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

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

Lays Garden Tomato & Basil

I've seen these around enough that I'm not sure they're 'strange' anymore, but I can only find them at a few places (Duane Reade being one of them) and I've never tried them so I pronounce them: 'strange chips'.  And now I shall eat them!  I'm not sure how the 'garden' bit factors in... perhaps these are certified organic?

But what do they taste like?
Tastes tomato-y and basil-y, but not super strongly of either.  There's a satisfying tomato taste at the first bite, and then the basil follows, but it disappears pretty quickly after that.  Where do you go, flavor?  Has someone stolen you?  For the most part these taste a bit like they have tomato paste on them... not quite tomatoes, but something a bit chemically.  This works well for me as I love the taste of tomato paste, but it's perhaps misleading from the bag.  I am not tasting garden fresh tomatoes, Lay's!

Are they bad?  No, certainly not.  Are they good?  Yeah, they're pretty good.  Would I seek them out again?  Ehhhh - if it was the choice between that and plain Lay's then sure.  If I had other options?  Probably not.  They taste kinda like a tomato-y BBQ chip almost, but the regular Lay's BBQ chips are better... stronger.  These are pretty mild, and if you like tomato or basil I suspect you'll like these.  If you're looking for something that will punch you in the face with flavors then you'll probably do better elsewhere.

Rating

Walkers Tomato Ketchup

I've found that I kinda like ketchup flavored chips so I'm pretty excited for these.  They certainly smell ketchup-y.  I'm a bit confused by the added 'tomato' in the title... what other sort of ketchup would it be?  I'm quite sure I don't know.

Bag is pretty basic and pink-ish which I guess stands for... ketchup?

But what do they taste like?
Wow salty.  Not in a bad way, but surprising.  They're salty and have the tanginess of ketchup without all of the tomato flavor.  It's an odd mix.  It tastes a bit like what I'd imagine the clear stuff that sometimes comes out of the ketchup bottle would taste like.  They're also a bit deceptive, as they don't look particularly ketchup-y, but, in fact, they are!  Mysterious.

Tangy is definitely the word I'd use to describe these.  I happen to like tangy, so I like these just fine, but I can see someone expecting a more traditional 'ketchup' flavor being confused.  Do I like 'em?  Sure!  They're ketchup chips and those are neat.  I don't remember much about the Lays version, but I'd be interested in comparing the two.  Which ketchup chip is supreme!?  Who knows?!

Rating

Kettle Honey Dijon

Honey dijon seems like such a weirdly specific chip flavor.  Not just honey mustard, but honey dijon.  That distinction is maybe important.  Equally possible that it's not important!  I also like how the bag is very very orange.  It's like a pumpkin.  So festive.

The bag is pretty small, and there are even fewer chips.  Not off to the best start if these are delicious.  But, on the other hand, if they're terrible... I don't have to eat as many!

But what do they taste like?
Very strongly of honey mustard.  And... maybe a little dijon?  There's a kick to this honey mustard, but it is definitely honey mustard.  The only problem is that Kettle chips tend to be weirdly greasy in an unpleasant way.  I always feel like I need to wipe my hands after every chip.  They are pretty salty as well which I enjoy.

Sometimes the flavor seems to be a little inconsistent - some chips have a very strong taste and others less so.  It is a very sweet honey mustard for the most part - there's a bit of a bite, but it's mostly pretty mellow.  I wish they weren't greasy kettle chips, but the flavor's tasty!  Would buy again, but only if I had napkins on hand to get rid of the grease.  Tooooo greasy.

Rating

Bissli Falafel Flavor Wheat Party Snack

I have no idea what these are.  Well... that's not entirely true.  My friend got these for me (thanks!), but they're falafel flavored wheat party snacks.  So... I understand what they are, but not how they came to be I suppose.  Was there a falafel shaped hole in the chip market?  Evidently.  I do like falafel so these could be pretty delicious!

First thoughts: they're like the nibbles that go on top of salads.

But what do they taste like?
They taste a lot like falafel actually, but they're far crunchier than I thought they'd be.  And a little saltier, which is never a bad thing.  But these actually do a pretty good job of tasting like falafel!  It's just the super crunchiness that's a little weird.  I expect something that tastes so much like falafel to be softer I guess?

Otherwise these are pretty good!  If you don't like falafel you won't like these either because its' really kinda amazing how much they taste like an actual falafel.  They are truly falafel flavored.  I do wish that they weren't so crunchy, but otherwise I'd eat them again.

I guess the biggest problem is that they have a very specific flavor.  Most chips I'm happy to eat whenever, but these I feel like I'd need to want to eat falafel.  Oh man - I just realized... I bet these would go great with humus.  Anyway... if you like falafel and happen to see these weird chip type things... give 'em a shot!

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

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

Skips Tingly Prawn Cocktail

I've heard things about Skips, but now I have them!  My friend Maggie picked these up for me a store that sells UK chips (and oh I shall be going there again) because she's awesome!  Also... tingly prawn cocktail?  I wonder how the tingly factors in...

Having tried Walker's Prawn Cocktail, I wasn't surprised to find that these smell much more like prawn cocktail sauce than actual prawns.  The flavor kinda worked with the Walker's, though so perhaps it will again!  They're strangely shaped, too... almost like little bowls or something.  The bag tells me that I should balance a Skip on my tongue and let it melt in my mouth.  Also, they make a big deal about 25% extra, but this doesn't seem like a ton of chips - I'd hate to see the regular bags.  Weirdly... the back of the bag suggests making Prawn Cocktail Flavour Tapioca Snack which just sounds awful.  I'll pass on that, thanks.

But what does it taste like?
Strange!  More salty than prawn-y and it does kinda tingle the tongue in a strange way.  They practically disintegrate the minute you close your mouth.  There's really no point in chewing them since they just sort of melt away like a chip ninja.  I'm so caught up in the strangeness of the chip itself that the flavor sort of gets lost.  They're saltier than the Walker's chips, but there's also the sweetness of the cocktail sauce.  I don't understand why they even bother putting 'prawns' on the bag since you could easily call it cocktail sauce and pin the flavor better.  I'm not sure why, but the flavor is kinda growing on me.  It's not quite cocktail sauce... it's tangier?  I'm not sure, but it's kinda nice.

These disintegrate so easily I almost wouldn't even call them chips - chips have more substance I think.  The Skips are kinda thick, thicker than normal chips, but that doesn't give them much substance.  It's definitely a unique experience eating these.  I hear they're good in sandwiches, but alas I have no sandwich handy.  They also make a bit of a mess - the seasoning doesn't stick very well to the chips so the little salt nibbles go all over when you eat them.  Not ideal.  For me, I prefer my chips to have a little more substance so I don't think I'll be going out of my way to eat these, but I certainly would happily eat them if someone offered them to me.

Rating

Lay's Dill Pickle

In my continuing quest to find pickle chips that are as good as Intense Pickle Doritos, I picked up a bag of these Lay's Dill Pickle chips from 7/11.  To be honest, I don't have high hopes.  I expect they'll taste a lot like the Pringles Screamin' Dill Pickle and hopefully nothing like the Deep River Snacks New York Spicy Dill Pickle.  Let us begin!

First off, it's a green bag.  Kind of a ... sickly green bag.  I get that it's pickle colored and pickles are a pale green-ish color, but let's at least try to make the bag look appealing!  They don't smell super pickle-y, but they do smell like pickles.  It's also a 'new bigger bag' which is weird since I can't imagine dill pickle is a super popular flavor that justifies a gigantic bag.  But who knows!

But what do they taste like?
Pretty good actually!  They're definitely not super pickle-y, though.  It's more just salty than anything else.  The first bite is pretty salty with the tiniest hint of pickle and then there's a mild pickle taste, but other than that it's really mostly salt.  And that's not a bad thing!  But it's also not what I'm looking for unfortunately.  You know, if I didn't know to begin with that they were supposed to taste like dill pickle, I'm not sure I'd know that these were supposed to be pickle flavored, unless I smelled them.

I think that's the strangest part for me.  They smell much stronger than they taste.  Also, if I eat a bunch at once I definitely get a much stronger pickle flavor, but it still doesn't last very long.  I'm not sure if this is just the new bigger bag, but some of the chips are huge.  It's kinda excessive if the chip is too big to eat in one bite.  There's also no reason for it, especially with Lay's.  Since they kinda crumble when you bite them, it just creates more mess.

Look, if you hate pickles with a the fiery passion of a thousand suns then you probably won't like these much.  But, if you like pickles, or don't have strong feelings for them one way or the other... you might like these.  These won't be my favorite pickle chips (the honor still goes to Intense Pickle Doritos), but they'll do.  They're pretty good, all things considered.

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Ruffles Ultimate Sweet & Smokin' BBQ

I got these Ruffles Ultimate Sweet & Smokin' BBQ at the same time I got the Kickin' Jalapeno Ranch chips.  Considering how crap those were my hopes aren't high for these.  The bag doesn't fill me with confidence as it has what looks like a bowl of brown sugar and some jalapenos on it.  Call me crazy, but that doesn't scream BBQ to me.  Oh well - here goes nothin.

It's more promising immediately because they don't smell awful.  They actually smell like BBQ and my hopes lift slightly.  A little sweet and smoky smelling which is what I'd expect given the name.  The chips themselves are practically neon orange - maybe they're radioactive.


But what do they taste like?
Well, just like last time the chips are too big and the oversized ridges detract from my enjoyment of the chips.  The taste, though?  No horrible Jalapeno Ranch experience here!  They taste pretty good for a few seconds - like your typical barbecue chips really, but the flavor is a little stronger which I like.  But then there's this weird spicy kick that I'm not a fan of.  Don't get me wrong - spiciness isn't out of place in BBQ sauce and I'm not surprised because there were jalapenos on the bag, but it's been at least ten minutes since I had one and I can still taste them, even after drinking water.

Overall these are actually pretty good.  At first I wasn't a fan of the extra spice, but it actually really grew on me as I ate them.  Unfortunately I still find the large Ultimate chip size annoying, but they aren't as greasy as regular Ruffles so that's a point in its favor.  The flavor is also very strong - nothing at all like the supremely mild Lay's Honey BBQ I tried.  There's something that both works and doesn't work about these chips.  I think if this flavor was on different chips I'd like them better - as it is, I like how they taste, but don't like the chip itself.

It's strange how much better these are than the Kickin' Jalapeno Ranch.  Why were those so bad?  There are so many BBQ flavors out there, but basically no decent ranch flavors.  Bummer!

Rating:

Doritos Tacos

I saw these Taco Doritos and knew I had to try them.  I also didn't buy them when I first saw them and then never saw them again.  Until today!  Glorious today!  In their weird throwback bag and their promise of tasting like a taco... I was smitten.  I'm still not clear on why the bag looks the way it does.  It reminds me of the generic ye olden times chip bags you see in movies.

But what do they taste like?
They pretty much taste like a taco with the flavor of the meat, but no meat.  You know that extra shell you found sitting in the sad pile of beef that tumbled out of the taco?  That's what these chips are.  Luckily for me I like that last weird shell and I like these chips.

They're not taco flavored really.  It's more ground beef and shell and taco seasoning.  It's like half a taco, but missing all the things that truly make it a taco like cheese and sour cream and lettuce and tomatoes.  Actually, the more of them I eat, the less they taste like a taco and they already basically weren't tasting like one to begin with.  Except for the one I just ate that was covered in seasoning... that one tasted like taco spices.  And that's disappointing given how long I'd spent searching for them!

If you're the one who wants your tacos plain then you'll probably like these chips.  Actually, I think most people will like them.  The flavor is pretty mild and it's not overwhelmingly taco-y.  My bet is you won't taste this and say 'my god this tastes like a taco'.  What you will say, probably, is 'wow it tastes like they flavored these chips with a bag of taco seasoning!'

Rating:

Pringles Screamin' Dill Pickle

Why Screamin' Dill Pickle chips?  Well, I had Intense Pickle Doritos when I was in Montreal and absolutely loved them.  Alas, I don't live near Montreal and so don't exactly have an easy source of Intense Pickle Doritos.  Since then I've been searching for a replacement pickle chip.  I hoped that these Pringles pickle chips would do the job.

The container art has four dill pickle spears and one chip being flung at me.  The pickles are really juicy.  Honestly it looks kind of gross.  The can also told me to 'Test Your Taste Buds!' and I'm not quite sure what it means.  These xtreme chips are so intense that my taste buds are gonna go bananas or something I guess.  Opening the can brings out a really strong pickle smell which is expected given that they're Screamin.

But what do they taste like?
They taste a lot like regular Pringles with a medium pickle taste and a stronger pickle aftertaste.  Gotta say it was unexpected how mild they are given how strong the smell was.  I figured I'd take a bite and it'd be like biting into a pickle, but nope.  Actually it was much more like eating chips that had a pickle resting on them briefly which I rather quite like.  Still, they're not anywhere near extreme unless eating pickle flavored chips is extreme.  The aftertaste lasts for awhile so if you do try them, expect to be tasting pickle for a bit.  Also, I'm still weirded out by the pickles flying at me from the can.

If you're like me and you really like the chips that have hung out with the pickle on the plate then you'll probably like these.  If you don't like pickles then I'd steer well clear.

Rating: