Thai Basil?

Lays Sweet Basil Flavor

After a couple of recent experiences with chips from overseas, I hesitated a bit before buying these. Still, your intrepid chip-taster must carry on!

I got them at Jungle Jim's (of course). From the packaging it looks like they were made for distribution in Thailand - the ingredients and product information is all in Thai, covered over with a sticker in English to meet US labeling laws.

Opening the package yielded an ... interesting ... smell ... that I couldn't quite identify. It wasn't the basil or chili pepper I would have expected from the picture on the front. I suppose it could be something like nam pla (fish sauce), but if so then it's not very fishy.

Just so you know, I also hesitated a bit before trying one.

They weren't bad, per se. They had a little bit of a bite that was closer to wasabi than chili, though it did have an afterburn. The taste was sweet, with a hint of Worcestershire sauce, which probably really is nam pla. I suppose there might be basil buried in there somewhere.

All in all it wasn't a bad experience, but it also wasn't one I'd be eager to repeat.

Rating: 3/5

Chip Dip Chip

Pringles French Onion Dip

This chip uncovered a generational gap when Celeste looked at the can and asked if French onions were different from American ones. I had to explain how back in the 70s it was a big thing to make dip by mixing powdered French onion soup mix into sour cream, and how that became something you could buy ready-made.

Which is all kind of weird now that I think back on it.

Anyway, the chips had a nice, onion-y smell and tasted exactly like French onion dip. Caramelized onions, sour cream, and chip all in one. It probably was nostalgia or something but I think I liked them a lot more than Celeste did.

Rating: 4/5

Feel the burn!

Pringles Jalapeño

With a couple exceptions I've been pretty impressed with the various flavors of Pringles, and this one turned out to be with the majority.

On opening the package I was greeted with a strong, but not unpleasant, vinegar scent similar to what you get with most salt & vinegar chips. That was promising, but I've learned that sometimes a good smell doesn't end up matched with a good taste, so I proceeded with caution.

The first chip had a good, recognizable jalapeño flavor mixed with vinegar - pickled peppers then, no problem. I like pickled jalapeños. There was also a mild amount of heat.  After the third or fourth chip I realized that the burn was steadily building. The jalapeño flavor was still there but zowie!

I kept eating them.

The level of heat never quite got to the point of painful and never overwhelmed the other flavors. This is one of those chips that I can easily scarf down the whole package.

Rating: 4/5

Chickened Out

Tayto Roast Chicken

Leaving the whole "Big" bag thing aside, Ireland, what the heck is wrong with you?

Way before I started keeping track of the potato chips I've tried, I got the chance to taste some of Walkers brand Roast Chicken chips. They were pretty impressive - it was exactly like eating a piece of crispy roast chicken skin, only vegan. That was kind of what I expected with these.

Well, that was dumb of me.

You know how people will often give kids the lower grade of stuff? It's understandable, really. Why give a 6-year-old a decent piece of steak if they're just going to smother it with ketchup? Kids will happily stuff down the cheap foil-wrapped novelty chocolate so why waste the money on a premium brand?  Tayto seems to have taken this approach with their customers.

I wasn't sure what the smell was when I opened the package, but it wasn't chicken. The chips didn't taste like chicken either.  It was only after eating a few that I figured it out. It was "chicken flavor" - the stuff in the little foil packet that comes with the ramen noodles. It tastes like chicken the same way that "banana" flavored candy tastes like bananas ... which is to say, not really.

Rating: 2/5

Seems Kind of Fancy Schmancy

Lay's Kettle Cooked Olive Oil & Herb

Saw these at the local grocery and was a bit surprised. They're not part of Lay's regular summer fun flavor promotion and I hadn't heard anything about them. Maybe there are TV commercials I'm missing because we don't watch broadcast television? Ok, even if there are commercials and I'm not seeing them, I still don't really miss them.

Anyways, this is a fine example of truth in advertising. The opened bag had a light scent of herbs. The chips weren't too salty and tasted distinctly (but not heavily) of olive oil and herbs (predominantly rosemary and thyme).

Really these were quite nice. It was a large bag, but it didn't last long.

Rating: 4/5

Not Okey-Dokey

Hunky Dorys

If anyone could truly understand how to make potato chips, you'd think it would be the Irish. I mean, Ireland and potatoes go together like bacon and eggs, death and taxes, politics and corruption. Sadly, while they may grok potato chips, they don't seem to have a clue about flavoring them.

The package had almost no scent on opening - if there was anything it was more of a smell than a scent.

The taste was equally unimpressive. A bit of salt, maybe a hint of something dairy - more cheesy than sour cream but not really anything I'd call "cheddar". There was also a faint sort of plastic flavor that I suppose could be confused with spring onion by a heavy smoker who had only two taste buds left.

Honestly, it wasn't worth finishing the tiny bag.

Rating: 2/5

SSSSMOKIN'!

Zapp's New Orleans Kettle Style Mesquite Bar-B-Que

After the amazing Voodoo Heat chips I was curious what other surprises Zapp's had in store for me. I bought the bag above from Potbelly's the next time I was there. In a way, just being "good" was kind of a let down.

The newly-opened bag had a decent barbecue scent - not too strong, and no strange notes. The chips also didn't have any significant amount of powder on them that would turn the fingers funny colors. Both of those are good signs.

The taste was pretty good. They had a nice barbecue flavor with a touch of smokiness, but not so much that it was overpowering.

On the whole, these are pretty good but easily forgotten in the sea of barbecue out there.

Rating: 4/5

Where's the beef?

Guinness Rich Chili

I picked these chips up in the British section of Jungle Jim's. I'm not sure quite what I expected, but it was probably something along the lines of the flavor of meat in a tomato and chili pepper sauce. What I really didn't expect was OVERWHELMING BEEF!!!!

I opened the package and was immediately clubbed over the head with a twelve-pound roasted brisket. The scent of beef was so strong and so accurate that I checked the package to see if it mentioned anywhere something like, "NOW WITH THREE WHOLE COWS!!!!".  Nope, no such text. Instead I disturbingly find that the chips contain no beef at all, and are in fact vegan.

With great amusement, and no small amount of trepidation, I tasted a chip. ZOMG! BEEF!!!! Almost no taste at all of tomato, chili pepper, or anything else except for an amazing amount of BEEF!!!!

The English may not have the faintest clue as to what chili tastes like, but they've been roasting BEEF for over 600 years and are experts at packing six thousand pounds of GENUINE ROAST BEEF FLAVOR (!!!!) into a tiny plastic package. Nothing I ever eat for the rest of my life will taste more like BEEF (!!!!) than these chips.  I have achieved MAX BEEF!!!!

Cindy agreed that these were very BEEF!!!! Just one chip had her making shocked faces for at least twenty minutes.  Celeste refused to try them.

Rating: 2/5

(unless you really like beef)

Natural Doesn't Always Mean Good

Lorenz Naturals Mild Paprika

I picked these up from the German section of Jungle Jim's hoping for something more interesting than the last couple of flavors. I thought maybe it'd have a bit of heat to it - after all, there's all the red color on the package and a picture of red peppers.

There wasn't much of a fragrance on opening, but I've learned that can be deceiving. This time? Nope. You know how plain tomato paste tastes right out of the can? Flat tomato and not very salty either. Maybe a hint of bitterness from bell peppers but nothing pleasant. No spiciness at all - when they say mild, they mean it!

I had to check twice to make sure I was eating the chips and not the bag.

Rating: 2/5

Not as Buffalo as the last Buffalo

Pringles XTRA-ordinary flavor Tangy Buffalo Wing

Given how awesome their Buffalo Ranch chips were, I had high expectations for these. Sadly, they didn't reach the mark. The scent on opening the package was pretty low-key, and the flavor wasn't all that impressive. There was a touch of vinegar and maybe a hint of greasy chicken, but mostly it was a very mild spice potato chip. Not bad per se, but kind of boring.

I guess the hyphen in the name was intentional. Instead of being extraordinary they're extra-ordinary.

Rating: 3/5