Sun Chips Garden Salsa

Sun Chips, they are like the
healthier evil twin of Doritos

The Attraction

I'm a big fan of Sun Chips Harvest Cheddar. I almost exclusively only eat that flavor of Sun Chips. Recently my office bought a variety pack which contained....Garden Salsa! I've been eyeing that flavor for awhile. No time like the present to try a new flavor!

The Review:
I wasn't too sure what to expect when I opened the bag of Garden Salsa. Yes, I know what Garden Salsa means, but what does that specifically mean in chip form? Will they somehow try to capture the onion, pepper, tomato essence in a prepackaged process product? If so, how effectively will they be able to do it? Based on the packaging, they were not shying away from the tomato and pepper aspects of a garden salsa.

I carefully open the bag of chips and dip my face into the bag. There is a scent there, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It smells vaguely familiar. Perhaps it's an oniony / slightly peppery smell.

If I were to make a dollhouse out of chips,
I would use these for the shingles

I go ahead a pick up a wavy-square Sun Chip from the bag and take a bite. The crunch is familiar and the taste, surprisingly was as well. It starts off very much like a mild version of a Doritos Cool Ranch chip at first. As the bite progresses, it lightens up even more from there and dissipates. That seems very much like a "Sun Chip" signature; a light flavor in comparison to most other chips.

After a few more chips, I begin to feel the pepper or jalapeno aspect of the "Garden Salsa". It's a slow mild burn that happens at the back of your throat. It's not a "the house is on fire" burn, it's more of a "hmm...did you feel something?", kind of a subtle burn. That's not very "Sun Chips" ish...and I like it.

You can see all the salsa goodness fried in there

The Sweet:
A healthier, yet tasty version of a corn chip. It's a win-win!

The Bitter:
It doesn't feel as guilty as most snacks do.

Conclusion:
Sun Chips aren't the brand of snacks that are looking to overpower your taste buds with it's flavor. They don't try to wine and dine you and shower you with lavish gifts so you can fall in love with it. They are more like that person you meet and becomes friends with at first and as you spend more time with them, you begin to realize how great they are. I'm still at the early phase with my "relationship" with Sun Chips Garden Salsa, but if history is any indication of what's to come, there could be a long term commitment ahead of me.

Video of the Week

Save the world, discover a cure for a disease;
why would I want to do that when I can mess with this all day?

Do you feel restless? Like you can't sit still? Peer at your mobile phone endlessly just to find something to do on it just for the sake of it? Well put down your cell phone, there's a new distraction in town! I introduce to you....the Fidget Cube! This is ridiculous....and I can't wait to get my hands on one. (Did you see that switch thingy? Man, I'll be flipping that thing all day)

Lay's Szechuan Chicken

Here they go again...

The Attraction

Lay's has been doing this new flavor thang for awhile...and I've been buying it hook, line and sinker

The Review:
Part of the fun of these new flavor experiment is waiting to see what new and interesting flavors Lays releases. In this wave, one of the flavors they release is Chinese Szechuan Chicken, along with Indian Tikka Masala and Brazilian Picanha and Greek Tzaziki. Being that I've had my fair share of Chinese food in my day, I was curious as to what exactly Szechuan anything taste like in snack form.

As I tear open into the bag, I can smell some "spice" emanating from the bag. One thing I do know about Szechuan cuisine is that is it very aromatic and has many strong flavors. It is anything but bland. So far, so good.

Who knew all those spices
had so many different colors?

I dip my hand in and pull out a chip. I take a good look at a chip and I see the various colored spices in the chip. OK, it looks and smells legit, but what does it taste like? I take a big bite and immediately a wave of flavors comes flying at me; pepper, salt, some five-spice? and I swear even some MSG. At first, it almost taste like potato chips that have been sprinkled directly with the flavor packs that you get with your packages of instant noodles (ramen), but after a few seconds, the flavor deviates and never quite hits that exact level of saltiness, but rather it leaves you with a spicy finish. As for the chicken component...what chicken component? I only even mention it because it's in the flavor name, but otherwise, it's completely meaningless.

This piece looks like an upside-down taco

The Sweet:
It's a new flavor, which always means the potential for something exciting

The Bitter:
In this case it's booooorrring. It's a new flavor, but really nothing to write home about.

Conclusion:
I'll always support Lays and their great idea to release new and experimental flavors. It just so happens that this flavor, Chinese Szechuan Chicken, falls flat. I'm not even totally sure it taste like anything "Szechuan" to me. Either way, it doesn't strike enough of a cord to make me want to add this into my snack rotation.

Video of the Week

"Hey Ma, my tattoo not only says something
about who I am, but I can also play video games with it"

 

Ever see people with those temporary metallic tattoos? Well imagine one day being able to use those types of tattoos to control things like a video game or use it to show your mood or even better yet, store information on it! Well, the folks over at Duoskin are working on it.





Bonchi French Dressing Fried Rice Crackers (Tsuna Age Arare)

 
Yeah, try to figure out what this is
if you don't read Japanese

The Attraction

This package had little to no English on it. I just hope it doesn't taste like shrimp crackers.

The Review:
I'm usually not in the habit of buying random snacks with no understanding of what's inside, but somehow I just felt this might be worth a shot. Even though the "twists" look very much like shrimp crackers, there was no indication of shrimps or anything seafood-ish about it. So what flavor must this be?

A quick turn of the bag reveals an import label in English that reads, "Cracker (Tsuna Age Dressing)" If you are like me, then I know what you are thinking, "I love tsuna age dressing!". OK, maybe more like what the frig is Tsuna Age Dressing. After spending some time on "The Google" I discovered that Tsuna Age Dressing, at least in context to this snack, means French dressing. That helped, but I still couldn't quite put my finger on what french dressing chips would taste like. Easily solved.

Looks like a shrimp cracker

I open the bag and detect a smell. A smell that was hard to describe. French dressing? Not good, nor bad, just something I'm not able to determine the smell of. A slightly salty smell is about as much as I can offer. I pick up a "twist" and indulge. As if it wasn't hard enough to describe the smell, it was even harder to describe the flavor. It was savory, lightly salted, yet not as harsh or persistent as just plain salt. At first it seemed very underwhelming, but as I had more, I became intrigued as to the flavor that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Although labeled "French Dressing", I'm quite certain this was something I have never tasted the flavor of before.

Hmm..doesn't taste like a shrimp cracker

The Sweet:
A nice shrimp-cracker-like-crunch with a deceptively tasty flavor

The Bitter:
What exactly is french dressing flavor?

Conclusion:
Bonchi's French Dressing Fried Rice Crackers doesn't come at you with a bunch of flair or fanfare (at least not based on the packaging I couldn't read), but oddly enough, the relatively nondescript packaging mirrors the flavors that await for you inside. It's not super...anything, but somehow it stealthily delivers it's flavor and leaves you wanting for more.With a nice find like this, maybe I should try more mysterious snacks from now on.

Video of the Week

The audio sounds different from what you might expect

I've fallen off the hip-hop game for awhile, but occasionally I come across a track that catches my attention. Enter Rich Chigga. He throws in some lighthearted visuals in his video, but the music doesn't sound so different from anything else you might come across the radio these days.....but it's the contrast between what your eyes see and what your ears hear that makes this the video the of the week.

Lays Wasabi Ginger

Darn you, Lays, you got me again.

The Attraction

I didn't really think much of wanting to review this new flavor offering from Lays, but my snack buddy G, swore that these were tasty. Was she just trying to josh me? Let's find out.

The Review:
After going through quite a few of Lays newer flavor chip offerings, both locally and abroad ( Mac and Cheese, Greektown Gyro and Thai Spicy Crab) I was content to take a break for awhile. I also didn't see any new products of their's that really called out to be tested. After an endorsement from a trusted snacking companion, I knew it was time to get back into those Lays waters.

Upon opening the bag, the smell of wasabi was very evident. I wasn't sure if the wasabi flavor would be sinus-clearing, but that initial smell certainly raised that possibility. In addition, would the ginger be too strong? I don't always eat the gari or pickled ginger when I have sushi, so would I enjoy the flavor of it? Will one overpower the other? Did I really just buy a bag of this?

Looks like the standard fare

No more time to stall, it was time to taste. Because these were Lays Kettle Cooked line, the crunch of the chips were great, as to be expected, however the wasabi was the first flavor that greeted me. It was obvious, but not over the top and was quickly followed by the ginger chaser. Hmm...did this chip really capture the taste of eating sushi? I have another and it confirmed by first thought; Lays does an excellent job of capturing the wasabi-ginger aspect of having sushi. I still can't quite believe how accurate it taste even after several chips. They also do a great job of balancing the two sometimes unwieldly flavors to strike just the right balance to recreate the famous Japanese staple.

Didn't see that coming

The Sweet:
Surprisingly reminiscence of actually having sushi.

The Bitter:
Doesn't sound like the most obvious flavor choice

Conclusion:
It was a bit of a tough sell for me at first, but after a few chips, I was sold. I'm still amazed how accurately Lays was able to capture the wasabi-ginger flavor. It's truly astounding. Will I go on a scavenger hunt at midnight to go find the grocery store that has a bag of it? Probably not, but it will certainly be on my list of approved and surprisingly tasty snacks of 2016

Video of the Week 

No, it's not album art for a group called "Insider"

Doesn't a 4-story roller coaster sound exciting to you thrill seekers? Yes, well what if I told you it was a pedal coaster in Japan? Oh...and there weren't any guardrails....safely, shmafety. Let's go!

Honchos Peach Habanero

Cause you just couldn't wait to scratch
that "peach habanero" itch

The Attraction

Just because it's not everyday you see this combination. I can't wait until they release their next flavor, "banana dingleberry". 

The Review:
I really wasn't looking necessarily to review something quite so "out of the box", but I have to fess up, this flavor combination caught my eye. It's not everyday a chip manufacturer add a fruit flavor to something savory and then tosses in some spice on top of that. Whether it's a hit or a miss, one thing is for sure; I doubt I will say, "Oh, this taste just like..."

After wondering aloud if the flavor is "peach habanero" as in a type of habanero or "peach + habanero", I figured out that I've never heard of peach and habanero used together, so it much be peach + habanero. I know, I know, who doesn't know that there isn't such a thing as a peach habanero? Come on, there are banana peppers, so is a peach habanero really that far of a stretch? I digress...

I open the bag of chips and peer inside. As sure as the photo illustrates outside the bag, these chips bare a striking resemblance to the big "D". Down to the color. Actually, they are a little more cool ranch color than the nacho variety, but could they possibly be as tasty?

"Umm...have we met before?"

I pick up a chip and dive in. The first flavor that steps up is a slightly sweet flavor. It remarkably starts off exactly like a "Cool Ranch D", but just as quickly as I can place that flavor, the sweetness keeps going and exceeds that of a standard nacho chip. It then turns savory before the habanero drops the leg on you. It's not an exceedingly spicy flavor, it's more of a "back-of-your-throat" burn, but it's present. This schizophrenic flavor ride is delivered to you courtesy of a crispy corn chip that is identical to that of a....a...(I promised myself I wouldn't say that snack because that "snack" is such a favorite of people's, including myself, that almost no snack similiar could live up to that expectation) 

"Oh,no. You must have mistaken me for
someone else."

The Sweet:
Intriguing flavor combination, yet...

The Bitter:
...it's an emotional rollercoaster for your taste buds

Conclusion:
It's almost like dating someone that looks like your first love. On the outside, they sort of look the same and could actually pass for the person, but once they start talking and interacting with you, it's clear they are not the same hunk or babe you were crushing on way back in the day. That's a good and bad thing for these Honchos. I respect them for being bold and not going down that well treaded snack path littered with cheese flavors, but at the same time, this combo was just too ambitious for my taste buds.

Video of the Week 

That's why I have such strong forearms!
Phew, I thought it was from all that exercising
(I really want to put quotes around exercising, but this is a family website)

This week's video involves some of the extra things we have grown out of as humans have evolved. Unless we are around a buffet, in which case all bets are off and all those animal instincts come back instantaneously, but that's a video for next time.

Tao Kae Noi Hi Tempura Seaweed Spicy Flavor

Aside for the fried and salted part,
does this qualify as a healthy snack?

The Attraction

I've seen this on the shelf several times before, but never compelled to buy it. Then recently a friend of the Little Lady's was kind enough to buy me a bag after I asked her what she enjoys snacking on. Consider my horizons expanded.

The Review:
I stared at the bag for a bit as I was initially not super excited to try these, but I had to know what this gal was talking about. I open the bag and the smell of seaweed comes to greet me. OK, no mistaken what this snack is about. Its seaweed and it wants you to know it's in town for the weekend.

I pick up a curious looking piece of seaweed which somehow they manage to dip into tempura. I'm not sure how someone would think of it, but the seaweed seems rather crispy in my hand.

This doesn't light my fire

I proceed to take a bite and a monstrous crunch comes echoing out of my mouth. The salt and seaweed flavor comes at you first and as you continue on in your bite, the spicy sidekick sneaks up on you and let's you know it can carry it's own weight.

At first, I thought they reminded me of fried shrimp chips, but as I ate several more pieces, it was definitely more seaweed in flavor than shrimp. What was surprising was the crunch I was able to generate from these fried and tempura-ed chips. These are no Doritos, but they aren't too bad.

...or does it?

The Sweet:
Great savory spicy flavor with a chip-like crunch.

The Bitter:
If you don't care for seaweed, you won't like these.

Conclusion:
Granted, these weren't at the top my list of snacks to try, but when I did, I was pleasantly surprised. Though they were better than I expected, I don't see myself picking up a bag of these on the regular. I've had seaweed based snacks before like...well, roasted and salted seaweed. They were good, but for me, seaweed just isn't a snack that I gravitate towards. So if you love seaweed, you will enjoy these. If you are indifferent or less than interested, you would probably be better served looking down other aisles for your snack fix.

Video of the Week 
In this week's video, a woman finds protein in her prepackaged salad. Good thing it's been triple washed otherwise she would have really been grossed out.

 As if we needed another reason to not eat salad

Pringles Bacon

Did someone say "bacon"?

The Attraction:

As part of my recent trip to Walmart, I saw this "exclusive flavor" just for Walmart. Even though it's new to me, it's not that unusual as Walmart also had a similar to deal with ice cream makers Ben and Jerry. Perhaps I'll write about that in another review, but for now, I got bacon on the brain.

The Review:
What is it about the word "bacon" that catches my eye? This year I've tried a Maple Bacon flavored product, a Bacon Mac and Cheese potato chip and lastly a Bacon Cheddar popcorn. Why not just try a straight up bacon flavor? Thank goodness Pringles saved me from having to search near and far for such a snack.

I "pop the top" off the can and peel back the seal. A smoky, innocuous scent comes drifting out. Not too aggressive; that's a good sign.

I pick up a chip and contemplate if I should shove the whole chip in my mouth or try to act semi-human and take a bite. My mother would be proud as to the route I took on this one.

As I crunch into the chip, the saltiness is the first thing to strike me. There's a reason it doesn't say "low in sodium" on the outside of this can. Whoa momma!

After that shot of salt subsides, the smoke and subtle cured flavor come in to talk me off the ledge.

"Hey, buddy. You are going to be just fine.", they console me.

"We are going to make it all better".

And you know what? They do.

Pringles stack: A person with OCDs dream come true

The Sweet:

Great smoky flavor without feeling like you licked an ash tray.

The Bitter:
Not exactly shy with the salt on this one. I'm not sure bacon was the flavor that came to mind.

I was considering  Photoshopping that chip back in...

Conclusion:
I wouldn't say these particularly taste like bacon to me, but they certainly do taste good, even with the amount of saltiness that comes screaming through. Pringles is one of those snack brands that I have begun to trust. Other than some of the sweet flavors, I haven't encountered a flavor that I didn't think was at least "OK". In the case of Pringles Bacon, it's more than just OK.

Video of the Week
Recently there has been a bunch of "challenges" making their rounds around the 'net. Many of which involve food like the Bean Boozled challenge. Here's a good example of why I don't take these challenges.

Be warned; this doesn't end well

Kettle Brand Buffalo Bleu Potato Chips

It must be fancy if it's spelt "Bleu"

The Attraction:

Sandwiches go together with chips like PB +J, burger and fries, and Batman and Robin, so when it was lunchtime recently at work, I had to pair up my sandwich with something. That's when she walked in through the "out" door (out door)

The Review:
I was a bit apprehensive with this bag of chips after I tried one of Kettle Brand's other products, Maple Bacon Potato Chips. It wasn't awful, but it didn't set my world on fire from it's snack goodness. I decided to give this another go with a new flavor.

I open the bag and wait for any amazing snack smells to greet me. They did not this time, so I leaned in and got a good hint of a barbecue chip aroma. I was surprised as the flavor "Buffalo Bleu" seems to suggest buffalo chicken wings with bleu cheese, but the smell was more just plain bbq. Well, it's only a smell.

"..but what about the taste, Paul?"

I take a bite out of one of those hefty chips that are almost identical to the ones I had in the Thick and Bold Carolina BBQ flavor chips. Taste-wise, think traditional barbecue potato chips a bit more on the vinegary side with some heat towards the end and some cheese flavor thrown in to boot. Not bad, but not enough to really burn a snack hole in my soul. I can't say at any point I thought it tasted like Buffalo Wings with Bleu cheese.

-

A crinkle cut tunnel

The Sweet:

Subtly spicy bbqesque flavor built into a crunchy potato chip 

The Bitter:
Maybe I'm not built to like crinkle cut chips...

Taco shells aren't this rigid

Conclusion:
The flavor itself is interesting. It sort of feels like a mashup of a bunch of traditional potato chip flavors; the sweetness and smokiness of a barbecue chip, the cheese flavor of a cheddar chip, and the slight heat of a...well, a spicy chip. In my mind, I thought this would be what Ruffles All Dressed Up was supposed to be. Although intriguing flavor-wise, the thicker crinkle cut of the chip was the final straw. I'm just not a fan of a thick crinkle cut chip, which unfortunately also makes me not a fan of these Kettle Brand Buffalo Bleu chips.

Video of the Week
I had a few choices this week, but I decided to go with a sweet story of how a man raised a gorilla for years, released him back into the wild and then tracked him back down some time after that to see how the gorilla was doing. It may only be a matter of time before Disney or Pixar picks up the option for this story.

"Hello. It's me.

I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet"

Kettle Brand Thick + Bold Carolina BBQ Potato Chips

Thick+Bold = Good+Tasty?

The Attraction:

I was trying to pair up a bag of chips to go with my pesto chicken sandwich when I happened upon this little beauty. Let's see if adding adjectives to a flavor actually translates to something good.

The Review:
Not too long ago, I reviewed another Kettle Brand product, Maple Bacon Chips and although it didn't rock my world, I thought it was a nice attempt to expand it's flavor horizons. I'm hoping this bbq flavor variation pans out and hits closer to the bullseye.

I open the bag and do my standard whiff test. Nothing unusual, just the smell of something fried. Unusual considering that it's a bag of bbq flavored potato chips. I would have thought for sure there would be a stronger smell of bbq, but it was not to be. "Will the flavor be weak also?", I thought to myself. Too late now, the bag is open and there's only one thing left to do.

I pull out a thick cut chip and notice that even the chip itself doesn't have that customary reddish bbq color. Admittedly, this takes some getting used to. After years of eating bbq chips with added food coloring, it's a bit odd to have bbq chips that don't have a red hue to them. It's sort of like when you first had root beer that was clear. Probably better for you, but still an adjustment just the same.

I finally take a bite and as with the maple bacon flavor chip, immediately notice the super thick crunch on this chip. This chip means business. First the smoked component hits your taste buds and it's quickly followed by a slightly sweet flash, then caps it off with a savory finish. The sweet notes aren't quite as exaggerated as other bbq chips I've had, but this simplification of the bbq flavor seems to make the experience more refined. Less cliche and more substance. The thicker Kettle chip really grounds the whole product nicely. A lighter or thinner chip may have left the flavor floating in your mouth trying to find a home.

Funny, they don't look like bbq chips?

The Sweet:

Super thick, crunchy chip with a refined taste. No artificial reddish color! Non-GMO

The Bitter:
I get why the thicker chip, but I don't know if I can do a large bag's worth of chips these thick

It's so thick, I could pour a jar of salsa on this thing
and it would just laugh at me

Conclusion:
These ain't your Daddy's bbq chips. Kettle Brand Thick and Bold Carolina BBQ chips feels like a more mature, grown-up potato chip. I can see getting tired of eating chips this thick, but with the straight-forward, no-nonsense approach Kettle Brand Chips took on with this flavor, it couldn't have been any other way. Going thinner would have felt flighty and this is not a chip to be toyed with. Although I can see an occasional visit with a small bag, ultimately the thicker cut is it's undoing. A frequent visit or a purchase of a large bag is too much of a commitment for me and my promiscuous snacking habits.

Video of the Week
I'm not sure why this guy would think of this. There are bad ideas and then there are bad ideas. A bad idea is lighting fireworks in your apartment. A bad idea is lighting fireworks and pointing them at your nipples.

I think I have a great idea on my hands... 

Pik-Nik Ketchup Fries

Could Ketchup fries actually be good?

The Attraction:

I was haunted or shall I say scarred recently by a snack that was ketchup flavored. I was so turned-off by the flavor, it made me wonder if the product was just so bad or was I just not a fan of ketchup flavored chips. It was time to ponder no more.

The Review:
The snack in question, were these Changheyuan Potato Chip DJ Mix that I reviewed a few months back. Not only did I not like them, I had to toss them out. I couldn't bare to share these with my co-workers as I may have been accused of trying to "poison" them with their unusual flavor.

I wasn't too excited to try another ketchup-flavored chip, but I thought I had to find out for myself what was going on with these things. Can this flavor really be popular enough were snack companies like Pik-Nik continue to produce such an item? Am I missing something? Do I have that gene where instead of cilantro tasting like soap, ketchup-flavored anything taste like poop?

I do have to say that I enjoy ketchup; I have them on hot dogs, hamburgers, sometimes eggs, hash brown and so on and so forth. It's not that I don't like ketchup. Maybe on a deep-subconscious level, I love it too much and I refuse to take any substitutions. Well, enough of the head-shrinking session. Let's get to snacking, Doctor.

I peel the seal off the canister and am greeted with a slightly fried smell. I stick my hand in and pick up a stick and toss it in my mouth. There is a hint and feel of a french fry, but an old, crushed french fry. After the initial savory flavor passes, the ketchup second course begins. It's more reserved in the presentation of the ketchup essence versus the DJ mix where they punch you in the face with it. It's not bad, but do you really want to spend hours at the gym working off a "not bad" snack?

They look like fried wonton strips in here

The Sweet:

Crispy crunch and a flavor that vaguely resembles french fries with ketchup.

The Bitter:
When I say "vaguely", I mean in a stale "I found a fry in the couch with ketchup on it and ate it" kind of a way.

..or smashed french fries here

Conclusion:
Yes, they are better than I imagined, but I still can't see myself throwing a canister of these into my cart with joy. Perhaps I'm just not a fan of "ketchup flavored" anything. In the end, I think like many things in life, there are just no substitutions for the real thing. Now how about we stop by McDonald's and move past this phase?

Video of the Week
What are a couple of guys to do when you are in Paris with a Go-Pro camera and hours on end to spare? How about sneak onto the Eiffel Tower and free climb throughout the night? That literally might be the last thing that would ever come into my mind, but thanks to these chaps, you won't need to even think about doing it anymore.

It's not that high, really (gulp!)

Doritos Dinamita Chile Limon

If only I knew what Dinamita meant...

The Attraction:

While roaming the aisles of a Asian grocer that stocks their shelves with some snacks that I haven't seen at some other places, I came across this oddity that I didn't even know Doritos released. Odd shape, new flavor and it says Doritos on it....was there ever a chance I wasn't going to try it?

Edit: I forgot to mention that the folks at Doritos probably noticed the popularity of a snack called Takis in Latin American countries and decided to jump into that market with a remarkably similar product. Coincidence? I think not.

The Review:
I was so excited to find out what this new line within Doritos was that I took this bag home and immediately cracked it open. I take a deep inhale and the only this I could detect was that slightly fried smell that you get with chips sometimes. No heat, no lemon or lime smell. That's OK.

I then take a good peek inside and see this color that I've never seen in nature before. It's like a radioactive red. "How hot are these suckers?", I think to myself. I pick one up and inspect it. It looks as though they took a regular Dorito chip and rolled it after they fried it. Interesting approach, but how does it taste?

I finally take a bite and the crunch is not unlike what you would imagine a rolled up Dorito would be like...and that's a good thing. Oddly enough, despite the intense red color, the first flavor that seeps into your taste buds is the slightly salty flavor of lime. It reminded me of these Tostitos, but milder. It's not quite tart enough to be lemon. Then towards the middle to end of the bite, the heat starts to kick in and it's a nice burn. It's not a meek, "Umm, hi. Is Bobby home? May I speak to him?". It's more of a, "Yeah, Bobby live here? Tell him to get his ass outside!" kind of a heat. You know it means business. Even with that, something doesn't quite seem right.

Can this color be real?

The Sweet:

Extra crispy crunch with some serious heat.

The Bitter:
Somehow the "limon" and "chile" flavor doesn't quite totally hit the snack taste bud spot

Yes, this is the color!

Conclusion:
Although the folks over at Doritos did an interesting thing by rolling their nachos up to create a new and crispier crunch, this specific flavor misses the target. I enjoy the spice and the "limon" flavor, but it came across flat. It's missing a stronger flavor element. The heat itself is a great peripheral flavor, but the flavor of lime isn't strong enough to hold a snack lover's attention. Perhaps their other flavors like Nacho Picoso or Mojo Criollo might do a better job of it or maybe I'm not their primary market, but for me this first sampling of the Doritos Dinamita series left me feeling like this was more of a bust than a boom.

Video of the Week
This really isn't a video, rather more of a website. In my never ending quest to match-make people, here's a website devoted to matching up zombies and or zombie lovers. Yes, this is a real site and no, I received no compensation for showing this to you. Besides, isn't knowing that such a thing like this actually exists payment enough?

Zombies need love too

Pringles Xtra Tangy Buffalo Wing

I've been fooled by "hot" claims before!

The Attraction:

I've been on the hunt for a good spicy, savory snack lately. I've tried a few like Cheez-Its Hot and Spicy, Wheat Thins Spicy Buffalo, and Pop Chips Crazy Hot. Though some were better than others, none really brought the heat the way the scary artwork on the packaging would suggest. Let's see if these Pringles can actually deliver the goods....( I don't feel too optimistic about this)

The Review:
I dig Pringles and even though I don't love all their products, (see here and here), I enjoy their products enough to give them a chance when I see a new flavor that might work. Let's "pop the top" and find out where this flavor stands.

I break the seal on the can and I catch a hint of tabasco. Yes, that tabasco. OK, the product doesn't claim to actually use the brand Tabasco sauce, but it sure smells like it. I take chip out of the narrow canister and toss it in my mouth. "Oh yeah, vinegary like Tabasco too.", I think to myself. If it ain't Tabasco, it sure taste a whole lot like it and that is a good thing. Once the initial vinegar hit subsides, you can feel some of the advertised heat start to rise in your mouth all while tasting the familiar Pringles flavor.

The spiciness works really great in this instance. It adds another dimension to the flavor of the chips. If you love Asian noodles in soup like I do, a good analogy might be that Pringles by itself is like a noodle soup and Xtra Tangy Buffalo Wing flavor is what happens to your noodle soup when you add sriracha or hot chili oil to your noodle soup.

Looks innocent enough...

The Sweet:

Classic Pringles taste with a enough heat to make you stand up and notice.

The Bitter:
Not for the faint of heart "mild spicy"eaters.

Whoa...did you feel that too?

Conclusion:
Pringles didn't mess around when they said Xtra Tangy Buffalo Wing. Surprisingly, they brought the heat and didn't water down this snack. It's a bit more of a cumulative affect, but you'll get there. I'm not sure why it took so long to find something that hit the spicy spot just right. Perhaps the other snack makers wanted their product to appeal to more of the masses, so they tone down the heat index on their items. A part of me understands the business decision behind that, but the spicy snack lover in me can't help but feel alienated and bamboozled when I buy into the claims of "hot" snacks. I know the term "spicy" is very subjective from person to person, but surely, I can't be alone in saying that some of these claims of "spicy" or "hot" just fall completely by the waist-side when I eat them.

Well, search no more.

Video of the Week
Who said eating at fast food joints aren't good for you? Take this guy for example. In addition to be "bennurished", he has developed a skill that will pay dividends for at least a few minutes.

Move over Calvin Harris, there's something meatier...

Kettle Brand Maple Bacon Potato Chips

Here we go again

The Attraction:

When I stepped out of the office the other day to pickup lunch, I was fully expecting to pickup the old standby, a bag of nacho-flavored Doritos, when I spotted this curiosity on the potato chip rack. I've had a few variations of this theme lately, so I was a little reluctant at first, but then I thought, "OK, I guess I can try one more...."

The Review:
I've started to rack up my fair share of snacks that have tried to incorporate "meat" flavor into their products like here, here and here. Although the results have been mixed, I was feeling hopeful when I saw that the Kettle Brand company took Lay's lead with trying some new and interesting flavors. Maple and bacon?! I can see by their illustration on the front of their bag that they are trying to capture that unique flavor combination when your pancake syrup drips off your short stack and onto your strips of crispy bacon. Ahh....I can taste that already....but can a bag of chips possibly capture that magic?

Tear the bag open and the maple syrup smell is first to greet me. I pickup a chip and indulge. There's the maple flavor I smelled....and as the tail end of the bite concludes, the cured taste of bacon comes around to close out the show. It's not bad, and they certainly have captured that maple flavor, but something seems missing.....it doesn't seem to deliver the knockout blow.

When I have potato chips, part of my preset expectation is there will be a savory (salty) component to it....and there is in this product, but it doesn't quite deliver it as strongly as I had hoped. It's like ordering a side of french fries...but they aren't quite salted enough. Yes, they are crispy, yes, they are hot, yes, they smell amazing...but when you pop that fry in your mouth, if it doesn't deliver a hit of savory flavor, either via salt or ketchup, it seems to miss the target. That's how these chips came across to me.

Would it kill them to put more in there?

The Sweet:

Kettle chips crispy crunch with a sweet maple start gets you excited.

The Bitter:
It doesn't quite scratch that savory flavor itch.

Is there bacon in there?

Conclusion:
In theory, this sounded like a plausible flavor combination, but the reality didn't quite live up to the expectation. I've come to give up that any chip will ever be able to come very close to simulating "meat" flavor, but where this snack falters is that unlike having that piece of bacon with pancakes in the morning where the saltiness of the bacon helps neutralize the sweetness of the maple syrup, the savory aspects of the these chips doesn't come through quite strong enough to satisfy that savory craving.

Video of the Week
As we enter post-season play in baseball here in the States, (Go Mets!), here's a clip of a Samurai showing you how to really show a baseball who's the boss.

First try? I can't even hit a ball with a bat going that fast!