the best chicken Caesar wraps in the greater Boston area to power your craving!
A split chicken Caesar wrap rests on a countertop.
Alfredo’s Italian Kitchen
Menu Item: Chicken Caesar wrap
Taste: 7/10
Price: 7/10
Best known for its Italian food, Alfredo’s has an excellent chicken Caesar wrap. The store is located in South Boston, with five other locations in the Massachusetts area.
The chicken in the wrap is well-seasoned on its own and stands out in the wrap. While there is less lettuce than usual, it’s crisp and refreshing against the lean chicken. There is a perfect amount of dressing that doesn’t leave the wrap soggy. In every bite, there is a perfect amount of shredded parmesan cheese, further adding to the texture and taste.
Although there is a lack of crunch from croutons, all the other ingredients in the wrap make up for it. At $12.95, it’s a great investment for someone craving a quality chicken Caesar wrap.
A Publico Street Bistro and Garden chicken Caesar wrap plated with french fries.
Publico Street Bistro and Garden
Menu item: Chicken Caesar wrap
Taste: 8/10
Price: 5/10
A South Boston restaurant specializing in bar foods and snacks has attempted and succeeded with its chicken Caesar wrap.
Publico’s wrap is filled with an abundant amount of greens that are crunchy and nicely coated in a very tasty dressing. There is a choice of grilled or fried chicken, and the sprinkles of parmesan cheese throughout the wrap offer a nice surprise. The crisp on the tortilla serves as the glue to hold the entire wrap together.
At a whopping $17, there is not as much chicken as expected, but all of the other factors compensate for this. The wrap is also accompanied by a side of fries at no extra cost.
A mixture of chicken, lettuce, croutons and additional ingredients are exposed in a halved wrap.
Pauli’s
Menu item: Grilled chicken Caesar wrap
Taste: 8.5/10
Price: 7/10
Located in the North End — an area best known for its Italian food — Pauli’s has done it again with its chicken Caesar wrap. With only one location, making it to the North End for this wrap is well worth the train ride.
This wrap has an abundance of both lettuce and chicken. The lettuce is crisp and refreshing, contrasting the meaty grilled chicken. There is also an option for fried chicken, as well as a whole wheat tortilla. The dressing, delivered in the perfect amount, has a more citrusy taste in comparison to other wraps. The wrap glistens with parmesan cheese chunks that add to a more fulfilling taste.
While there are no croutons, the crunch of the lettuce as well as the fried chicken (if you choose to add it) more than make up for it. For the amount of food wrapped in the tortilla, the $14.99 price seems absolutely justifiable. There is no difference in price for the choice of chicken, so there is some freedom in choice and craving. If Pauli’s has not been on your list of places to visit in the North End yet, it should be.
A polka-dot paper decorates a chicken Caesar wrap.
Shy Bird
Menu item: Calabrian fried chicken Caesar wrap
Taste: 10/10
Price: 7/10
Shy Bird is a restaurant best known for its excellence in cooking and preparing all facets of chicken. Shy Bird has also been known to have one of the best chicken Caesar wraps in Boston, making it essential to this list.
If a craving for a chicken Caesar wrap ever presents itself after a Red Sox game, when in Kendall Square or South Boston, make sure to go to Shy Bird. Number five on the list, this Calabrian fried chicken Caesar wrap is nothing short of perfection.
Just one bite in, the wrap is everything a chicken Caesar wrap should be composed of. The finely chopped lettuce is accompanied by the tasty, not-too-heavily fried chicken. It is evident that this wrap has its ingredients tossed in dressing before being put into the wrap, furthering the utter perfection Shy Bird has achieved. The toast on the tortilla is perfect, and the subtle hint of spice further adds to the depth of flavors.
This chicken Caesar wrap stands out on the list as a familiar flavor with a different twist. The crunch of the fried chicken paired with the cooling taste of the lettuce and topped with the spicy dressing is what makes this wrap different from the rest. The innovatively altered taste of this wrap is what seems to draw in new customers to Shy Bird as well as what brings back regulars.
There are not many negative things to say about this wrap other than the fact that once you take your first bite, you wish there was more of it. On the weekends, it is accompanied by a side of either salad or french fries, but the price does not shift. This chicken Caesar wrap is well worth its $15.49 price tag. However, do not crave it for an early breakfast or late dinner, as it appears on the Shy Bird menu at 11 a.m. and leaves the menu at 3 p.m.
Two halves of a chicken Caesar wrap from Pizzeria 260.
Pizzeria 260
Menu item: Chicken Caesar wrap
Taste: 9/10
Price: 8/10
While it is known for its pizza and Italian cult classics, Pizzeria 260, located in South Boston, should not be overlooked as a place to go for a chicken Caesar wrap. Although there is only one location in the Boston area, the travel will be well worth your while.
This chicken Caesar wrap has a perfect harmony of flavors, and the first bite has everything, including an exquisite lettuce-to-chicken ratio and shredded parmesan cheese, which further adds to the intensity of the flavors. The croutons reach the perfect amount of absorption from the dressing, staying crunchy without being a burden to eat around. With the choice of either white or wheat tortilla, there is no wrong answer, as the crunch on either tortilla provides not only a great bonding effect but extra toasty flavor.
While most Pizzeria 260 customers may come for the pizza, the chicken Caesar wrap is well worth a shot. At a price of $14.95, this wrap is a great addition to this list.
If you are looking for the best chicken Caesar wrap in Boston, Shy Bird and Pizzeria 260 should be your new go-tos.
Whether you start off strong in the North End with Pauli’s or with a more green wrap from Publico Street Bistro and Garden in South Boston, there is really no wrong decision when it comes to these restaurants and choosing a wrap to cure your craving.
Dining and Cooking