Rating: ©©-1/2 chips (tolerable)
This flavor just seems off. The pico de gallo flavors are muted, and all we really tasted were some unusually smoky, and just too salty, notes. Not our favorite form Beanfields.
Chips provided by Beanfields to Chip Review for review
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©©-3/4 chips (tolerable)
According to the back of the bag to your left, GimMe Chips got their name for two reasons: 1) Gim is Korean for seaweed, and Korea is where GimMe Chips grows their seaweed. Well, that makes perfect sense! And, 2) GimMe Chips are so crunchelicious, everyone wants more! Ummm, well, we may not necessarily entirely agree with reason #2.
So that’s right, we got roped into trying some more SEAWEED chips!! We were convinced by the unique flavor – TERIYAKI (don’t see that flavor every day!), and by the inclusion of rice in the chip base (meaning that there couldn’t possibly be enough actual seaweed used in the recipe to really taste that unmistakable ocean flavor, could there?!).
The answer to that question is: YES, there could be! Once again the unmistakably prominent “ocean” flavor is front and center. There is no denying that these are seaweed chips, and they do in fact taste like seaweed. That being said, we found that if you get on a good crunching role, and just keep popping these into your mouth without breathing very much, than you can actually bypass much of that seaweed flavor; but, do note that the moment you pause for some air that unique ocean floor aftertaste creeps up the back of your palette, and gives you no choice but to think about it! If you like that flavor than these may be for you! We, on the other hand do not.
The rice and seaweed chip texture is pretty good. The chips are classic triangular cut, with a rough, dense crunch, and a grainy mouth texture. Let’s just put it this way, their texture sure seems healthy!!
Probably the best part of the chips was the Teriyaki seasoning. That classic flavor combination of tamari (sweet soy sauce), garlic, and onion is a proven winner, and it actually translates pretty well to chips! Certainly on the sweeter side of seasonings, but then again teriyaki means something like glazed – so sugar coated sounds about right. Teriyaki is certainly not a popular snack flavor. In fact, according to our Teriyaki flavor database, we have only tried one other Teriyaki flavored chip over the years. We are thinking that more brands should give this flavor a shot!
In the end, we just haven’t connected, or been sold, on the seaweed chips yet. Maybe the “ones” are still out there, but we’re not getting our hopes up!
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Chips provided to Chip Review from Gimme Chips for review.
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©© chips (tolerable)
The no name – generic Jalapeño Poppers to your left were recently discovered at everyone’s favorite global bonanza (aka World Market of course!). And let’s just say that this puffed corn snack have some good things going on, but a lot more bad things!
First of all, whose corn puffs are these?? Come’on, no brand name of any type on the front of the bag! If these are any good, then someone should pony up to creating them! A quick glance to the fine print on the back of the bag shows that these puffs are distributed by Cost Plus, Inc. They must be affiliated with World Market in some way, shape or form. Either way, we are not enthusiastic with these from the start!
Secondly, the bright green bag to your left is quite a bit taller than most snack bags we have encountered, but upon opening this green bag we discovered that it was literally 2/3rds empty. Now, we are not typically pessimistic – 1/2 bag empty sort of people, but when a lot more than 1/2 of the actual bag is empty, then we are a bit annoyed and disappointed!! That’s strike two, let’s just hope that these taste better than they do at making a first appearance!
Visually, these Jalapeño Poppers are a bit odd. Whereas most cheese puffs are cylindrical in shape, with a slight curl to them, these puffs were practically rectangular, with not much curl to them at all. The corn meal extruder used for these must have been more square in shape than circular. Not sure if this is some sort of difference the no-name company was going for or what, but it did not do anything for us.
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Discovered at World Market; Oakbrook, IL
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©©-3/4 chips (tolerable)
We love bleu cheese. And, we’re even pretty sure that we have have tried Rogue Creamery’s Blue Cheese at some point in the past. Bravo! to Pop! for giving this flavor a real shot! We were very excited to try this popcorn, but unfortunately in the end it just did not succeed. The flavor came very close to delivering that pugent-funky bleu cheese flavor, but really fell short of providing any of that deliciously rich and fatty cheese essence.
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Discovered at Pete’s Fresh Market; Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois
Pop! Gourmet Popcorn Official Website
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©©©-3/4 chips (tolerable)
A few different times this year we have gone into detail on our thoughts and concerns over the controversial Exclusive Flavor! Well, our concerns with the big blue and white behemoth Walmart being the only place to actually encompass any of these Pringles Exclusive Flavors! is now over as drug store titan Walgreens has been allowed to join the exclusive flavor club! Maybe, the secret is that your store’s name must begin with WAL…??
Jalapeño Bacon…hmmm, and yummm! But, have we tried these before? We can never be too sure as to what flavors we have already tasted from Pringle’s vast flavor spectrum. Mr. Pringles isn’t the flavor king for nothing! In fact, we’re not quite sure if we have ever tried this flavor combination before from any snack brands? Please excuse us while we go search the vault (cue Jeopardy music now).
We did recently review some habanero bacon tortilla chips, but that’s obviously not the same. And, we have reviewed over 120 jalapeño flavored chips and over 30 different bacon flavored ones. We actually have tried one cheddar-bacon-jalapeño flavored chip, but that was from Herr’s. And, we’ve tasted jalapeno flavored crisps, and bacon flavored crisps, both from Pringles. BUT! We have confirmed it….we have never tried Jalapeño Bacon flavored crisps from Pringles! You’ve done it again Pringles!
You know what these all new Pringles Exclusive Flavor! Jalapeño Bacon Potato Crisps really taste like? Well, they taste like Pringles dusted with a combination of Pringles jalapeño, and bacon flavored seasoning blends. The classic re-usage and combination of two preexisting flavors to create an all-new flavor – oldest chip trick in the book! Sometimes warranted, creating a fantastic new flavor combo, and other times just because they can!
Jalapeño and bacon, each of the two, typically powerful flavors have 1) either been tamed down a bit using some sort of food magic, or 2) somehow the combination of the two together results in a more subdued version of themselves…. The chip world may never know!
Seriously, these crisps taste exactly like what we expected. The jalapeño delivers a typical fragrant-vegetal aroma and flavor, while finishing with a semi-spicy chile heat that lingers for some time after you’ve finished. The bacon flavor asSALTs your tongue with enough salty-salt to render an entire lake full of leeches unconscious. The bacon also delivers the customary and unnaturally smoky essence that is meant to represent porky bacon. The two flavors together, do not really do much for us. They never really meld, or compliment one another. A new classic combo like peanut butter and jelly we do not have!
In the end, the crisps aren’t bad. We could certainly sit down, or stand up, or walk, and enjoy eating these, but we will not be traveling to Walgreens specifically grab some of the Exclusive Flavor!
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Discovered at Walgreens; Hillside, Illinois
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©© chips (tolerable)
Popcorn provided to Chip Review by SexyPop for review
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©© chips (tolerable)
Pinto.
Ford Pinto… Pinto horse… Pinto Bean…
Pinto – Spanish translation: speckled, or spotted.
How exactly the Ford Pinto fits into this definition we are not exactly sure, but as for the horse and bean, both of those are in fact speckled, or spotted and thus justify their name. In fact, the Pinto Bean is the most popular speckled bean (and, by that definition we are pretty sure they mean consumed), and any color bean in fact, in the entire United States, and some of Mexico as well. A large part of this is due to the fact that Pinto Beans are far and away the most widely bean used with the classic Mexican – Tex-Mex – Southwestern side dish called refried beans. Funny because refried beans are not speckled or spotted in any way, shape or form. They are the most monotone, one-note, brownish-tan colored beans there ever were!! Well, how the Pinto Bean will do in chip form will be determined shortly.
For those of you who are not in the know – Beanitos are The Original Bean Chips. The O.B.C. as we like to call them! And, these O.B.C. were started one day by a couple of brothers who couldn’t find any healthy chip options anywhere, and decided to create some salty snacks using beans. Why beans? Well, according to Beanitos website:
Beans are loaded with health benefits—high in fiber, protein, and carbohydrates—but are sadly underused in the typical U.S. diet. In addition, beans are naturally low-glycemic and gluten-free. Recent medical and nutrition research suggests that a low glycemic diet that is high in healthy fiber contributes to good health and can help curb obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease!
So, in other words, beans are really healthy, really-really healthy, and we should all eat more beans? There, that is settled. But, the question then is, should we eat beans when they are crafted into the greatest form on earth – that being CHIP FORM of course!! Or, should the two remain separate forever?
We have tried enough bean chips now to say that the legume can make for a tasty snack if handled correctly? In this case, we just do not like what Beanitos is delivering. Maybe the Pinto Bean should just remain refried served alongside a burrito and rice? First off, these chips do not smell good. Just sort of a stale, unpleasant smell permeates from the bag. The chips are very thin, very light, with a very crispy crunch at first. After a few more chews, the chips break down just like so many other bean chips before them, and sort of turn into a moisture absorbing powder. They are not as dry as some other bean chips, but definitely drier than non-bean chips. The chips sort of taste like refried beans – which wasn’t a bad thing! But in the end, not enough to rectify the bad taste and odor that overwhelm the speckled chips!
We really appreciate Beanitos’ success in creating a crunchy and healthy product, filled with protein and fiber, but we still prefer our deliciously unhealthy chips when we need a chip fix!
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Chips provided to Chip Review by Beanitos for review
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Chip Review 