Wild Bill's Bacon Jerky

It's Thursday!  And on this particular Thursday you shall get another non-chip review!  Aw yeah!  Bacon.  I know.  Bacon.  I was at 7/11, a surprisingly good place to find strange chips and/or snack products, and saw these in the beef jerky section.  There was no way I was leaving the store without these.  And now they are mine!

Wild Bill himself looks a bit odd, but I have high hopes for his bacon jerky.  Also, it's 'bodacious' apparently.  And why wouldn't it be?  Bacon.  Aw yeah.  At first glace this is actually kinda promising.  It smells super bacon-y and it looks like thick cut bacon.  The color is a little off, but I'm assuming that's because it's jerky.

But what does it taste like?
Saltier than regular bacon (if that's possible).  Super salty.  That's actually what I taste more than anything.  The bacon taste is secondary to the extreme saltines.  And I like salt - don't get me wrong.  But this might actually be too salty, even for me.  You kinda have to look for the bacon taste under the salt.  Still, it must be said - it does taste like bacon.  They actually do a really solid job with the taste (under the salt).  It's also a little disconcerting how old it seems.

I know it's jerky and it can last, but I can't quite shake the feeling that I'm just eating old bacon.  You'll also never confuse this with actual bacon.  Something critical is missing - these just look kinda lonely and weird.  I don't think it's something that's fixable necessarily, but if you're expecting these to be exactly like bacon... well... they aren't.  These are so salty I actually think I won't be finishing them.  It's just too much.

Would I get these again?  No, I probably wouldn't.  I know, I'm shocked too.  But it's just too salty to really be appealing.  I like salt and I like bacon, but too much salt can ruin anything.  As long as you're prepared for how salty it is... if you want some bacon without actually doing any work you could do worse than this.  Also, they somehow gets less appealing as time goes by.

Rating

 

El Sabroso Original Salsitas Spicy Salsa

I got these El Sabroso Spicy Salsa chips because I was intrigued by their promise of real tomatoes and avocados and all the flavors of salsa in a single chip!  Can it be?  Has all the dipping we've done been a horrible mistake?  What sort of salsa will this be anyway?  Mild, medium, spicy??  Probably spicy, as it says on the bag.  Also it is a freaking giant bag as that's the only size the store had.  I hope I like 'em because I've certainly got enough of them.

The chips themselves are fairly round and flat and a more orange than the red I'd expect from salsa chips.  There's also tiny little green nibbles seemingly baked into the chip in places rather than just being on it.  Most of the chips also have a healthy dose of seasoning which is usually a good thing.

But what do they taste like?
First bite - holy crap it tastes like salsa!  Few seconds later and it tastes like spicy salsa!  Then it just tastes like spicy and a not quite normal tortilla chip.  There's something weirdly bland about the chip itself.  They don't feel very solid, but also seem kinda stale at the same time?  It's strange.  I think because I usually dip regular tortilla chips in salsa I was expecting more salt/flavor from the chip.  The spice also lasts for awhile, but not in a pleasant way.  It's just sort of a generic spice which just burns my mouth.  I don't like that feeling!

So here's what I think.  They're never going to replace chips and salsa.  For me, one of the things I like about salsa, is, well, the salsa - not just the taste of the salsa.   And the way the salsa taste mingles with the chip taste.  This takes away that delightful experience.  They do get the salsa flavor right at the start, but even with some chips absolutely covered in flavor, the actual salsa taste doesn't stick around long.

They're not bad as a novelty, but I won't be getting them again.  I'll finish my giant bag (probably), but that'll be the end of it.  I'm also still not sure where the real tomatoes and avocados were.  Tasted pretty processed to me!  Basically, they just don't taste good enough to justify the mouth burn.

Rating: