BIJOU-REVIEW: Skinnygirl – Caramelized Onion Baked Pretzel Thins

Rating: ©©©© chips  (lip-smacking)

Skinnygirl’s Baked Pretzel Thins take an obvious cue from the big boys of the pretzel market – Pretzel Crisps.

Thinn-ish, with a sturdy crunch, pretzel sort of “chips”.  They sort of look like bagel chips.

The baked thins encompass a good level of pure pretzel flavor, with a bit of a bread-y texture, that can distract a little bit, but luckily Skinnygirl’s delicious seasoning prevails.

The caramelized onion seasoning has a deliciously robust flavor profile.  We could definitely taste the sweet toasted onion notes, but there was also a decent level of garlic thrown in there.  So, just in case you were having any thoughts about doing any smooching after eating these, we would tell you to refrain!

Plain and simple this seasoning was lip-smackingly delicious, and worked very well with the pretzel thins.  We could crunch these all day!!

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 Barrel O’ Fun Snacks for review

Barrel O’ Fun Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

BIJOU-REVIEW: Engine Co. 51 – Hot Curls

Rating: ©©© chips  (notable)

We are always excited to see any new addition to the spicy-flamin’-hot curls family!  And, we were especially looking forward to crunching Engine Co. 51’s variation after loving their Hot Popcorn , and after reading Taquitos’ glowing review.

Unfortunately, neither of those precursors ended up being a good indication of the quality of these Hot Curls!  We simply did not love them.

Appearance wise, Engine Co. 51’s curls looked just like any other spicy curl.

The curls’ mouth texture was dense, with an almost stale chew to them.  We would have liked a lot fresher crispy crunch.

As for the bright red seasoning that liberally coated each curl, well, it brought none of the usual tangy, mouth burning heat that we’ve come to love.  And we would have hoped that if the “hot” curls weren’t bringing the spicy pain they would have at least been flavorful but they also weren’t even that cheesy.  Just a couple of notes of garlic and salt.

Not Engine Co. 51’s best showing!

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 KLN  for review

KLN Family Brands Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

REVIEW: Manomasa – Green Lemon & Pink Peppercorn Tortilla Chips

Rating: ©©©©-3/4 chips  (lip-smacking)

TORTILLAS WITH SPIRIT

Manomasa nailed it with that statement!  In fact, we’d go even further and say Tortillas with Spirit and –  Vision, Execution and Creativity!! Wow, these are some of the most unique, and delicious tortilla chips that we have tried in a while!

A little while ago we were lucky enough to be introduced to this fantastic U.K. brand of chips via a glowing review we read on Crisp Nation (Josh – we owe you for this one!).

We had originally thought that the Manomasa name was a witty word play calling themselves the MAN o(f) MASA; but after a little digging we found that the name is actually a combination of two spanish words: MANO (of the hand), and MASA (corn).  The clever name combo fits perfectly as each one of their different flavors is delivered on a different style (or ‘recipe’ as they call it) of corn chip!  Brilliant!!

First up: Green Lemon & Pink Peppercorn.  That’s right, GREEN LEMON & PINK PEPPERCORN!  Green Lemon?  What’s that??  Are we are having flashbacks to when we were in Chile, and and it seemed like there was no way to differentiate between lemons and limes?!  They just called everything limons!  We actually assume that by green lemon Manomasa is most likely referring to unripened lemons.  And what would green lemons taste like?  Would they be more sour?  More bitter?  We are not sure, but clever marketing either way, and we’ll just crunch along.

These chips bring some serious lemon flavor.  Not necessarily lip puckering, but just loads of those deliciously fruity, aidic, citrusy lemon notes!  Far and away the lemon is the star of the show here but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a good supporting cast of other flavors as well.  The pink peppercorns are of course the next predominant flavor.  Providing just enough of that semi-spicy throat tickle, along with those elegant fruity-floral aromatic notes that only PINK peppercorns can provide. The lemon with the peppercorn sort of reminded us of that classic seasoning combination that we’re sure you all have somewhere in your spice cabinet – lemon pepper!  You know, that seasoning that you use a ton of to try and cover up for your dry chicken?!  Throw in a couple more of the usual ingredient characters like onion and garlic, and it looks like even some vinegar, and these tortilla chips provided a pretty delicious flavor party!

The Green Lemon & Pink Peppercorn seasoning utilized Manomasa’s Recipe No. 86: The Tostada, as their chip of choice!   According to the back of the bag the tostada SHAPE: named in homage to the original MEXICAN TOSTADA – the large circular tortilla that’s toasted and then enjoyed with fresh, tasty toppings.  The shape served its purpose just fine.  The chips themselves were light and crispy, and we didn’t know it at first, but apparently they also incorporated a medley of beans into the recipe; most likely to provide some additional textural variance, along with all of the additional health benefits of course.

Bravo Manomasa!  You really impressed us, and we can’t wait to try the next flavor and tortilla recipe!

As always we would love to hear what you think.  Agree or disagree.  Let us know.

Chips provided to Chip Review by Manomasa for review

MANoMASA Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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BIJOU-REVIEW: Utz – Cheese Popcorn Spiked with Tabasco

Rating: ©©©© chips  (lip-smacking)

We sure wish Utz brand of snacks were available in the Midwest!  It is all too often that we see some new snack from Utz that looks delicious, but that we ultimately know we will very likely never try!!

We really enjoyed Utz’ Tabasco Spiked Baked Cheese Curls, so here’s hoping their popcorn is just as good!!  And, you know what, the popcorn variation is really good too!

Tabasco’s classic spicy-tangy combo mingles nicely with the salty cheese coating.  We really appreciate how we can actually taste the zippy vinegar, while also feeling some of the heat from the cayenne.

Although we would probably say that this popcorn tastes a bit more like Tabasco than the cheese curls did, in the end, the curls were still a better snack overall!

As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think.  Agree or disagree, let us know.

Discovered at World Market; Oak Brook, Illinois

Utz Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

BIJOU-REVIEW: Brim’s – Cheese Popcorn

Rating: ©©©© chips (lip-smacking)

Who else out there thinks that the occasional dollar store shopping spree is fun??  Sure, there’s a lot of junk in there, but there are also some treasures too!!  For instance, Brim’s Cheese Popcorn is a steal of a deal!!  The real question is why is the store filled with Brim’s Cheese Popcorn?  Is it expiration? Sales?

Either way, really solid cheese popcorn here.  Seriously.  Just some of that straight-forward, old school, orange dusted, cheddar cheese popcorn!

Still fresh and crispy, little tooth-y, standard white butterfly popcorn.

Medium-light orange cheese dusting.

Flavor was surprisingly deep and rich (maybe from the addition of butter?).  The orange cheddar cheese seasoning had a little bit of that tangy cheese funk, and just the right amount of salt.  Pretty spot on!

Really solid cheese popcorn, made even better by the fact that it was only $1.

Popcorn discovered at Dollar Tree; Villa Park, Illinois

Brim’s Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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REVIEW: Trader Joe’s – Popcorn in a Pickle

Rating: ©-3/4 chips  (return to sender)

Whoa! Now that is an eye-catching bag for sure!!  Green to the maximus!  Clever word play too, but then again, isn’t Trader Joe’s always witty and playful with their product names?  Might we have another hit on our hands from that Joe we know who likes to trade (that’s our meager attempt at word play)?

Have we discovered the new sriracha of the popcorn world?  We were surprised to find that we have actually tried four different dill pickle flavored popcorn bags in about the last year.  Unfortunately, none of them have been really good.  Well there is always hope that this new popcorn from Trader Joe’s isn’t all visual show and wit, and actually tastes good, and certrainly better than their last new popcorn – Baconesque White Cheddar Popcorn!

SADLY….as you may have noticed from our rating above already, Popcorn in a Pickle is not only not better than Trader Joe’s Baconesque, but it makes Joe’s cheddar bacon popcorn seem lip-smacking in comparison.

We feel that there are two major issues with this popcorn.  First, would be the usage of dill oil as opposed to the real herb.  The flavor just seems off, and even sort of off-putting.  You get some of the fragrant dill notes but it’s like all of the fresh and bright herbal life that you would typically get from the fresh stuff has been completely sucked dry from the dill oil.  Our second, and certainly bigger issue, lies with the popcorn itself.  According to Trader Joe’s website, their supplier uses the largest mushroom popcorn kernels they can find, and they air pop them (apparently mushroom popcorn kernels are large, round balls of popcorn, with lost of surface area).  In our opinion these air-popped mushroom kernels are the probably the worst popcorn texture that we have ever tasted.  No real popcorn flavor what so ever.  Sure, they were light and crispy, and sure they were largest popcorn we have ever seen, but they were also SOOOOOO full of pesky, gum catching, kernels that we could barely pay attention to what we were tasting!!  Add to this the fact that this popcorn was air popped, and no additional amount of mouth pleasing fat was added to supplement and enrich the dry popcorn, in the end left us wanting so much more.

Sorry Junk Food Guy, but we have to disagree with you on this one!  For another, far different review of the Popcorn in a Pickle, make sure to check out his review too!

As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think.  Agree or disagree, let us know.

Popcorn discovered at Trader Joe’s; La Grange, Illinois

Trader Joe’s Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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BIJOU-REVIEW: Old Dutch – Dill Pickle Popcorn

Rating: ©©-1/2 chips  (tolerable)

Is dill pickle flavored popcorn becoming a thing?  This would mark the 4th pickle popcorn variation that we have tried in approximately the last year!?

This flavor, this popcorn, has to be better than the other new popcorn we tried from Old Dutch right?  That’s right, Old Dutch’s cheddar bacon popcorn was pretty bad!

OK, so this stuff is better than Old Dutch’s Bacon Cheddar Popcorn, so that’s a plus.  In fact, it is also way better than Trader Joe’s new-ish version of dill pickle popcorn – Popcorn in a Pickle.  But, despite that, this is still only so-so popcorn.

Decent sour-vinegar level, and coverage of real dill weed.  The flavor is there, and tastes pretty good, but the popcorn quality is not the best.  The kernels were too meaty, and toothsome.  No light and crispy crunch here.  More like a heavy chew!

You know what?  We’re beginning to think that the two just aren’t meant to be.  Dill pickle and popcorn should call it quits, and go back to their old, time tested, partners. We’re talking about you – dill pickle & potato, and cheddar cheese & popcorn.

Popcorn discovered at Kwik Trip; Plymouth, Minnesota

Old Dutch Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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