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

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

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

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

Walkers Quavers

Billed as a 'light curly potato snack' I somehow thought these would be like Cheetos.  They are not!  Well - they might be taste-wise, but they aren't shape...wise.  Got these at the British shop where I've purchased some other goodies.  Actually... I probably need to go back soon.  Anyway - these are 'cheese flavour' so I expect these will taste like cheese.

Off the bat - I was confused by the shape.  They look like Fritos, but smell like Cheetos!  How do they do such sorcery?

But what do they taste like?
A little, and not unpleasantly, like a cheese Funyun.  And... I'm kinda okay with that.  It's like a Funyun without all the little nibblies that fall off of it, and with a hint of cheese.  Salty, yet a little savory, but mostly salty.  The cheese is pretty fake tasting, but that's to be expected really.

Eating them is noisy, but the actual chip isn't hard - it's rather soft.  They're also weird shapes which is fun, but sometimes hard to grab a handful as bits fall off.  I mostly taste salt over cheese, but hey - I am a big fan of salt, so that's no problem for me.  I think I'd like these better if they were cheesier (hey - they're cheese flavour - I want what I pay for), but I am rather fond of them.

I'd definitely get these again, despite the cheese tasting a little chemically.  There's something fun about eating them and how noisy they are while also being delicious.  They're almost a little too salty, but not enough that it bothers 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

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

Deep River Snacks Aged Cheddar and Horseradish

My mom found these (and a bunch of other strange Deep River flavors) and picked me up a couple of the weirdest ones!  Thanks, mom!  These aged cheddar and horseradish definitely make my list of 'strange chips'.  The bag is a bright orange and I was actually pretty sure they were sweet potato chips at first glance.

I'm not much of a fan of horseradish, but I do love cheddar so let's see how this goes.  I've also never seen it as a chip combo before, though I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.  They don't smell like much of anything - I was expecting a really potent smell so that's a surprise right there.

But what do they taste like?
Oh!  These... these taste like horseradish.  There's a powerful 'horseradish' taste right off the bat and hardly any cheddar.  It's a very strange sensation - the horseradish flavor overpowers everything with a taste that is distinctly 'horseradish-y' and a spicy burn to match, but then it kind of goes away completely and I'm left with some mouth burn and nothing much else.  It's strange because the chips themselves feel like they're covered in cheddar flavor, but none of it comes out in the bite.  I think the horseradish completely over powers the cheddar; if it's there I've no hope of tasting it.

These chips are definitely a kick in the mouth.  Geez!  Happily, the spiciness doesn't last too long so my mouth has stopped burning which is a plus.  I'm also not sure why aged cheddar and horseradish is a flavor of chips.  Cheddar by itself, sure, but combined with horseradish?  Why?

Hopefully the rest of the Deep River chips are more delightful than this!  I won't be finishing this bag - they just aren't appealing at all.  If you like horseradish, though, give them a shot.  You'll certainly be tasting it every mouthful and may well enjoy them.

Rating:

Ruffles Loaded Chili and Cheese

I picked these up because chili cheese fries are awesome, but I don't have them that often.  What if I could recreate the chili cheese fries experience in a potato chip?!  The possibilities are nearly endless.

The bag informed me that these chips are loaded with flavor.  "Chili? Check. Cheese? Heck yeah. Onions and peppers. Bingo."  I'm very interested to see how they handle onions and peppers when chili and cheese are strong flavors.  The chips are nearly orange in places with the same green onion flakes that sour cream and onion chips have.

But what do they taste like?
More like chili than cheese and they're kinda spicy!  To be honesty, despite these chips being practically orange, I didn't get to much of a cheese flavor in 'em.  What they do taste like is dipping a chip into chili and then eating it.  Chili that is kind of spicy!  Keep in mind though, I have the spice tolerance of a fetus - which is to say I am bad with spicy things.  Still, putting aside the fact that my mouth got a little burn-y, these are pretty good.    They don't live up to the 'cheese' part of chili and cheese, but they definitely get the chili part.  I also didn't really get the 'peppers' flavoring unless it was the spiciness.  Definitely tasted the onions though and maybe a hint of the famed cheese.  After eating a bunch of them I started to lose the distinct chili taste that I originally tasted and it took on more of a spicy aftertaste.  It was the only thing I could taste for awhile.

When asked, my roommate tasted them and said: "Yeah... definitely chili.  I can taste a bit of the cooked peppers, but... definitely chili".  So make of that what you will!

Would I get them again?  No, probably not.  I think Ruffles chips, no matter the flavor, always taste like greasy Ruffles chips, if that makes any kind of sense.  Basically, no matter what flavor it says on the bag, Ruffles chips will always end up tasting like greasy potato chips.  And that's not super appealing to me!  Still - they don't taste bad - they just weren't winners in my book.

Rating: