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 Prawn Cocktail

I got these in the same aisle I got the Hula Hoops and for the same reason.  International chips woo!  I've also always been intrigued by prawn cocktail flavored chips because... what the heck?  Who thinks this would be a good flavor?  In the International Chips post, Ciara and Gemma said they have a fishy smell and I believe they enjoyed them.  What could go wrong?!

These pretty much look like Lay's which isn't surprising really.  Weirdly, they kind of smell like ketchup.  They smell a lot like ketchup.  Have to say I wasn't expecting that!  What other surprises do these chips have in store I wonder!

But what do they taste like?
Wow they are salty.  I mostly just taste salt and kind of a strange sweetness.  It's hard to describe the saltiness of these because they aren't traditionally salty.  It's the kind of salt that burns your mouth - you feel it rather than taste it.  And I really taste a very strong salty ketchup flavor.  It suddenly occurs to me that I have no idea what prawns taste like, but I'm fairly certain they should be fishier than this.  This is such a strong flavor - like a punch to the mouth really.  But weirdly, it doesn't last very long. 

There's a slight burning on my tongue still, but other than that the ketchup is basically gone.  The chips themselves are also extremely flimsy... kinda like Lay's.  You know, I think this isn't so much 'prawn' flavor, but more the actual prawn cocktail sauce flavor.  It's not the worst flavor, but it's strange.

Ciara tried the Tayto brand and these are Walkers so perhaps that's the difference.  I'm also really amazed by this ketchup-esque flavor.  It's not quite ketchup, but it's not prawns.  I don't really like the flavor, but I don't dislike it either.  They're not chips I would buy again, though that weird sweetness is kinda growing on me.

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El Sabroso Original Guacachip

I grabbed these a few days after I got the El Sabroso Salsa chips because why not, right?  And happily it's a much smaller bag so I won't have them lying around for ages!

For starters the bag is pretty small and seems pretty empty.  On the plate they look kinda lonely.  El Sabroso seems to have skimped on the chip count in this bag.  They don't smell like much and look a little weird.  With that, let's give them a try.

But what do they taste like?
They don't taste like much strangely.  Definitely not like avocados or any sort of guac.  The chips are kind of hard and bland tasting.  There's a hint of salt and spice every so often, but really there's not much.  These definitely do not taste like guacamole unless it's terribly made.  They don't taste bad, but they're way off the mark as far as decent guac flavors go.  There's a smoothness to them, but it's just mild nothingness.  Compared to the El Sabroso salsa chips which weren't great, but at least had some flavor, these definitely miss the mark.

The green chips are also a little disconcerting.  It's not a fresh green... more of a 'this isn't quite right' green.  These are okay chips, but okay doesn't really cut it when it comes to buying them again.  Also, strangely, some of the chips are covered in seasoning and others barely have any, but they all taste roughly the same.  Usually those smothered chips at least pack a bit of a punch, but not in this case evidently.  That being said, I don't mind eating them.  The very mild flavor (a hint of... avocado maybe) is kinda nice.  I just don't feel it's worth it to eat chips that taste so mild.  I'd like to taste what I'm eating!

These weren't bad, but I wouldn't get them again.  There's not enough flavor to make it worth it really.

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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.

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