Local mini-chain Wrapstar currently has two locations – Culver City and Beverly Hills, with a third coming soon in West Hollywood. Besides the fact that the hip-hop-inspired name is magnificent – you can’t beat a restaurant name that employs wordplay – the ordering experience is a convenient and pleasurable one that we would assume is company policy, transferring across the locations.
Both the interior and exterior are dripping with greenery which serves the dual purpose of creating a conservatory-like atmosphere, visually conducive for dining in a relaxed state of mind despite the Washington Boulevard location, while also continuing with the culinary theme of leaves and salad.
Wrapstar, as that clever wordplay in the name suggests, serves wraps, as well as salad. The staff greets you at the counter with a wide smile and takes your order. On the salad front, you can choose from one of their signature salads, or build your own.
We had a build your own salad, and had a lot of fun putting it together. For the vegan in the family, we opted for Beyond Meat for the protein, plus tortilla chips (corn and flour), carrots, cilantro, garbanzo beans, green onion, pepperoncini, red onion, corn, olives and sesame seeds, with a cilantro lime dressing.
The combination worked like a dream, with the non-dairy version of the dressing tying everything together. The Beyond Meat offered the texture of meat and some smoky flavor, while the cilantro work the dish up and the onion and pepperoncini gave it some much-needed tang.
Meanwhile, their own Chinese Chicken Chop, which you can have as a salad or on a wrap, is incredible. The mixture of leaves with carrot, delicious sesame sticks, crispy noodles and big chunks of grilled chicken, in a sweet Chinese dressing, works wonderfully.
Each bite offers both crunch and chewiness, and the flavors bounce around your palette like a pinball, hitting every taste bud as it rebounds. It’s a real joy. Their other signature salads, including a classic Caesar and a traditional Italian chop, look equally awesome. So you can’t really go wrong.
Wrapstar offers further proof that salads and wraps don’t have to be boring – that healthy eating shouldn’t be a downer. With the quality and variety that they offer, you could eat there for weeks and not get bored. Try it.
Wrapstar is located at 9412 Washington Blvd., Culver City 90232. Call 424-603-4122 or visit wrapstarla.com.