Tayto Cheese & Onion

These are the 'original Irish crisp' according to the bag.  If this is true I do not know, but surely they will be delicious?  I like cheese and onion things.  So perhaps these will be delicious!?  They are also made with 100% sunflower oil so... that's... probably good?

The bag has a super happy potato on it, which is surely a sign of good things to come?  Also, um... sorry for the vacation last week.  I will try to make it up to you lovelies with a double post at some point.  Hurrah!

But what do they taste like?
Onion-y over cheese-y surely - I mostly taste the onion rather than cheese, but the onion flavor is good!  It's a bit of a mild onion - not raw and painful which is good.  The chips themselves also have some nibblies of potato skin on them which is kinda neat?  While the cheese isn't quite there, I do think the onion flavor is pretty spot on.

Interestingly, these aren't as salty or flavorful as I was expecting.  They certainly taste onion-y, but I guess I expected more cheese and punch?  The mildness probably isn't a bad thing, though - I can see how onion could get suuuper overpowering, making this rather unpleasant.  I suspect this is the balance of 'you can taste the onion, but everything doesn't taste like onions' which is fine by me!

I feel like maybe these are supposed to be put on sandwiches?  Maybe that's why - it adds a bit of onion/cheese punch to something?  I dunno, but if you're looking for a chip that tastes of onions and the slightest hint of cheese then give these a shot!

Rating

Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili

I'm starting to see these everywhere now, so I don't know if they're as strange as some, but I haven't tried 'em so they're strange to me.  I shall allow it!  Some of my friends get these all the time, so I figure they can't be too bad, but who knows really.  Well... me... I'm about to know.

The bag is purple and they smell a little nacho cheese-y.  I also think the font changes on the bag are kinda silly... do spicy and sweet need to be different fonts?  I know they're different things.  It's okay, Doritos.

But what do they taste like?
At first a bit like nacho cheese.  Then there's an intense sweetness with some added spice to it.  These are actually a lot sweeter than I was expecting.  I think what's odd for me is how distinct the flavors are - the spicy is one thing and the sweet is another and they don't necessarily play well together.  It's like eating two chips in one.  I guess there's a bit of chili in the spicy, but I think these chips suffer a bit from 'sweet' and 'spicy' not being flavors.  So... yes.. they're sweet and spicy, but what am I tasting?

The sweet... is almost a bit like too sweet BBQ sauce?  And the spicy is that generic 'mouth burn' that seems to be found everywhere.  There's the tiniest bit of smokiness on the first bite, but after that it's the weird sweet/spicy combo.  The flavor also doesn't last super long - I'm left tasting plain Dorito after a few chews.

Honestly... I'm kinda disappointed with these.  I'm not sure what I thought they'd taste like, but these missed the mark for me.  I think it's the very sweet taste not mixing particularly well with the spicy that's throwing me off.  Perhaps if they were combined better, rather than two separate flavors? I'm not sure.  If you're really into sweet and also spicy then give these a shot, but I don't think I'll be switching from Cool Ranch.

Rating

Sun Chips Sweet & Spicy BBQ

Let's be honest here.  French Onion Sun Chips are freaking delicious.  So delicious, in fact, that I kinda of forget there are other kinds of Sun Chips available for purchase.  Why would I ever purchase them when French Onion is RIGHT THERE?  No reason - that's why.  Well... unless it's a NEW flavor!  Exciting!  Will this trump the ever delicious french onion flavor?

I don't know, but I'm willing to find out.  For science!  For chips!  For glory!

But what do they taste like?
They're pretty good, but not really anything super special.  The thing that works well about the french onion flavor, I feel, is that it really compliments the multigrain taste of the Sun Chips.  The BBQ flavor, though?  Well - it's just not strong enough.  There's a hint of vinegar, and the tiniest bit of mouth burn, which, one supposes, is the 'spicy' half of sweet and spicy, but the I really mostly taste the base chip.

For BBQ flavor these really don't stand out from the pack for me.  They taste BBQ-y, sure, but it's not really what I expect from a BBQ chip.  What I'd like to see is a BBQ punch of deliciousness, not a multgrain flavor and oh also some BBQ I guess if you have time.  It's a pity, because the tiny hints of BBQ sauce flavor I get are pretty good.  Bit vinegar-y, tomato-y and spicy - it would taste pretty good... if I could TASTE it.  Where is it?  It's also kinda strange have BBQ and multigrain flavor - BBQ sauce isn't something I generally associate with many grains.  The pairing works, but it could be better.

If you really like plain Sun Chips, but feel they could use the tiniest of kicks then perhaps give these a try.  But if you're looking for a really solid BBQ chip, then you'd be better off elsewhere I think.

Rating

Lay's Sriracha

At long last!  I finally try the third new Lay's flavor!  The other two were fine (Chicken & Waffles | Cheesy Garlic Bread), but I have high hopes for these.  Oh indeed.  My friend Steven found these in a grocery store and was nice enough to snag these for me.  Thank you, kind sir!

I haven't had much Sriracha (treason?), but I do enjoy it when I have it.  That's not why I'm super excited about these chips, though.  It's one flavor instead of several (as with the other two new flavors), and the most likely to stick around, given its strong fanbase.  Let us see how they do!  Also it's one of the giant bags so if they're awful... well... I have a lot of them.

But what do they taste like?
Spicy!  Hoo.  At first I didn't think they were that spicy and was kinda disappointed, but now my throat is still burning.  Delayed kick on the spice there.  So... that's neat!  These certainly get the kick of Srirach which is good, but I'm not sure if they quite got the flavor.  Many things can cause mouth burn, but is it truly Sriracha flavored?

Wow, though - it certainly makes my mouth burn.  Ow.  Right - back on track.  I think the flavor of Sriracha is more complex.  Where these I taste mostly spicy and some hints of Sriracha-ness it's just not the same.  It's not bad, but it's certainly spicier and more painful than I generally like my chips.  If I eat a bunch I taste some of the vinegar, but the chili flavor appears to be missing.  The chips are a more general 'spicy!', while the sauce has more of a chili flavor?

Overall?  I think these are the best of the bunch, though you'd do well to steer clear if you can't handle spicy flavors.  It's not as spicy as Sriracha, but there's definitely some mouth burn.  They taste good and I like them, but they miss the mark on flavoring - they don't really taste like Sriracha.  Still - the other flavors are strange - these seem like something that could be a chip and people would buy.  Honestly... I've been kinda unimpressed with the three Lay's flavors or just their execution of them.  Ah well!

Rating

Combos Buffalo Blue Cheese

Ah, Combos.  The official snack of Nascar.  I'd seen giant bags of buffalo combos at 7/11, but didn't quite feel like getting those.  But then, while home for Easter, we spotted this tiny bag!  The perfect trial size.  I actually really like Combos sometimes - their pizzeria flavor really does taste like pizzeria somehow... no pizza, but the whole dang pizzeria.  Who'da thunk it?

I somehow didn't realize these were pretzel until I looked more closely at the bag - buffalo blue cheese seems like a baked combo rather than a pretzel combo, but we shall see!

But what do they taste like?
Pretzel-y, which is what I expected.  I taste mostly strange blue cheese flavor and then a bit of random spicy flavor.  It's not... quite... buffalo blue cheese, though.  I think in part because 'pretzel' is a very strong flavor.  The buffalo blue cheese flavor, such that it is, is pretty creamy too - I guess that's what happens when it's a weird little nibble shoved inside a pretzel roll?

These almost taste like buffalo and blue cheese, but then don't at the same time.  There's something a bit odd about them.  I think it's the added pretzel, and bit chemically taste of the blue cheese?  I also feel like there's not a strong enough 'buffalo' flavor - buffalo is usually an easy flavor to taste, but I'm really not getting much of it here.  It's more a bit of spicy, which I suspect is standing in for the buffalo flavor, and then the strange chemically cheese taste.

On the whole?  I'm glad I didn't get a bigger bag.  While these don't taste bad necessarily, I don't think they're good enough to get again.  I'd rather have pizzeria flavored, thanks.

Rating

Bamba

Today I'm trying 'Bamba' which are, as described by Wikipedia: "...made from peanut butter-flavored puffed corn. ... Some describe it as "Cheez Doodles without the cheese.""  These were bough in Israel by my friend Maggie (thanks!), who knows my quest to try strange new chips.  I don't even think there's English on the bag!  Excitement!  But... there is a strange, blue diapered baby... I'm not sure what that means.

After opening the bag, I certainly smell the peanut butter.  And they do look like Cheez Doodles!  Perhaps this will be exactly what it says on the tin?

But what do they taste like?
Peanut butter-y, but also kinda dry?  It's also not very salty, which was unexpected.  I think they'd actually benefit from a bit of salt.  It kinda tastes like eating a spoonful of creamy no salt added peanut butter, with rice puff powder in it?  I mean - I like em, though they, like saltines, make your mouth feel super dry.  Actually, come to think of it, peanut butter does that too.

I guess my biggest confusion with these comes from them tasting creamy, like you'd expect peanut butter to, but then tasting dry and puffy?  I don't know if there's a way to make a creamy chip necessarily, but peanut butter flavor doesn't need puff.  I don't think so at least.

But still!  If you're into peanut butter, and like the texture of Cheez Doodles, but hate the cheese... I'd give these a shot.  Or, if you just like peanut butter flavored things (as I do).  They're yummy, but it's disconcerting to taste peanut butter with the texture of a Cheez Doodle.  For me, at least!  Perhaps you'll have a different experience?

Rating

Annie Chun's Cracked Pepper & Herbs

More seaweed!  This time found at Fairway and hopefully equally delicious.  These, however, are pepper and herb flavored which is strange.  Sesame made sense, as it's a sushi flavor, but cracked pepper?  Herb?  I'm not so sure.

I am going to try them anyway!  Even if the flavors will possibly be, dare I say it, strange?

But what do they taste like?
As feared - the herb/cracked pepper flavor kinda overpowers the natural seaweed flavor.  There's also a strange kind of sweetness that wasn't in the sesame brand.  It's also possibly saltier, which is weird, since you'd think herb and pepper would be less salty, no?

Also much saltier than the sesame, which is strange since I thought the sesame was pretty salty to begin with.  These, however, have a pepper-y aftertaste that's kinda nice, but also strange, because it's totally out of place with seaweed.  I mean, they're still pretty good, but they're definitely not normal seaweed.

If you, for whatever reason, want seaweed that also doesn't taste like seaweed, then give these a shot.  Otherwise, perhaps try the sesame.

Next week we'll be back to actual chips - I even have some international ones to try, courtesy of my friend who just came back from Israel!

Rating
 

Annie Chun's Roasted Seaweed Snacks: Sesame

Bit different this week since these aren't strictly 'chips', I suppose.  BUT!  I keep finding them in the chip aisle, and I would certainly eat seaweed like potato chips, given the option.  And I HAVE been given the option!  I've been known to, from time to time, get sheets of nori from the supermarket to just eat.  No plans of making sushi or any of that nonsense.  Just seaweed.  Nom.

So this, this is exciting!  It's also yet another purchase from 7/11.  They like to keep me well stocked.  Personally, and without trying them, I'd prefer a different flavor to sesame (even plain!), but my options were sesame or wasabi and I'm not a big fan of wasabi.  Who knows, though - sesame seaweed might be my new favorite thing!

But what do they taste like?
Salty!  Always a good sign for seaweed.  A more intense, sort of... deeper salt flavor than the usual nori.  I'm not sure if it's the sesame or what, but I don't taste much sesame otherwise.  It's also thinner than regular sheets of nori, I suspect because no one would make sushi with it, so it doesn't need to hold together.

Also strange is that they're too big to eat in one bite.  These are little chip nibblies!  Why must they be just a bit too big?  It's not too bad, and this seaweed isn't as flaky as regular seaweed, so it works out.  Still - one bite would be easier.  I'm digging the saltiness of these, but I'd prefer a bit punchier seaweed flavor.  I like the taste a lot, and feel there should be more of it, as I'm just eating bits of seaweed.  It also suffers from seaweed's problem of 'turns to mush very quickly'.  Not at all like a chip, where it stays 'chip-y' while chewing.  I expected this, but you perhaps, might not!  And now you shall.

Anyways - I'm absolutely going to eat all of these right now, even though they could taste a bit more like seaweed and a bit less like salt.  I really don't taste 'sesame' much at all, though it is a pretty mild flavor I suppose.  If you like seaweed (or, if you find seaweed a bit too seaweed flavored, and not salty enough), I'd definitely give these a shot!  Just... don't expect to feel full after - they're not very filling!

Rating

Cheetos Mix-Ups Cheezy Salsa Mix

Sorcery and witchcraft!  It's a mix of different Cheetos types in the same bag!  There was another bag in the store, but it didn't have a strange green 'jalapeno cheddar' thing in it, so I passed.  Why get normal Cheetos when I can get strange green ones?  No reason is why!

The flavors are:  salsa picante, chipotle cheddar, jalapeno cheddar and cheddar.  Cheddar seems like a standard cheez doodle type chip, while the salsa picante is more like a cheeto.  The other two are like a waffle fry (chipotle cheddar), and a green tater tot (jalapeno cheddar).  Let the battle for ultimate mix flavor... begin!

But what do they taste like?
Salsa picante: I thought these would have more flavor actually.  They're like cheetos, but there's... the tiniest hint of tomato flavor?  Not much spice and not much cheese though.  They really don't taste like much of anything other than some slight spiciness.  These were the mildest of the bunch, which was unexpected.
Chipotle cheddar: chemical-y, chipotle flavor right off the bat.  It tastes the way cheese sauce smells, if that makes any sense.  It's a strong, sort of smokey cheese flavor that stays pretty strong throughout.  It's not bad, but it's definitely the strongest chemical flavor of the bunch.  It's also a very thick chip, while the others are smaller bites.
Jalapeno cheddar: jalapeno-y, but not in a painful way yet.  They get a little spicier as you go, but not too bad.  A tiny bit of a kick, but they taste pretty good!  The green is... a little off-putting, but I guess you... might not know it's jalapeno otherwise?  All things considered it's pretty mild - like a cheez doodle that tastes spicier than cheez-y.
Cheddar: pretty much your standard cheddar flavor, but weirdly, every single chip seems to have the jalapeno green on it, so they all have a bit of a punch.  Basically... think 'cheez doodle' and you've got the cheddar flavor.

All four flavors at once: it's... weird.  Pretty much a spicy, chemical-y mix that has a strong cheez doodle flavor.  The problem with these is that the 'cheddar' and 'chipotle cheddar' are all way bigger than the others, overpowering them.  It's not much of a mix and match bag.  Eating a handful without the 'cheddar' flavor is actually better, just because the cheddar flavor is pretty overpowering.

Overall these are fine, but a bit strange.  The green from the jalapeno cheddar is pretty strange looking, and when it gets on the cheez doodles it makes them look moldy, even when they're not.  The flavors are aren't bad - bit cheesy and spicy, but, all the same, I don't think I'd buy them again.

Rating

Doritos Jumpin' Jack

As with the Doritos Tacos, these are in the weird throwback bag.  I'm not sure why since it looks weird.  I saw these in 7/11, which, all things considered, does a pretty good job of stocking strange chips, so I snagged a bag.

On first open, they remind me a lot of Cool Ranch Doritos (super delicious), so that's a good start.

But what do they taste like?
They taste a bit like pepper jack cheese, as you'd expect, since that's what the label says, but it's mostly 'Doritos chip' flavor.  More than anything else it's just salty with a little bit of kick (and when I say a little bit - it's barely there) from the cheese and... that's about it.  There's some weird 'cheese' sense when you first bite into it on some chips - I suspect it's on ones that were especially flavor blasted.  But, unfortunately it doesn't last for long and you're left with tortilla chip and spice flavor.

Do they taste good?  Sure!  Hard to go too far wrong with Doritos that taste like a chip, but is there some sort of magical awesome pepper jack cheese flavor going on?  No... not really.  I certainly wouldn't eat these and think 'ah yes, pepper jack flavored Doritos'.  It's like... a very mild Cool Ranch and maybe the slightest hint of pepper jack cheese.

So, while they taste fine, I wouldn't really go out of my way to get these.  I'd much prefer some Cool Ranch, or even regular Nacho flavor over these, just because it's a more distinct flavor.  All I get after these pepper jack chips is a tiny bit of mouth burn and tortilla chip taste.  And... that's kinda boring.  It seems like, unless the cheese flavor is 'nacho' Doritos is kinda out of its depth on cheese flavorings.

Rating

Doritos Jacked Ranch Dipped Hot Wings

It's a known fact that I think ranch dressing is pretty delicious.  It's also known that the best dipping sauce for buffalo wings is ranch dressing.  None of these other dressings for me.  It's safe to say that I am both pro ranch dressing, and pro buffalo wings.  Or, in this case, hot wings.  So I was pretty excited when I found these magic chips.  But also wary for, as I've learned, chips rarely taste like the two promised things.  It's one or the other.  How shall these fare?!

But what do they taste like?
Wow.  They actually taste a hell of a lot like ranch dipped hot wings.  They're not quite buffalo wings, because there's no chicken flavor really, but it's pretty close to eating a chip that's been dipped in some sort of strange 'ranch hot wing sauce' mix.  They're also practically neon with flavor - usually a good sign.  For these the flavor isn't super overpowering, but the flavor that lasts is the chemically hot wing taste, when I'd prefer to taste more ranch.  Another thing is that they're strangely thick chips, and way bigger than regular Doritos.  Is that a thing with JACKED chips?  It's a bit strange, since the chip flavor detracts from the ranch/hot wing flavor.  It seems to be a thing, since the bag says that they're 'bigger, bolder, thicker', but I honestly don't feel like that improves them.

The larger than average chips are kinda weird.  There are fewer chips in the bag, but simultaneously more calories than a usual bag of chips.  That's not a problem, but I think these can very easily be overeaten, since you feel like you've only eaten a few chips when really it's double normal size Doritos.  They're not too spicy, but they do have a bit of a kick, which you expect with hot wings sauce.

The flavor overall is nice, but it seems to taste best the first second you try it.  After that it gets pretty chemically.  I think I'd like these better if that first taste stuck.  The first taste is more ranch/wing, but it's very quickly overpowered by the chemical hot wing sauce.  Overall, these do actually have a ranch and hot wing sauce flavor, so props to Doritos for the 'dual flavor' chip, but they're deceptively big and taste pretty chemically the more you eat.  That and the neon seasoning requires extra napkins.

Rating

 

Lay's Chicken & Waffles

In the same grouping as Lay's Cheesy Garlic Bread, we have these... Lay's Chicken & Waffles.  I don't want to speak poorly of them before trying them, as I do enjoy chicken and waffles... sometimes even chicken and waffles combined, but... in a chip?  What?  But... why?  Do people really enjoy them so much that this was a top three front-runner for the new flavor?

 Also, given my experience with multi-flavor chips only really having one main flavor, I'm unsure if I'll taste chicken or waffle or some magical combination of the two.  Who can say?  I can because I'm about to try them.

But what do they taste like?
They taste a lot like how they smell which is 'syrup-y'.  Not much chicken or waffle in fact.  It's mostly syrup that I'm tasting.  And... I guess, to be fair, if you're eating chicken and waffles and you put maple syrup on them then that's pretty much all you're going to taste.  But... if you advertise chicken and waffles then I kinda expect to at least taste some chicken or waffles and not just the topping.  I think the big problem is that they're thinking too big.  Make one flavor really good - not this weird mix of two flavors that completely fails at tasting like either.

There's something little bit... smokey... about them, which I guess could be argued as the 'chicken' flavor, but I don't think it really qualifies.  I had chicken chips in Australia and those often tasted like chicken - with this I don't get much chicken flavor at all.  These really mostly taste like syrup and it's a little disappointing.  I was promised several flavors, and I'm just not seeing it.

There's something weird about eating syrup flavored potato chips that I don't think requires a repeat.  These are a novelty, sure, but nothing more.  I certainly hope they don't win the flavor war, or, if they do, are branded just as syrup chips because that's what they are.  The hunt continues for the Sriracha flavored chips, but until then, the Cheesy Garlic Bread is the winner, even though they weren't all that great either.  Still... these aren't awful, they're just very syrup-y.

Rating

Lay's Cheesy Garlic Bread

So Lay's is doing this promotion I guess where they have three new chip flavors: Chicken and Waffles, Cheesy Garlic Bread and Sriracha.  We, the American people, get to decide which is chosen!  These are Cheesy Garlic Bread and I'm excited.  I love a good garlic bread, especially the cheesy sort.

But... the smell isn't particularly cheesy or garlic bread-y.  They smell more like plain chips than anything, and there are no seasoning nibblies on it.  This isn't super promising.

But what do they taste like?
Garlic-y.  Actually... these are pretty good.  They don't do the cheesy part well, but they do the base garlic bread part well I think.  I'm actually pretty impressed that they taste like garlic bread, and not just garlic.  But, the problem is that they rarely taste like garlic bread.  Maybe it's the lack of seasonings that keeps these from having a stronger flavor, which is disappointing because the flavor that's there is tasty.  This tastes a bit butter-y, too.  Yummy!  There's now a stronger flavor of buttery bread than garlic and cheese.

Buuuut, the big problem is that the flavor just isn't that strong.  I'd imagine that with the Chicken and Waffles chips I'll appreciate a lack of flavor, but cheesy garlic bread is delicious!  Why hide this flavor with potato chip flavor?

Bottom line?  These are pretty good, but they just don't pack much of a punch for me.  What I'd like to see is actual, powerful garlic bread flavor.  That sounds delicious!  I want this chip flavor times three or four.  And maybe some actual cheese taste, too.  That'd be nice.

Rating