Wheat Thins Zesty Salsa

Just how "zesty" is zesty? 

The Attraction:
I love Wheat Thins! My pal Phil introduced it to me over 15 years ago. I never thought to try it as it struck me as some sort of health food "thing" way back when.(that should give you an idea of how things have changed over the years). I've been keeping it pretty simple and avoiding many of the new flavors that Wheat Thins have been offering, but when I saw a "two for" deal at the supermarket, I thought it was a fine time to live a little, take a walk on the wild side, fly without a net....OK, you get the idea.

The Review
I take a deep whiff as I tear open the bag within the Wheat Thins box and sure enough, there is a smell of salsa in there. I'm amazed at how Nabisco was able to capture the smell of salsa on a cracker. I take a bite and I wasn't sure what to expect; does "zesty" imply hot? A strong flavor of some sort? As I work my way through my first chip, it reminds me of a Taco Bell hard shell taco, but not just the shell, the whole taco, with sauce! I take a few more chips and an air of familiarity strikes me. It takes a few more pieces after that before I can place it; it also taste like a mild Cool Ranch Dorito!

Looks the same, but do I taste good?

The Sweet:
The flavor is great! Think a Taco Bell hard shell taco crossed with a Cool Ranch Dorito (minus some salt) and that's what this Wheat Thin tastes like. Incidentally, I like Cool Ranch Doritos and Taco Bell, in case you couldn't tell. I think I just showed my hand...

The Bitter:
Nothing that jumps out at me. Perhaps a clearer idea of what the "zesty" part is in "Zesty Salsa". I get the salsa part clearly, the zesty part, not so much. It's not spicy (which I actually would have liked, but I understand why they didn't tack that on), and the flavor doesn't particularly have a strong "kick" to it. Salsa: check. Zesty: MIA. To add to the confusion, there is also a Ranch flavored Wheat Thin. If this taste like Cool Ranch to me, what the heck will that taste like?

"Guess where you are going"

Conclusion:
Nabisco does a fine job on this flavor variation of one of their snack standards, Wheat Thins. In a crowded snack aisle, it manages to carve out a specific flavor without going way outside of the "flavor" box. In fact, I enjoyed this Zesty Salsa flavor so much, it has opened my mind up to try their other Wheat Thins flavor variations. Perhaps Ranch so I can distinguish the two or Spicy Buffalo so I can get that spicy kick I was wanting with this product. I feel like that's exactly what Nabisco wants! Well played, Wheat Thins people, well played.

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