Review: Mac Snack Wrap (+giveaway!)

The Mac Snack Wrap is back at McDonald’s for a limited time only. I guess at least one person in the world missed it, or something. The Mac Snack Wrap was first introduced in 2009, and discontinued in 2010. It has now been brought back from the dead. The weird thing is, while I knew this product existed, I never heard anyone say a single word about it. It just didn’t have much buzz, at least none that I heard. So I find it odd that McDonald’s thought it would be a good idea to bring back such an unremarkable product.

You’re probably not wondering what a Mac Snack Wrap is, because it’s pretty obvious, but in case you are, it’s a Big Mac inside of a tortilla. Well, part of a Big Mac. We all know (hopefully) that the Big Mac itself is

Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.

The Mac Snack Wrap is basically that, except instead of two all beef patties, it’s one half of a patty, and instead of the famous three-part bun, it’s dumped in an unfortunate flour tortilla. How could a poor tortilla be subjected to such an awful fate? It never hurt anyone.

Anyway, last week McDonald’s was kind enough to send me a Big Mac t-shirt, and some cards for free Mac Snack Wraps. I’ll admit that I was really not looking forward to eating this thing, but if someone sends me free food, I am wont to eat it. Everything tastes better when it’s free. It’s a scientifically proven fact.* (*No it’s not.)

Now, personally, I’ve always liked the Big Mac. It’s not my favorite, but every once in a while I crave that sauce. Sometimes a simple McDouble with Mac Sauce will suffice, others I can’t do without the signature sandwich itself. The only thing I really like about it is the sauce, actually. The meat-to-everything-else ratio is quite low for my tastes, and I’m not a huge fan of their pickles, shredded lettuce, or tiny diced onions. Which is a good portion of the burger…you know, the more I talk about the Big Mac, I realize maybe I don’t like it as much as I thought. I’ve confused myself.

In my neck of the woods, the Big Mac costs $4.19, and the Mac Snack Wrap is $1.89. When you consider that the wrap has one quarter as much beef as the burger, it doesn’t seem like much of a value. That’s always been my problem with wraps in general. You’re never really getting value. I LOVE VALUE. Another thing I don’t get is that people actually think the wrap is healthier than the sandwich. But really it has less calories because it’s so much smaller. (The wrap has 330, compared to 510 in the Big Mac). Pay more to eat better, I guess. One positive that can come from the wrap is that it’s much easier to eat, which I think was the whole purpose of the trend in the first place. The Big Mac, for example can get pretty messy. Definitely not made for eating on the go. The wrap, however, has no mess whatseover. You really don’t even need a napkin. In our million miles-per-hour society, it seems like the perfect solution. Because who really has 5 minutes to eat a burger anymore?

So now that I’ve basically told you I was always going to hate this, I’ll tell you what I actually thought of the Mac Snack Wrap. It was horrible. As you can see in the picture, it looks like everything fell on the floor and was then scooped up and dumped into a tortilla.

It was reminiscent of a failure pile, but much less appetizing. It was cold, and the piece of meat tasted as though it had literally been sitting there all day. Like they cut the patties in half in the morning, and I was the first person to get one all day (I ordered around dinner time). It was dry, cold, and flavorless. As far as the other ingredients, they were just the same as usual. The problem is that the meat-to-other ingredients ratio is now even lower, because they put the same amount of special sauce, lettuce, pickles and onions as there are on the actual burger, but with half a patty. The other problem is that it’s TERRIBLE. Did I mention that? I don’t know why, but it just doesn’t have that same signature flavor of the Big Mac. This may be the worst thing I’ve ever eaten. A couple days later I considered going back and giving it one more shot; maybe this was an aberration. But I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. The experience with the first one was so bad that I cringed at the thought of it.

So McDonald’s, thank you for not making me pay $1.89 to be mentally scarred for the rest of my days, which, if I ate any more of these, would be very limited.

And with all of that said, you probably want to try one for yourself now! Leave a comment on this post to be eligible to win. McDonald’s will send two winners a Big Mac t-shirt (actually kind of cool), and a card for a free Mac Snack Wrap. Suggested topics:

• Thoughts on the Mac Snack Wrap, or wraps in general
• Other uses for the Mac Snack Wrap
• Haiku about the Mac Snack Wrap or other wraps
• Anything else related! Be creative

Here are my haikus:

Dearest McDonald’s,

Mac Snack Wrap is total shit

But I like your fries.

Kim Jong-Il is dead

Because of the Mac Snack Wrap.

‘Merica, f–k yeah!