Combos 7 Layer Dip Tortilla

No more referencing Combos!

The Attraction

After all my talk recently of other snacks that resemble Combos (see here and here), I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to go out and buy some Combos! Here's the catch, I could just get the flavors I grew up on like Cheddar and Pizza, but how would that fit into my snack blog? Well, I actual could have, but I thought it might be more interesting to try one of their new offerings.....7 Layer Dip!

The Review:
I was pretty excited to get a pack of Combos, even though I haven't had this flavor before. It's been about 4-5 years since I had any. I don't know why exactly I stopped eating them, I just did. Well, those days are gone. The drought is over!

I open the bag and immediately the smell of tacos come rushing out like a parade for my nose. I know it says "7 Layer Dip" and I'm not sure how different that smell is to tacos, but I smell tacos! I pick a Combo up and exam it. No salt on the shell of these. The original ones have a pretzel shell, while these don't. After looking at the packaging again, I see the word "Tortilla" on the bag. OK, Combos, this better still be good.

"Welcome home my little friends!"

I pop one nugget in my mouth and the saltiness of the dusting on the outside of the Combo presents itself. Then as I crunch into the "tortilla" shell, I encounter the creamy filling that brings on the 7 layer dip flavor. I can't exactly taste all 7 layers or even know what they are, but I keep coming back to a taco. A taco with some salsa on in that could use a little more cheese, but don't worry about the pretzel element being missing here 'cause the filling really jacks up the sodium level in this little snack parade. Maybe I should have another for good measure. 

It's like the good old days, sorta

The Sweet:
Taste like a taco in a half an inch cylinder

The Bitter:
Could use a little more cheese flavor and a shade less salt.

Conclusion:
I still miss the pretzel shell that I grew up eating, but these Combos 7 Layer Dip Tortilla are plenty salty enough on their own. They don't need the extra help. Although I will always be loyal to the flavors of my youth, I enjoyed this new flavor more than I expected. Truthfully, I begrudgingly grabbed these instead of the Combo Cheddar flavor I so craved at that time, but in the end I can see these Combos make a return to my snack library.....that is if Combos Cheddar and Pizza were sold out.

Video of the Week 

These E-cigs are so much safer.

I've never been a smoker, thankfully, but if I were, I can see how there might be a draw towards E-Cigarettes. They are easy to carry around, you can smoke them indoors without people being as offended and no open flame...well, maybe only in your pants pocket.

Cheez-It Pepper Jack Flavor

Can you improve upon a classic?

The Attraction:
I love Cheez-Its! I've been eating them since my early 20s. I used to like Cheez-Its so much and perhaps just cheese so much in general that I use to make my own Cheez-It sandwiches; 2 Cheez-Its crackers with a compressed canned cheese filling in between. Oh those were the days! I used to line them up on my stomach while watching TV and proceeded to eat them one by one. So when Sunshine (a Kelloggs company) released new cheese flavors for them, I was super excited! First up, Pepper Jack.

The Review
Other than the huge splash on the box noting what flavor was inside, these Cheez-Its don't look very different to me from the box. "Can they possibly mess this up?" I thought to myself.

I opened the box and the smell is subdued in comparison to the original Cheez-Its. There's not such a strong smell pouring out of the box, but generally speaking, pepper jack cheese isn't a strong smelling cheese. I pick one up and upon closer inspection, I notice that some crackers have black specks on them. That's got to be the pepper in the "pepper jack". I dig in and sure enough they taste different from the original. It's not quite as salty and forward with it's cheese flavor. Towards the end of the first cracker I had, I got a slight hint of that spicy pepper "kick", if you want to call it that. "Hmm, not bad".

Those black spots are the pepper jack!

The Sweet:

I like that the cracker mimics the cheese itself; a bit more laid pack with it's "cheesy" flavor, followed by the peppery finish. 

The Bitter:
I prefer more of a peppery or spicier "kick" on my pepper jack cheese flavor. Perhaps double the amount. At times I didn't even notice any spiciness.

Conclusion:
The folks over at Sunshine didn't mess this up. I can see how fans of Cheez-Its that would like a little heat might be fans of this. For me, it wasn't quite spicy enough, but that's not really a fault of the product, that's just my preference. Sunshine was smart enough to create another version of Cheez-Its for people like me, Cheez-Its "Hot and Spicy"! You can bet I'll be trying that soon, but for the casual snacker that wants a departure from regular Cheez-Its, but isn't a fan of strong spicy flavor, you may find that Cheeze-Its Pepper Jack flavor is just what the doctor ordered.

Video of the Week
At this point you've must have seen or at least heard about SNL's 40th Anniversary show. What's equally interesting to music fans is what happened after the show as told by Jimmy Fallon. Dang, wish I was there...

"..and then there was Paul McCartney..."