Barcel Mini Takis Fuego

Sorry for the delay on this!  Christmas had me all tied up, and I missed my usual Tuesday post.  So... here's a Wednesday post?  I bought these the same place I bought last week's Barcel Chipotles Chipotle & Cheese, as they seemed intriguing and were a small bag so if they're crap then hey - at least there aren't many.

At first glance these seem pretty much exactly like the Doritos Dinamita Chile Limon chips I tried a few months ago.  I've also, via the internet, discovered the Fuego means fire?  Apparently I'm in for some mouth burn-y ness.  Hooray?  I should've known when the bag said it was a 'hot chili pepper & lime flavored corn snack'.

But what do they taste like?
Not fiery pain at first - they're actually pretty good.  A very lime-y type thing going on.  But then the pain.  Ow - it was so strong I actually coughed, just because what else was there to go?!  Trying again.  A bit better this time, but then as soon as I try to actually eat the chip, rather than just chew it, it burns my throat something fierce.  Spike-y bits of ow that still make me cough.  There's kinda... no way around it which is a bummer, as I like how they taste.  Even the mouth burn I'm getting isn't unpleasant... it's just the fact that I can't actually eat them without my throat hurting.  It's a bit better with each subsequent chip, but it still hurts.

At first bite they actually taste a lot like Fritos and then there's a kinda nice chili-lime flavor, but then I try to swallow and pain.  I can't eat these in polite company, or in any company for that matter!  I'd just be sitting there coughing, with my eyes watering and my nose running.  That sounds super appealing, no?

The problem is... I actually kinda like the flavor.  Despite the pain... I keep eating them.  It helps a little to take a drink of water while eating, which kinda dilutes it, but defeats the purpose of a chip really.  So, while I like the flavor, I can't eat them without coughing and having mouth pain so I can't really rate these highly.  Still... I do like the flavor if only it didn't try to hurt me.

Rating

 

Barcel Chipotles Chipotle & Cheese

I saw these chips in several different stores, in equally battered bags, before finally finding a not destroyed bag in Brooklyn.  Am I excited to try these?  Not... particularly.  The cheese appears to be Swiss, which I'm not a huge fan of, and the chipotle part of it seems to just be a wrinkly pepper.  Awesome.  BUT!  I am trying these chips for SCIENCE!  Not to enjoy them!  Okay... sometimes to enjoy them.

These are corn chips, which I only realized when I dumped them onto the plate.  It says on the bag, but I apparently chose to ignore it.  I'm unsure why they're corn chips, or if it will make for a better experience.  I suppose we shall see.  Some of the chips are covered in the seasoning, while others seem to be a bit skimpy.  As far as the smell... have you had Japanese seaweed salad?  They smell kinda like that.  Promising!

But what do they taste like?
Very corn chip-y.  Then there's the painful spice, but it's more of a spicy salsa burn, rather than just pain (which I've found in other chips).  On the first bite I actually taste a slight hint of the cheese and it actually tastes a little like Swiss.   Well done, bag designer.  You know... weirdly, and despite making my eyes water a little, I kinda like these.  Yeah, they're painful, but the flavor is kinda working for me.  There's sort of a... smoothness, that I expect is the 'cheese' part and then a pretty strong spice kick that's the chipotle.  But it's more than just spice - it's spice with flavor.  Weirdly, the first flavor I taste each bite is a bit like what it smells like which is still that strange seaweed salad flavor.  Not super appealing, but it gets better from there.

Also, they're kinda shaped like apostrophes, so that's fun!  I do, in fact, think the corn chip helps these out.  There's something nice about the solid chip with all this spiciness, instead of something flimsy.  I wasn't kidding about my eyes watering, by the way.  They totally are.  And yet... I keep eating these because, pain aside, they actually taste pretty good.  I don't think I'd get them often, as they are kinda really hurting my mouth, but I'd eat them again, assuming I had some tissues handy.

Rating

Kettle Buffalo Bleu

So here's the thing.  I loves me some buffalo wings.  But... and here's the critical bit... I love them dipped in ranch dressing.  None of this bleu cheese with its weird mold veins.  No thank you, sir.  BUT!  My friend said these were super good and even suggested I might enjoy them!  With a recommendation like that, how could I resist?

Kettle bags seem to be pretty small, I've noticed.  While other brands (Lays, for one) seem to be making even bigger 'regular' size bags, Kettle seems perfectly content to keep their little brown bag.  More power to you, Kettle!  They certainly don't smell like bleu cheese or buffalo wings.  They smell like... something, though.  What is it?  I'm not sure, but I don't feel positive about it.  Also... why are there green nibblies?  Green nibblies makes me think sour cream and onion!  Oh, chips... you're not off to a good start.

But what do they taste like?
Not like buffalo or bleu.  They're also pretty thick chips which makes them annoyingly hard and very loud to chew.  Kettle cooked chips should be thin, otherwise you run into this issue!  Right right, but the taste.  I've only had one chip and already the roof of my mouth is tingly burning.  It's not unpleasant, but it doesn't taste like anything either.  I really have no idea what Kettle was going for with these.  They don't taste like buffalo or bleu.  They taste more like grease and spicy.  I'm just sort of mindlessly eating them at this point.

If you like Kettle chips of mysterious flavors then perhaps you'll like these?  Otherwise... I'd stick with a different chip.

Rating

Nathan's Honey Mustard Crunchy Crinkle Fries

I don't eat Nathan's fries (or Nathan's at all for that matter) that often, but when I do I usually douse them in fake cheese because fake cheese improves 78% of foods (science fact!).  I don't think I've ever had Nathan's honey mustard fries.  I don't even know if they exist outside of this bag.  The bag also tells me that it's 'all about the crunch' which I feel is not the case with french fries.  Clearly these are some hybrid chip fries.

But what do they taste like?
Not like french fries, that's for sure.  And not like any good honey mustard.  The chips themselves are like... super dense Cheetos.  The problem is... when you get this dense it kinda feels a bit like what I'd expect eating styrofoam would feel like.  The flavor.  The flavor is that really crappy brand of honey mustard... the one that almost tastes more like mayo?  You know the one.  The chips themselves are well seasoned and strongly flavored... the problem is that I don't much care for the flavor.

I also don't see any reason for these to be crinkle cut fries.  Other than their shape they're nothing like fries!  I suppose Nathan's wanted to get into the lucrative chip market and decided to make chips of their products.  Hot dog chips... probably wouldn't work as well.  The problem with such a think 'chip' (fry?) is that the flavoring, while strong on the outside, is nonexistent on the inside of the chip which makes sense, but also makes for a blander flavor.

I see no need to ever eat these again, as their flavor isn't great and I certainly wouldn't want to dip them in anything.  If you like that weird honey mustard, though... you might like these?

Rating

Ruffles Max Loaded Bacon & Cheddar

I've heard good things about these Ruffles Loaded Bacon & Cheddar chips so I'm pretty excited.  Also, bacon.  So... you know... my hopes are pretty high.

 

I'm guessing that the baked potato part is the chip, while the rest of the flavors are the seasoning bits.  Somehow I thought these would be orange-r, but they look more like sour cream and onion.  They also don't smell great.  I'm not sure what they smell like, but... maybe a little tangy?

But what do they taste like?
They taste like sour cream and onion with a hint of bacon.  And, as with all Ruffles chips, they taste strongly of greasy potato chips and they feel like it too.  Overall I'm pretty unimpressed.  They don't taste bad, don't get me wrong.  I'd happily eat these, but they're not very bacon-y.  Each chip is actually less bacon-y than the last.  They taste more like sour cream and onion than anything else actually.  If these had more bacon flavor they'd be pretty awesome.

Maybe it's just me, but the flavor I taste most when I eat Ruffles is grease.  The flavor is nearly always either drowned out, or at least muted, but it's never as strong as I'd like.  I just can't get over the greasiness to want to eat more of them.  Maybe I got a bad bag?  I really thought these would have a stronger flavor.  All I'm left with right now is a lingering taste of sour cream and onion.

Rating

Walkers Worcester Sauce

I'm a bit nervous about these Walkers Worcester Sauce chips, as I don't particularly like Worcester sauce.  But I am willing to give these a shot for chip tasting science!

The bag is purple, the chips are from the UK chip shop I sometimes go to.  They also smell a bit like ketchup.  Kinda tangy ketchup maybe?

But what do they taste like?
Salty and tangy and... not that bad!  I'm honestly kinda shocked.  They won't be my favorite chips, but I actually... like these.  Not a lot, mind you, but enough that I'll keep eating them.  Though... the more I eat them... the more I like them.  I know!  I'm as surprised as you are!  I forget what Worcester sauce tastes like, as I don't eat it often, but these... are... a little like BBQ sauce maybe?  But they're not!  It's like tangier BBQ sauce.  Maybe... it's a bit like salt and vinegar chips and also BBQ sauce?

Let the record show that I've happily polished off the whole bag.  I opened these up figuring I'd eat a few and give up on them, but no!  I'm still trying to properly define the flavor.  Okay - here's what it comes down to.  The flavor isn't super overpowering, but it's subtly delicious.  I don't know if it tastes like Worcester sauce (it might!), but I like it.  If anything, I'd almost prefer it to be a bit stronger. 

Does this mean I need to try Worcester sauce again?  Maybe!  Does it mean that I want to find and eat these chips again?  Absolutely.

Rating

Doritos Blazin' Buffalo & Ranch

If you know me you may know that I think ranch is awesome.  On salad?  Sweet - best salad ever.  Dipping things in it?  Sup, buffalo wings, you're looking delicious.  Blue cheese?  No thanks - that's gross.  Check plus ranch dressing.  So, needless to say, when I saw these I decided I should buy them.  I would've preferred  a smaller bag in case these are awful, but they didn't have a smaller bag!  Of course, I ended up finding a smaller bag at a different store later in the week, but that's not the point.  I have these now.

Let's hope they're good because I have a ton of them.  First off - they look like regular cheese Doritos and kinda smell like them.  Not getting much of a buffalo or ranch smell.  The orange flavor dust is so orange it's nearly radioactive.  Exciting!

But what do they taste like?
Spicy.  But not buffalo wing spicy, like the Pringles Blastin' Buffalo Wing - it's more of a generic spice.  Maybe it's just me, but I'm not really tasting the buffalo or the ranch taste.  To be fair, it probably isn't easy to make one chip taste like two flavors, but I don't think they've quite done it.  The actual taste isn't obvious.  My mouth mostly just burns a little right now.  It really doesn't taste like much, weirdly.  Or, at least, not of buffalo wings or ranch.

They don't taste bad - Doritos rarely do, but they're also very much not buffalo wings and ranch which is kinda strange since some of them are nearly neon with flavor.  They're a bit spicy and mouth burn-y, but not really anything more than that.

As far as wanting something that tastes like buffalo wings or ranch these definitely miss the mark.  That being said, they don't taste bad necessarily... they're pretty much just mildly spicy nacho Doritos that don't quite taste like cheese.  Weird.

Rating

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

 

Good Health Natural Foods Barcelona Barbecue

This name is certainly a mouthful!  I can't actually tell which brand they are.  Avocado Oil chips?  Good Health?  I don't know.  But I'm intrigued!  My dad saw these at a natural type supermarket and picked up a bag for me.  Excellent!

First things first.  These were weirdly hard to open since the top bit is so thick.  Other than that, seems pretty standard.  Mild barbecue smell when you first open it, but that's about it.

But what do they taste like?
Pretty mild actually.  I can't really taste the barbecue flavor - maybe Barcelona doesn't have strong bbq?  I also don't know how the avocado oil factors in.  They don't taste all that different from regular kettle cooked chips.  They are a bit saltier than I'd expect - somehow I feel like the avocado oil would be less salty.

Even though they're mild... I do like 'em.  They're just not exactly what it says on the tin, as it were.  I'm not getting any sense of Barcelona (which is fine since I have no idea what that would mean), but there's really not much barbecue to speak of either.  There's something kinda smooth in the flavor... maybe that's the avocado oil?  They do seem to get saltier as I eat them, which is odd.

Would I get them again?  Yeah, probably, since they grew on me, but I wouldn't get them if I was hankerin for some barbecue chips.  You do get a BBQ flavor, but it's pretty mild - not as mild as the Lay's Honey BBQ, but I wouldn't necessarily eat these and think 'ah yes, barbecue'.

Rating

Walkers Sensations Thai Sweet Chili

More Walkers chips - thank you, UK candy store nearby that also sells chips!  They had this bag and I bought them.  Simple as that, friends.

The bag itself has two chili peppers on it, so I'm expecting to be in some pain.  Wahoo!  But, when I open the bag up... possible deception!  These mostly just smell like potatoes.  And look a little like Christmas with their red and green speckles.

But what do they taste like?

Like weirdly spicy potatoes is what they taste like.  My tongue is burning and I can't even pinpoint which taste of the chip caused it.  It's just burn-y.  They're really pretty mild, apart from the sudden onset mouth burn that disappears nearly as quickly as it arrived.

I wish I had more to say, but these don't taste like much more than spiced potatoes.  This is not what I expected from Thai Sweet Chili - or from Sensations!  With a bag like that I thought there'd be sensations.

Overall?  Not worth it.  The spiciness is without any real flavor and if I wanted chips that tasted like potatoes, I'd buy plain chips.  They're not awful, but I wouldn't buy them again

Rating:

Dirty Potato Chips Sundried Tomato and Basil

These I've been looking forward to!  I love sun-dried tomatoes (and tomatoes in general, come to that) and basil.  Let the chip eating commence!

To start, they have a very strong smell that smells more like strange basil and maybe a hint of tomato paste.  They also have weird brown seasoning nibblies everywhere which I can only imagine is the basil flakes?  Some chip are an orange-y/red which is the tomato, no doubt.

But what do they taste like?
Salty.  They taste very salty.  With a very strong, sweet sort of tomato paste aftertaste.  I don't know if I'd call these tomato and basil - I'm not sure what I'd call them, but they're not bad.  They're also weird.  I don't quite know how I feel about them.  The strongest taste is the taste of tomato paste and salt I think, and a bit of sweetness after (leftover from the paste taste?).

One thing that's so nice about chips is they go with so many different meals.  These?  Their flavor is so strong I'm not sure what you'd eat them with that they wouldn't completely overpower.  There are also some absolutely giant chips in this bag which seems strange.  Somehow kettle chips seem like they should be smaller.

While I like these, the flavor is so strong and... unique... that I can't see myself eating them again unless I want this specific tomato paste-y flavor.  I can't think of anything these would go well with other than overkill on tomato soup maybe.  Still, they aren't bad - I like the flavor well enough... it's just that a few of these go a looooong way.

Rating

Walkers Cheese and Onion

I picked these up at the UK store near my apartment.  I think I've heard that the cheese and onion are good, but I can't remember.  Still... I like cheese and I like onion so how bad can it be?  They had a bag of these in MAX style, that looked like Ruffles (with ridges), but I opted for the original after the salesguy recommended them.

Walkers seem to be the Lay's of the UK so they look pretty much as expected.  Though, Walkers never seem to have flavoring stuff on them.  I'm used to onion nibblies being green (from sour cream and onion chips) so these chips seem deceptively plain.

But what do they taste like?
Salty!  The strongest flavors are the salt and onion.  The onion has a bit of a bite to it - almost like eating raw onions, rather than cooked ones.  I'm not really getting much 'cheese' actually.  The flavor doesn't last very long, which isn't that surprising considering the chips look like they have no seasoning on them.

I wish I tasted more cheese - or knew if I was tasting cheese.  I can definitely taste the onion, but the cheese is much more subtle.  Maybe the cheese is supposed to be that saltiness that hits the first time you bit into a chip?  Not sure, but the onion is definitely the main flavor. 

Still, despite not being cheese-y enough, they're pretty good!  I do wish the flavor lasted longer - after a minute or two I just taste a hint of onion and chip, but other than that it's pretty mild.  These aren't my favorite chips, but I'd get them again.  I like onions so the stronger onion flavor doesn't bother me.  If you hate onions, though, I'd give these a pass.

Rating

Lay's Spicy Ketchup

I bought these right before seeing Dark Knight Rises and I'm fairly certain they got a bit crumpled in my bag, but oh well.  I bought 'em because I hadn't seen them before and of course I suddenly saw them all over the place after.  If they're good that just means I'll be able to find them again!  Sweet.

The bag is bright red and the chips are bright red.  They clearly understand that ketchup is red.  The only thing that isn't red (minus parts of the Lay's logo) are the bowl the ketchup is in, and the jalapeno.  Everything else is red as all get out.

But what do they taste like?
They taste ketchup-y and spicy.  It's the kind of spice that burns my throat, rather than my mouth, which is kinda weird.  There's also a little bit of saltiness in there too - these are Lay's after all.  The flavor isn't actually all that strong after a minute - I tasted more of the chip than the ketchup.  I kinda like these, but the extra spiciness isn't really needed I don't think.

Eating these is a lot like eating plain Lay's chips that got some ketchup on them.  You taste the ketchup from time to time, but you also taste the plain Lay's.  Also, the 'spicy' gets stronger than the actual flavor quite quickly so I really didn't find myself tasting much ketchup.

There's also a very uneven seasoning distribution.  Some of the chips are practically red with flavoring, and others look like they barely got any.  These chips did make me want to try regular ketchup chips, though.  I think without the extra spice these could be pretty good, but as is they leave my mouth burning a bit too long.  If you've tried the ketchup chips and felt that they didn't make your mouth burn enough, you could do worse than picking up a bag of these.

Rating