Rating: ©©©©-1/4 chips (lip-smacking)
Alrighty chip fans it is that time of year again. Once again time to vote for your most favorite new ‘Do Us a Flavor’ creation.
Wait, what’s that? We aren’t voting on these four new flavors? Well, who wins the one million U.S. dollars then for coming up with the most creative flavor?!
Huh? Well….oh, okay. Scratch all of that.
Apparently, this summer Lay’s has forgone their annual summer ‘Do Us a Flavor‘ competition tradition, and instead opted to offer us four new flavors of their own choosing (although, we’re betting that most, if not all, of these flavors were at one point or another submitted by someone for the ‘Do Us a Flavor’ contest). Lay’s new promotion is called ‘Passport to Flavor’, and each of their new offerings is based on a traditional, or iconic, dish associated with a different foreign country from all around the globe. Maybe this new promotion was designed to coincide with 2016’s Summer Olympics in Rio, because wouldn’t you know it, one of the four flavors is from this year’s host country.
Lay’s ‘Passport to Flavor’ line-up includes: Kettle Cooked Indian Tikka Masala, Brazilian Picanha, Chinese Szechuan Chicken, and, leading off for our list of of reviews are Lay’s Wavy Greek Tzatziki flavored potato chips.
Chip Review’s flavor creativity rating for Tzatziki (scale: 1 – 10): 3
Chip Review’s excitement for this Tzatziki flavor (scale: 1 – 10): 6
Chip Review’s rating of bag design and color (scale: 1 – 10): 8
Tzatziki is not exactly a new flavor for Lay’s. Not only were they one of the four contestant suggested flavors in Canada’s 2014 ‘Do Us a Flavor’ contest, but they also had a small window of availability in early 2015 at certain Costco location. Plus, they apparently were, or maybe are, a flavor from Lay’s foreign Meditarraneas line of chips. In other words, Lay’s has just been stealth-ly regurgitating this flavor for a while now.
In fact, let’s just call Tzatziki flavor what it really is, a variation of the classic potato chip flavor known as sour cream & onion. Meaning that if you are a fan of sour cream & onion flavored chips, you will most likely enjoy these as well.
We are happy to report that Lay’s Tzatziki seasoning is SPOT ON! Like, Mr. Joey Lawerence used to say (or maybe he still does) WHOA! sort of spot on. The predominant flavor differences that differentiate these chips from your typical sour cream & onion, is the use of fragrant dill notes, and some sort of vegetal cucumber hints. The seasoning is also somehow even more smooth and creamy than usual. It is as if they have actually been coated in thick, trendy, Greek yogurt. Overall, just some very well balanced, easily eatable chips.
And finally we have a new Lay’s chip where in our opinion the flavor seems to perfectly fit with the style of potato chip. It seems like far too often we are saying that these potato chips would be better on a ripple chip, or this flavor would be better with a thick cut kettle chip. Well, Lay’s Greek Tzatziki seasoning was surely destined to coat a Lay’s Wavy style potato chip. The wide and deep Wavy chip ridges provide ample square potato inch-age for the seasoning to cling to, while the chips’ thickness and ripples provide just the right texture and flavor to compliment the smooth subtler seasoning.
So there you have it, all four ‘Passport to Flavor’ chips eaten and reviewed. We were pretty pleased with this new flavor line-up. Here is how we would hand out the ‘Passport to Flavor’ medals:
Gold – Chinese Szechuan Chicken
Silver – Greek Tzatziki
Bronze – Brazilian Picanha (Steak & Chimichurri Sauce)
What’s after Bronze? – Indian Tikka Masala
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Chips discovered at Walmart; Hodgkins, Illinois
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Chip Review 