by Bottom Line: The Spicy Crispy Chicken Wrap from Jack in the Box is pretty filling and it brings a nice kick of heat with it.
Jack is back at it again spicing up items on his menu, and he usually does a good job with bringing the heat. His Blazin’ Cluck Sandwich compares fairly well to the Popeyes Spicy Chicken (more on that here), and his spicy chicken strips really deliver a kick (read more about those here, and they are back on the menu right now). And now Jack has added yet another poultry item that brings some heat with the Spicy Crispy Chicken Wrap.
That includes a (sizeable) chicken strip, shredded lettuce, shredded cheddar, jalapenos, Spicy Good Good sauce, and buttermilk ranch wrapped up in a warm tortilla. They also show a grilled chicken version on their website which is basically the same except the tender is grilled instead of fried. That did not appear to be available at the location near me, though.
To start off with, this is a pretty hefty wrap, not like the snack wraps that places like Mcdonald’s and Wendy’s have put out. Jack may refer to that cut of chicken as a tender, but it is no wimpy little piece of meat. This probably compares to the filet they put on their Classic Spicy Chicken Sandwich, just cut differently to better fit into the wrap. And true to its name, it is tender while also delivering good flavor. There is not an excessive amount of breading and the crust does retain some crispiness despite all the ingredients stuffed into the tortilla.
The tang from the sauces is immediately evident, delivering some sweetness and creaminess as the buttermilk Ranch and Spicy Good Good Sauce blend together. The jalapenos add to the tang and essentially play the same role as the pickles in a chicken sandwich, though with more heat. The lettuce is mostly just filler (but look mom, I’m eating my veggies), and maybe some cooling effect, but it doesn’t detract from the wrap. The cheese gets mostly lost in the mix but still adds some creaminess. The tortilla is fairly standard, though a little bigger than standard taco sized. It holds everything together for the most part, but there is a lot of stuff in this wrap and by the time you get to the end things are getting pretty messy.
Most importantly, for those of us looking for a kick from their drive thru meal, this wrap delivers on the heat. The Spicy Good Good Sauce has a nice bite and that is amped up by the peppers which also deliver a notable burn. I would put this just above Medium on my scale, and it is a heat that lingers for a while. That’s good for a fast food joint, and if you ask for yours with the spicy chicken tender, it may pack even more heat. I’m not certain if you want to go that route, though, because those are smaller than the tender included in the wrap, so you may cheat yourself on the meat.
Calorie-wise, this comes in at 380 cals, which is not bad for the drive thru, especially since this is rather filling. You will of course be tempted to add some fries (430 cals for medium curly fries) or onion rings (220 cals), but they are charging up to four bucks per order for those (fast food is not longer cheap food). Instead, get two tacos for as little as one buck (your mileage may vary), and that only adds 340 cals. Of course, 720 calories of fast food is not something you should be shoving down your gullet on a regular basis, but you could do much worse. And if they have the Spicy Grilled Chicken Wrap, that comes up to only 290 calories. (Note that I have not seen a full breakout of the nutrition info for that or the crispy version).
As always with Jack-in-the-Box, I issue the warning that the quality can vary widely from location to location (and even from visit to visit). But if you find a reliable store, they have some good options and the Spicy Crispy Chicken Wrap is one more to add to the list. It is of course on loan from Limited-Time-Only-Ville, and it will disappear at some point. So give it a try while it is still available as it is yet another good spicy poultry offering from Jack worth checking out, and rather affordable at under four bucks.
