Between the Bread

Rarely do I visit my parents in Pensacola without stopping off at Target. So when my mom told me a new sandwich place called Roly Poly had opened across the street, I felt obligated to go. Founded in Atlanta in 1996, Roly Poly specializes in wrap sandwiches, cold rolled or hot pressed, and has stores in 24 states. Remarkably, this was the first I'd heard of it.

The place was buzzing around noon, and what it lacked in atmosphere (pretty standard healthy fast-food shop) it made up for in choices. The regular menu includes more than 15 cold sammies (including a Cobb salad roll and a basil cashew chicken, to name a few) and even more hot ones. The hot rollups looked and sounded better, so that's what we got.

My mom ordered the Santa Fe chicken (chicken breast, melted jalapeno jack cheese, plum tomatoes, onion, and ranch dressing with a side of salsa), which was a little bland; we both agreed the salsa left something to be desired. I got one of the turkey wrap specials (pictured) with brie and swiss, honey mustard, spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes, which was far more flavorful.

I'd deem Roly Poly a good option for healthy fast-food sammies, though the menu seems hit or miss. That said, I'd be willing to experiment to find more hits. Anyone have any favorites?

If you had told me in high school that some days I'd relish sitting in the sun, eating a wrap filled with nothing but grilled vegetables, I would have looked at you quizzically and returned to my Velveeta Shells & Cheese. I ate vegetables out of obligation, but it wasn't until moving to San Francisco that I realized vegetables could be utterly delicious.

I recently ventured to the aptly named Herbivore, which seemed a good place for someone craving a sandwich but also veggies. The simple char-grilled vegetable wrap with creamy pesto spread hit the spot. The wrap actually had flavor, which isn't always a guarantee, and the grilling brought out a bounty of tastes in the ultra-fresg broccoli, mushrooms, peppers, and more. I'm a bit hesitant to call a wrap a sandwich, but I still think it qualifies; do you?

Sometimes, I'm not sure what causes it, I'll have a very intense craving for a falafel wrap, and the Blue Front Cafe version hits the spot, particularly because the not too crunchy, not too soggy falafel sits on a bed of melt-in-your-mouth roasted eggplant and crisp cukes. I should not have eaten all of this, but I did.