Chicken Caesar wraps making major comeback in Toronto and people are obsessed

Chicken Caesar wraps are having a real moment in Toronto right now, and the city's residents could not be more excited about it.

I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I do pride myself on having a particularly adventurous palate. Whether it's slimy, briny, earthy, mushy, crunchy or spicy, I'll try it and, more often than not, can get behind it.

With that said, there's something undeniably magical about the simple perfection of the almighty Chicken Caesar wrap that's kept it an immovable entry on my death row meal lineup for as long as I can remember.

One small problem: for the longest time, the bastardized quasi-Italian delights were nearly impossible to find in the city. You'd think something so widely adored would be a staple on every menu from Scarborough to Etobicoke, but, as I learned while in the depths of some particularly severe cravings, that's just not the case.

Maybe it's because they're 'kid food.' I don't care. I want Caesar dressing dripping down my arm while I take bite after bite of crispy iceberg lettuce, and I'm a grown-up, damnit!

Mercifully, it seems like I haven't been alone in my cravings, as sandwich shops across the city are adding the wraps to their menus and, judging by the lineups and sell-outs, Toronto can absolutely get behind it.

The wrap is back

On the forefront of the city's chicken Caesar movement are Elm Street Deli and Grandma Loves You, already two of the city's favourite sandwich shops in their own right, who've partnered up with local food influencers The Chew Review and Belicia Chung, respectively, to end the drought.

The founder of the Chew Review tells me that, having spent a lot of time in South Florida and New York City, where Chicken Caesar wraps are everywhere, she quickly developed a passion for the delicacy, deciding to embark on a journey to discover every single one available in Toronto.

"I tried a few in Toronto, but nothing really compared," she tells me. "I started asking my audience if they knew of any hidden gems Caesar wraps in the city. The responses were minimal, but the passion behind them was obvious—people really wanted this as much as I did."

So, she called up Lawrence of Elm Street Deli and said, "It's go time," and together they gave the people what we so sorely needed.

In their case, the wrap comes loaded with Cherry Street Bar-B-Que smoked chicken breast and crunchy potato scallion bread croutons. No detail was too fine in achieving perfection; they recipe tested down to the fineness of the grated parmesan.

"Everything’s chopped fine—but not too fine—so you still get all the texture, but every bite has a bit of everything," The Chew Review tells me. "Also… they’re huge."

And it's been a success. With two drops under their belts (the first on May 29 and the second on June 11), the wrap took Toronto by storm. The June 11 drop sold out within an hour and a half, and their next drop at 11 a.m. on June 18 is nearly guaranteed to go the same way.

In a stroke of cosmic alignment, Belicia Chung, who has a series on her social media investigating Toronto's Chicken Caesar wraps, and Grandma Loves You co-founder Sarah Davoodi similarly joined forces to create their own Chicken Caesar wrap, which launched at all of the sandwich shop's freestanding locations at the start of June.

"I had always craved Chicken Caesar wraps but could never find one that I absolutely loved in Toronto," Belicia tells me, "so I started posting about it on TikTok to see where people recommended I try out. Sarah saw the video and reached out to suggest we collaborate and make one together, which I immediately teared up to and said 'YES!'"

For Belicia and Sarah, the fineness of the chop remains a key component in crafting the perfect Chicken Caesar wrap, paired with the addition of crispy croutons made in-house and equally crispy chunks of bacon.

The Grandma Loves You wrap also comes topped with an eye-catching mountain of grated Parmesan. Aside from the fear that an accidental exhale when you go to take a bite could send it all airborne, it definitely makes the wrap unique.

Belicia and Sarah's wrap, while still limited (for now), is available until June 30 at all Grandma Loves You locations except their Chefs Hall outpost.

Joining the charge

While the garlicky arms race between Elm St. Deli and Grandma Loves You has taken the Toronto Chicken Caesar wrap fandom by storm, they're not the only ones who are doing their part to fill in the gap.

At Gold Standard's new Harbourfront location, you can sample their rendition of the wrap, which is packed with homemade Caesar dressing, Taiwanese-seasoned fried chicken tenders, shredded Beemster and Hickory Sticks in place of croutons.

And, not for nothing, but Baldwin Village sensation, Alfie's, also deserves a nod for their Chicken Caesar panini. While it doesn't come wrapped all the way around, it does feature smoked chicken breast from SmoQue N' Bones, cured pork belly bacon, and a house-made Caesar dressing, so it's carrying its fair share of the load.

Wherever you get your next one from, the knowledge that carb-cradled Chicken Caesar salad is landing in Toronto from every direction these days is evidence, to me at least, that society may finally be heading in the right direction.

Okay, that was a bit dramatic. But it does make me really, really happy.