Bissli BBQ

What I wouldn't do for a kosher
bbq snack right now

The Attraction

Part of that bounty of snacks my pal Grace delivery last week included another product by Bissli. In this case, it's Bissli BBQ! 

The Review:
After the huge win last week of Bissli Falafel, I couldn't wait to dive into another Bissli snack that I had in my possession. I made pretty short work of that bag of Bissli Falafel, so I was eager to see if Bissli had another hit on it's hands with Bissli BBQ.

As was last week's Bissli item, these bbq bits also didn't conform to the conventional "chip" shape. These BBQ snacks are more along the lines of the dried pasta "rotini" shape. Interesting, but not really a deterrent to me since I love pasta. What I also did notice when I cracked open the bag was the smokiness of the BBQ flavor that came through. No it wasn't super strong, but it was noticeable.

I've had my fair share of crunchy, bbq snacks such as these Kettle Brand Potato Chips, so I was curious if a kosher spin would net any noticeable difference, aside from the shape.

How about some fried rotini?

As I finally bite into a rotini-shaped chip, the crunch was very serious. Bissli knows a thing or two about making seriously crunchy snacks. Flavor-wise, the smokiness comes through immediately, but as would expect most bbq flavored chips to begin to make a right turn towards Sweet Street, Bissli chose to keep going straight down Smoky Boulevard...to it's detriment. The smoky flavor seems to keep going and going...like that never ending family road trip. It all seems like a reasonable idea until you are stuck in the car with your father after he's had 2 chili cheese dogs. Its only then that you realize that this ride had gone on way too long as you are getting "smoked out".

Off-topic, I need a vacation

The Sweet:
Serious crunch and smoky flavor

The Bitter:
The not as sweet as most commercial brand bbq flavor really brings out the smokiness...too much so

Conclusion:
It's tough to follow an act of a product that you enjoyed so much. Although this snack matched the awesome crunch of it's sister product, where it fails to live up to expectation is in the flavor department. The smokiness comes through, perhaps so much so that without the sweetness to reign it in, at points it felt like I was licking an ash tray.

Maybe my palate has been trained to expect bbq snacks to have a sweeter finish, and if that's something you never enjoyed, you may have found a winner here, but for me, it's more smoke flavor than I care for in a bbq flavored anything.

Video of the Week 

Pretty Obvious, huh? Wait til level 5

I know my vision isn't perfect, as illustrated by my need to wear glasses. However, I thought my ability to see color was fine, if not perfect....well.......maybe not after taking this color test. I feel like I need to reevaluate my whole wardrobe now. Does my tie really match my slacks?

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... 

Cheetos Korean BBQ Flavor

Will they be "Greeeaatt!"? Oh wait, wrong cat

The Attraction:
My pal Grace hooked me up with a bag of these at her last trip down to a Korean grocery store. She knows I'm a fan of international variations of popular American snacks, so this was a natural fit for me!

The Review
I've been eating Cheetos since I was a kid. Who could resist a delicious fried corn snack with a strong cheese flavor? Not this chubby kid. Granted, due to my desire to look more like The Rock and less like Jonah Hill, I've been eating them far less frequently. Still, I have a job to do. Let's see if these cousins of the American Cheetos I've been filling my body with are as tasty as their originators.

When I peeled open the bag of Cheetos, I was expecting a wave of bbq smell to come pouring out of the bag, but it wasn't the case with these Cheetos. They just smelt slightly of corn. In addition, they are also much paler then their US counterparts. I guess there's no reason why they would be orange-colored if they don't have cheese flavor. I go ahead and dig in and like many Asian variations of American snacks, the flavor is subdued. This is usually the case due to the Asians in Asia finding US snacks too "flavorful" or too strong.

The flavor strikes me as familiar, yet unusual. These Cheetos are far less savory than the cheese-flavored ones. They have a slightly sweet finish to them. At first, they bring to mind Wise's Onion Flavored Rings, minus the onion flavor and with far less salt. The more I eat, the more I think they may even have a very distant relation to Kellogg's Corn Pops. It's not nearly as sweet, but that'll give you an idea of how far from overly savory it is. It also doesn't seem as oily, but with that, not quite as crunchy as well. Don't get me wrong, they are crunchy, but if a regular Cheetos in the States has a 10 crunch, these rate about a 8 on the same crunch meter.

"I feel so naked without my cheese flavored coat on!"

The Sweet:

Granted, these don't crunch quite as well as the US ones do, they still do have a great snack texture to them. Their subdued seasoning doesn't send your taste buds into overdrive, but delivers a steady understated flavor that won't tire out your snacking experience in one sitting.

The American "Jersey Shore" version
of Cheetos I'm used to

The Bitter:
These aren't savory! That's not really a bad thing, more like something you should be aware of before you buy them in hopes of scratching that savory snack itch. These won't hit that savory snack spot.

Conclusion:
I'm really not too sure how I feel about these innocuous little snacks. On one hand, I like that they don't hit you over the head with overwhelming flavors, but it's also that lack of "umph" that makes these treats not stand out of the snack crowd in any particular way.

At the end of the day, I think it's like a mediocre date; it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. It was OK....and as in snacks as it is to love, I'm looking for more than just OK.

Video of the Week
I've been thinking about this long and hard; what if this blog business never pans out? No one stops by anymore to read my comments, then what would I do?

Maybe I can be a "boyfriend" in Japan. (Note to self: Learn Japanese)

I wonder if they have any US openings?