It sells out. It gets mentioned in all the best of lists. But I am here to confirm that Village Tap’s Chicken Caesar Wrap really is the thing while roaming Roscoe Village. Right on Roscoe near the coveted romance book store The Last Chapter and vintage shopping hot spots like Shangri-La, you too can plan the perfect girlies day out and nosh away on the anti-salad salad wrap.
I came of age during the era of the wrap taking over the sandwich game. It was the new diet craze in the nutri-thin laced aisles of fat-free items that you could only eat so many of unless you wanted a cleanse of a different kind. I have indulged in every wrap known to every culture from burritos to rotis. If your restaurant has a wrap, I have eaten it. The craze of the '90s is so ingrained in my personal culture that I go directly to any food rolled tightly into a flatbread. When I was in grad school, my indulgent (not so) rich lady lunch was the herbed chicken salad wrap at Whole Foods (why don't they make it any more?!). Luckily for me, we have moved past the bad (w)rap origins and kept the rolled sandwich alive simply as a wonderful vehicle that isn't a bun or slice of bread.
The ambiance of Village Tap is full-on neighborhood pub. Think lots of wood and beverage signs with indoor/outdoor vibes with massive windows letting the street life and dogs passing by come and beg for a beverage. The staff is friendly and will let you know the second you sit down if your coveted wrap is already sold out. Go during lunch to make sure you don’t miss out because, honestly, I've never eaten anything else there because I have lost the ability to order food that isn't rolled.
The Chicken Caesar Wrap at Village Tap is not dainty. It is not mostly tortilla. It is packed full of what I can only assume was a ginormous bowl of chopped romaine, croutons, diced chicken, and parmesan cheese, quite literally an entire chicken caesar salad about to head out to be eaten by a fork. Then poof, a magician of food service industry person neatly shoved it all into a utensil-free vessel. It is not a sandwich crafted with similar ingredients, it is a salad doused in a tangy dressing, pillow stuffed into a seared tortilla. It's never soggy, never lacking in flavor, and never leaves you hungry. Plus you get a side of their handcut fries. It is easily a meal for two and despite being wrapped neat and tidy, it is still a salad that will become quite sad on a second day.
Go forth and eat like it's 1995 and we are all walking around so happy because the Clinton family is in the White House, and we can eat cookies that look like brownies but taste like merely an idea of cocoa and are only 25 calories a pop (don't eat more than four though), and TGIF still rules, and phones were connected to a wall, and OMG were we so happy as we ate our wraps because ewww salad.
Village Tap is located at 2055 W Roscoe. They are open Monday through Friday 11:30am to 2am; Saturday 11:30am - 3am; and Sunday 11:30am to 2am. For more information, visit villagetap.com.
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