Rating: ©©©-3/4 chips (notable)
Chips provided to Chip Review by Neal Brothers for review
Neal Brothers Foods Official Website
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©©©© chips (lip-smacking)
We have wanted to try these new Pretzel Crisps ever since The Impulsive Buy spotted them on Safeway shelves some four months ago….
We mean come’on – BACON & HABANERO?!?! Yes & Yes – Please!!
In fact, these aren’t the first bacon habanero flavored chips that we have tried. Last year Late July’s lip-smacking tortilla chips wowed us.
Let’s hope that this flavor combo becomes a new standard among all chip companies – because there could be nothing wrong with that!
Smokey, salty, delicious bacon essence exudes from the Pretzel Crisps.
The flavor is sort of reminiscent of barbeque seasoning, and we are surprised to see that Pretzel Crisps has never offered the classic flavor as an option….
Unfortunately, similar to Late July’s chips, these Pretzel Crisps suffer from a case of no-habanero-flavor-idous. Maybe, just maybe, we get a little bit of the chili flavor deep behind the bacon, and there is a subtle burn when all is said and done.
But really, this seasoning is all about the bacon.
The crisps are tasty, and salty bacon flavor works well with the pretzels (not quite as well as Late July’s corn-ful tortilla chips), but we still really wish that we could taste some habanero!
Another welcome addition to Pretzel Crisps’ line-up.
Crisps discovered at Jewel Osco; Westmont, Illinois
Pretzel Crisps Official Website
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©©©-1/4 chips (notable)
Do not adjust your dial, or screen….
It is true, your eyes are not deceiving you….
These are in fact RADISH flavored chip!
Now, we’ve been in the chip game a long, long time, but this is definitely a new first. Sure, there have been plenty of other weird flavors out there; we’re looking at you beet, and cappuccino, and feijoada, and marmite, but radish is right up there with the weirdest of them!
Unfortunately, we have tasted much better chips from The Better Chip company.
Now, these are not bad tortilla chips by any means. They deliver a rustic, course ground corn tortilla texture that mingles with the little nutty pop of the chia seeds.
They also provided a perfectly ample amount of salt and garlic seasoning.
What the chips did not do was exude any sort of radish AT ALL! Nada! Nunca!! Nothin’!!!
To say that we were disappointed by these would be absolutely correct. We were really hoping to taste some pungently spicy radish flavored tortilla chips. Alas, we will just have to wait for some better chips to actually do that!
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Discovered at Byerly’s; St. Cloud, Minnesota
The Better Chip Official Website
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©©©©-1/2 chips (lip-smacking)
Anytime we see a new sweet variation from one of our typically savory snack companies, we are hesitant to give them a shot. Which is why last year around this time, when Cheetos first released these Sweetos, we simply refrained from trying them… Now that we have gone and bitten the bullet….
WHAT WERE WE THINKING!?!?!
Seriously, these are really quite delicious!
That’s right, every once in a while the chip companies can completely surprise us here at Chip Review, and create a fantastically sweet, and in this case, ever so slightly savory snack. We would place Cheetos Sweetos smack dab along side other notable savory-gone-sweet successful snacks such as: Pretzel Crisps Cinnamon Toast, Snyder’s of Hanover’s S’mores Pretzel Pieces, and Pringles Tortillas Cinnamon Sugar (which in our books is some fine company to be included among).
Cheetos Sweetos Cinnamon Sugar Puffs are shaped like, we’re going to go with, sledding inner tubes – despite the fact that Chester has opted for the more classical racer sled. The puffs are approximately half the size of a Funyun ring, but their texture is eerily similar. The Cheetos do not exhibit their usual melt-y cheese puff texture, but more of a light and crispy, layered ring puff.
The ultra classic Cinnamon and Sugar combination works wonders with the puffs. Delivering all at once an aromatically sweet treat, as well as, a savory richness. A quick glance at the ingredients list shows that this savory layer has to come from the inclusion of buttermilk. Everyone who was chomping on these agreed – they are delicious, and hard to stop eating.
Probably the best way that we can describe them to you is that they are like savory Cheetos ring puffs that have been crossed with the greatest of all sweet cereals – Waffle Crisp. A marriage of rich, savory, butter notes dancing with sweet maple like syrup, and spicy, aromatic cinnamon. Beautiful.
If you are fans of Cheetos (and we’re guessing that you are – who isn’t?), and you also like some sweet treats every now and again, then we suggest you give these a try.
Cheetos discovered at Walmart, Pontiac, Illinois
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©©©©-3/4 chips (lip-smacking)
Long, long ago, in a place far, far away (we’re talking at least eight, maybe even ten miles) Chip Review fell hand over mouthfuls for Zapp’s Original VooDoo chips….
So, when we first heard about Zapp’s new HEAT variation of the original lip-smacking chips we had high hopes. Not high hopes like, oh we sure do hope this pull-tab is a $2 winner. No! High hopes as in these new Zapp’s chips could just be flippin’ amazing!
Before we go ahead and crunch into these new Zapp’s, perhaps a little backstory is in need.
According to Zapp’s themselves, the:
“Voodoo flavor is a result of an accident. An employee was moving a pallet of spices off the top shelf, and dropped it. While cleaning it up, someone stuck their finger into the mixture of about 5 flavors and pronounced it great.”
Now, if we had to gander a guess as to how the VooDoo Heat flavor came about, it would go something like this…
“The VooDoo Heat flavor is a result of someone (perhaps us, who knows) saying that the VooDoo flavor is lip-smacking, and wouldn’t they taste EVEN BETTER if we made them even SPICIER?!?!”
With Zapp’s original VooDoo chips we didn’t understand what exactly the VooDoo name was meant to represent (of course other than Zapp’s is New Orleans), but with these new chips, we totally get it. These chips encompass, and deliver, and absolutely cast a delicious dusting of VOODOO flavor Magic all over the New Orleans Kettle Style Potato Chips!
You really have to taste these chips to really understand the wonderful circus of flavors they have going on. First and foremost, the chips deliver a pungent zing of zippy vinegar. Then came a sugary sweetness that paired nicely with the vinegar’s acidity. Next, came the heat, and a good level of it for sure. One taster thought that they may have tasted horseradish…? Finally, we tasted a touch of sweet and tangy and vegetal tomato flavor, which helped round out the entire flavor combo.
All said and done, probably the best way that we can describe this delicious flavor to you would be to compare it to some spicy version of an American Chinese breaded chicken dish….sweet, tangy, sticky, spicy, and delicious in all of the right ways.
As far as the potato chips themselves go, Zapp’s knows what they’re doing. Their Cajun Kettle Recipe makes for some really crunchy, perfectly greasy, semi-thick potato chips, that we could munch on all day.
Overall, we were really, really impressed with these chips! And, although Zapp’s aren’t always readily available here in the Midwest, we know for certain that these chips are almost always available at Potbelly!
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Zapp’s provided to Chip Review by MunchPak for review
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©©-3/4 chips (tolerable)
Hello all! It’s time to introduce chip-snack-thing #2 from our gift box full of goodies that we recently received from our new friends at MunchPak.
We first mentioned this fantastic goodie box a couple of weeks ago in our review of Japanese Consomme flavored Pringles; which we thought were decently tasty.
MunchPak’s goodie box included chips from all over the globe. From Germany and Korea, to Ireland and Japan. Today’s reviewed snack apparently hails from Indonesia! Exactly which one of Indonesia’s 13,000 islands these came from, we have no clue.
Our initial thoughts of Tic Tac’s Gobstopper-size snack balls were actually of Newton’s balls; which you may technically know better as Newton’s cradle. And if that still doesn’t ring a bell for ya, we’re talking about that thing – CLICK-CLACK – that sits on top of those nice corner office desks – CLICK-CLACK – with the metal balls hanging by strings….the ones that never, ever stop CLICK-CLACKING once they start going. We’re guessing that it has something to do with Physics… Either way, Tic Tac’s little white snack balls made us think of Newton’s balls, probably because of their name more than anything.
Second thoughts…..these are not THOSE Tic Tacs! These snack balls WILL NOT improve your breath in any way, shape, or form!
Tic Tac’s texture really reminded us of Kix cereal. And that was because, well, it had exactly the same texture as Kix cereal. Light and crunchy, and sort of melt-able like the best cheese puffs. However, we’re guessing that Tic Tac’s may or may not be kid tested, and we’re certainly hoping that they are not mother approved…..
Let us put it this way, Tic Tacs do not taste bad necessarily, they sort of have this savory-sweet-salty thing going on. They are made up of tapioca powder (safe enough), palm oil (high saturated fat), and flavored with garlic, MSG, and…. Aspartame! Oh yeah, the old A.M.G. flavor combo!! In other words, Tic Tacs are probably the farthest thing away from being all natural that we have come across in a long time. Honestly, it was sort of hard eating these after we knew that they basically consisted of two artificial flavor enhancers that may do amazing things for flavoring food, but that have also been known to be unhealthy for our bodies.
There you have it, another foreign pack of munchies from our MunchPak box of goodies.
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Tic Tacs provided to Chip Review by MunchPak for review
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©©©©-1/2 chips (lip-smacking)
We’re sorry to say it, but we feel like we do not review very many Terra chips these days. Now, whether that is due to Terra not introducing many new chips onto the market these days, or the fact that when they do release something new it is very often some sort of unusual vegetable chip that we’re just not feeling like reviewing….
What we do know for sure is that when we do try a new chip from Terra, whether it is good or bad, it is almost always something very unique and original!
Case in point, Terra’s newest Sharp & Spicy Wasabi real vegetable chips made with a UNIQUE seasonal potato blend. While these Wasabi flavored chips may not be as unique as the last chips we reviewed from Terra, we’re talking about you – Celery Root Chips w/ Aged Cheese!! Terra’s Wasabi chips are most certainly better tasting!
Now, if you are a huge fan of wasabi’s typically pungent, nose burning heat, and that is what you are really looking for from these then you may be somewhat disappointed. These chips are not about the seasoning at all. The seasoning is very subtle, and is just there to compliment the fantastic potato chips. A simple, perfect sprinkling of just the right amount of salt, and only delicate dash of what tasted like mustard powder.
As for those fantastic potato chips, well apparently they are made up of a seasonal selection of four types of potatoes. There’s Andover, Atlantic, Marcy and Waneta potatoes (and if those names mean anything to you, then bravo for being up on your potato varietal knowledge). What we can tell you is that we did not really notice any textural, or flavor, difference from chip to chip, but all together the seasonal variety delivered a fantastically rich, buttery, and earthy flavor combo. Seriously, chip for chip these were some of the best tasting potato chips we’ve tried in a while. Really, nothing to do with the seasoning, all about the chip!
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; Villa Park, Illinois
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Chip Review 