REVIEW: Doritos – Caribbean Citrus

Rating: ©©©© chips  (lip-smacking)

Well, well, well, what do we have here?

Are these really the first new chips from Doritos this year?  COME’ON DORITOS, what is going on?  That’s some real chip slacking!  Oh, and just in case you are keeping track (like we do), here at C.R. we do not exactly count their “new” line of Doritos Mix snack mixtures as a new product this year (although they did technically come out this year).

You want to know what?  We are not going to count these chips as brand new Doritos either!  Yeah, that is right, we are getting a bit salty here – why you ask??  Oh, well, because Doritos hasn’t released any all new chips lately of course!

Alright, let us explain.  First, we can go as far as to call Doritos Caribbean Citrus half new chips, but that is definitely as far as we can go.  Half new because Doritos has never put this seasoning blend onto their regular Doritos tortilla chips before (it has been on their JACKED chips thought).  Also half new, because they have technically changed the name up and removed the original “jerk” aspect.  We’re guessing that they removed this portion of the description/name because 1) it did not quite live up to flavor qualifications or execution, and 2) jerks aren’t very nice!

Ok, we can quit beating around the bush here.  These “new” Doritos Caribbean Citrus are just a reboot of their JACKED Test Flavor: 404 released a couple of years ago (they had us fooled too, until we tasted them).  As some of you may, or may not recall, the final flavor reveal named the 404’s – Caribbean Citrus Jerk.  This test flavor was a true mystery when it first came out.  People were describing it as everything from curry, to Asian wings, to Cajun crawfish, to even Samosa Girl Scout cookies!  Of course we knew what the flavor was right from the get go…..”Our money is on (actually we are not willing to put our money on anything for these ones, that’s right Doritos you stumped us!).  However, if we were using your money, we may be willing to put some on: sweet garlic mojo!!  Or, maybe lime splashed chorizo tacos? Spicy chile margherita? Sweet and Sour? Sweet & Sour Chile?  Oh heck, we’re sticking with 404.”

We aren’t going to bother writing anything new about this flavor.  If Doritos can reuse their flavors, we can reuse our words.  Let’s just take a look at what we wrote two years ago.

As for Test Flavor: 404, well, let’s just say that this bag’s ingredients made us think we were going to love them the most!  But, what they really ended up tasting like, versus what we expected them to taste like, were not one in the same.  Yet, despite still tasting pretty lip-smacking, we really cannot pinpoint what we were tasting.  Let’s break down what we thought: 1) Loads of sweet citrus notes propelled from the bag when we opened it.  The aroma really accentuates the true corn tortilla essence.  2) CITRUS – lime and orange.  3) The sweetness is evident, but not overwhelming.  Very complimentary to the citrus.  4) The more JACKED chips we ate, the more pronounced, and powerful, the citrus flavor really became.  5) garlic.  When combined with the sweet citrus, evoked thoughts of Asian sweet and sour.  6) Light vinegar splash added some depth.  7) The real stumper was the indecipherable combination of generically defined “spices”.  It definitely did not help matters for distinguishing what we were tasting, but it did help us to not stop eating!  8) Have we mentioned citrus?!

In the end, we think that Doritos should have just actually done a reboot of their Mojo Criollo flavor from their Rollitos line of chips….We like those A LOT more.  We’ve decided to give Doritos “new” Caribbean Citrus one-quarter less Chip Rating due to the fact that they tricked us into thinking that we were going to be trying new chips!  And, honestly, the flavor may have worked better on their JACKED style tortilla chips better.

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

Chips discovered at Costco; Oak Brook, Illinois

Doritos Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

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©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

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BIJOU-REVIEW: XL Fresh Potato Chips – French Cheese

Rating: ©©© chips  (notable)

More potato chips from a far away land.

Thanks again must be given to our BFF’s S&A for bringing us back the great U.E. chip spread!

Despite being called XL Fresh Potato Chips, we wouldn’t call these potato chips XL at all.  The chips themselves were what we would call medium – at best.

The French Cheese seasoning was….well, let’s just call them unique, and on the verge of being weird.

The cheese seasoning has a touch of tang with a good level of smooth creamy essence, but the weird part comes from just how sweet it was as well.  SWEET?!?  Yep, we’ve got sweet cheese here!

That being said, it sort of worked.  Odd, but certainly unique and got our taste buds thinking.

The potato chips themselves are okay.  Light and thinner, with a soft crunch.  Potato flavor not very noticeable from behind the French Cheese seasoning.

Anyone else out there tried them by chance?  Thoughts?  As always we would love to hear what you think.  Agree or disagree.  Let us know.

Chips provided to Chip Review by S&A, acquired in Dubai, United Emirates

XL Fresh Potato Chips Official Facebook Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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REVIEW: Buck Wild – Garlic Sea Salt Tortilla Chips

Rating: ©©©-1/2 chips  (notable)

Time to go BUCK WILD ONCE AGAIN!
Yep, we will never tire of saying that, and we will also never get used to the buck with aviators staring us down, insisting that we try the goodies inside of his bag!

A few months back we reviewed a few of Buck Wild’s other offerings, including their Roasted Garlic Popcorn.  We were big fans of this lip-smacking popcorn, in fact, we were fans of both of the flavors of popcorn we tried.  And wouldn’t you know it, it appears as though both of these flavors are getting the tortilla chip treatment now.  Granted, these chips are called Garlic Sea Salt, and the popcorn was Roasted Garlic, but (we’re going to let you in on a little secret) the seasonings taste very much the same.  The Chipotle Cheddar Popcorn has also gotten the tortilla chip treatment and we will be reviewing those soon as well.

So, as far as these Garlic Sea Salt tortilla chips go – we like them.  Like we said before the seasoning is very similar (if not identical) to the seasoning used on Buck Wild’s Roasted Garlic Popcorn.  Very garlic forward, with a sort of underlying sweetness, and a smooth, creamy finish.

Buck Wild’s tortilla chips are really good too.  All at once light, airy and crispy, as well as, a bit hearty and substantial.  A healthy scattering of flax and chia seeds can be found within the chips, and they deliver a nice and subtle textural enhancement that we appreciated it.

Overall, we did not quite love these chips as much as we did the garlic flavored popcorn.  Both the seasoning and chips are great in their own ways, but together they just don’t work quite as harmoniously as the popcorn and garlic did.

Buck Wild’s new tortilla chips are available (we believe exclusively) at Walmarts nationwide now, or at least very soon.

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

Buck Wild chips provided to Chip Review by Buck Wild for review

Buck Wild Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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REVIEW: Cheetos – Bag of Bones Flamin’ Hot

Rating: ©©©©-1/4 chips  (lip-smacking)

It’s that time of year again!

The time of year when all of the stores begin to market for holidays that are still roughly two months away!  It seems like it is getting so bad these days that we’re not sure if we are supposed to put up the Christmas lights for the trick-or-treaters or not!

But, we really do love this time of year, especially for the kiddos.  They get excited about dressing up as their favorite movie characters, or sports heroes, and of course those spooky creatures who typically scare them in the night.  And then they are let loose in the neighborhood in search of bags full of teeth rotting sugar loaded treats!

That being said, they are in for a surprise when they come knocking on Chip Review’s doors this year.  This year we will not be delving out any sweets, instead we will be delivering them some spicy and spooky bone shaped puffed corn!  Isn’t that what every kid really wants anyways?

Chester’s Flamin’ Hot Bag of Bones is this Halloween’s addition to last year’s release of Cheetos White Cheddar flavored Bones.  We are nearly certain that we tasted the white cheddar bones last year, but for whatever reason we did not actually review or rate them.  All we can assume is that they must not have been that tasty…

The Flamin’ Hot Bag of Bones basically just consists of Cheetos Puffs, in cute (we mean spooky) skeleton bone shapes.  They deliver the same, classic, unmistakably delicious, spicy, bright red Flamin’ Hot seasoning!  We don’t love them nearly as much as Cheetos Original Crunchy Flamin’ Hots, but they are just as fantastic as the Puffs variation of the Flamin’ Hot powerhouse flavor; probably better in fact because they are delivered in fun shapes.

For another positive review of these tasty bones check out Junk Food Guy.

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

Cheetos discovered at Walmart; Countryside, Illinois

Cheetos Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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BIJOU-REVIEW: Kitco – Arabic Spice Kettle Cooked Potato Chips

Rating: ©©-3/4 chips  (tolerable)

Intriguing…..

Very…  intriguing…..

And yet, at the same time, we find it a little perplexing that over in the United Emirates there would be Arabic Spiced Potato Chips?  Isn’t that like selling chips here in the U.S. as American flavored?  And who are these chips really targeted at? We’re guessing that it has to be all of the foreigners who are visiting the United Emirates and wanting to try something familiar, and yet a little exotic or foreign…who knows.

All that being said, we unfortunately did not taste any of the unique seasonings pictured on the front of the bag.  No star anise, no cinnamon, or bay leaf.  And is that coriander?  Yep, none of that.  Nutmeg?  Nah-uh.

Instead what we tasted was exactly what the ingredient list on back of the bag said we would – tomato powder, paprika, onion, black pepper….  So, yeah, none of those are screaming exotic, or Arabic to us!  They are screaming seasoning salt!!

The potato chips themselves are okay. They have some body to them, but with a much softer crunch.  Decent potato flavor.

Anyone else out there tried them by chance?  Thoughts?  As always we would love to hear what you think.  Agree or disagree.  Let us know.

Chips provided to Chip Review by S&A, acquired in Dubai, United Emirates

Kitco Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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REVIEW: Trader Joe’s – Somewhat Spicy Dill flavored Kettle Cooked Potato Chips

Rating: ©©©©-1/2 chips  (lip-smacking)

We really appreciate how Trader Joe’s just loves keeping their packaging light, and a little quirky!  With these latest chips we get an orange haired young chap, who is apparently dressed for his St. Patty’s Day party or something, and is reflecting to himself – “Everything changed the day I discovered…”
We have to assume that this reflection is in regards to the day he discovered these chips.

Well, we’re not going to go so far as to say that everything changed the day that we discovered….. these Somewhat Spicy Dill flavored Kettle Cooked Potato Chips.  But, we can guess that things would certainly change for us if we wore an outfit such as the one this guys is wearing!

The Spicy Dill variety is not necessarily a new combo in the chip flavor game, but it is one that has not really picked up steam with the “big” brand companies.  Most of the chip companies willing to venture into this tangy flavor realm seem to be a bit more of the independent sort.

Most certainly our all-time favorites from this flavor combo variety are Grippo’s Hot Dill Pickle Potato Chips.  It is very likely that these are no longer available, but our memories of these herbal-y-spicy thin cut potato chips were forever live on!  We are also huge fans of Zapp’s, and Deep River’s potato chip versions.  We are happy to report that Trader Joe’s Somewhat Spicy rendition can be added to that list of favorite versions!

TJ’s medium-thin cut kettle cooked potato chips are fantastic!  Perfectly crispy, with just the right amount of mouth pleasing body.  We couldn’t really taste any potato flavor underneath the powerful seasoning blend, but that was just fine since that seasoning was a delicious recipe.

Joe’s seasoning recipe reminded us a lot of McClure’s Bloody Mary chips.  First, comes the tongue tingling spicy acidic-chile burn.  The acidic burn attacks the throat and the nasal cavity sort of harshly, but then quickly subdues to the moderate chile burn that resides in the mouth!  The one-two spicy punch.  The fragrant dill herbal notes flutter there in the background, bringing thoughts of pickles to the mind.  Garlic is also very present.

The flavor combo works deliciously well!  If you are a fan of spicy chips, or pickle flavored chips, then we’re fairly confident that you would be fans of these as well.  Make sure to let us know your comments below regarding these chips, or the day everything changed when you discovered…..what?”

For another take check out What’s Good at Trader Joe’s review.

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

Discovered at Trader Joe’s (of course); 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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REVIEW: Nathan’s Famous – Classic Hot Dog Potato Chips

Rating: ©©©©-1/4 chips  (lip-smacking)

If you really want to know what these new Nathan’s Classic Hot Dog Flavor Potato Chips taste like just run on down to your local dog joint and ask for a dog with the classic Nathan’s condiment combo of ketchup, mustard, and relish.  And from what we taste, maybe heavy on the mustard.  If you are fans of hot dogs with ketchup, mustard, and relish, then you are going to love these chips!  Well, that is as long as you are also fans of fried, sliced potatoes, better known as – CHIPS!!

If you are like us, then maybe you first became acquainted with Nathan’s and their famous hot dogs through a decades old eating contest that became a worldwide phenomenon when a certain small, Japanese, professional food eater completely obliterated the competition in, and along with it, everything we thought we knew about competitive food eating!!  In 2001, Takeru Kobayashi consumed 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes!  This doubled what anyone previously had ever consumed in a Nathan’s contest.  People became fascinated by this small Japanese guy who could eat more dogs than anyone else.  And as they say, the rest was history.

Getting back to Nathan’s Hot Dog flavored potato chips…. First of all, they are instantly recognizable as Hot Dog flavored chips.  There is no doubt about what the seasoning tastes like.  A little salty-smoky, a good helping of pungent yellow mustard, a touch of sweet ketchup, and some background notes of tangy relish.  That being said, we of course knew what these chips were prior to eating them.  If we would have blind taste tested them would we have gotten the same results?  We can’t be sure, but we think that we may just have.

Do we actually taste meat?  No, not necessarily.  But do you ever really taste hot dog meat flavor when you put any condiments onto it?  For the most part the dog is there for texture and substance.  FYI – we did not get any real hot dog texture with these chips – THANKS GOODNESS!!!!

The potato chips themselves were quite tasty as well.  Light and crispy, thinner cut, slightly greasy, in a good way, potato chips.

Our only real gripe with Nathan’s Classic Hot Dog Flavor Potato Chips is that they do not remind us of the dogs we are used to in the Chicago area.  The Chicago Depression dogs or char dogs that we love!  They are missing a few of our favorite key components (ie. pickles, raw onions,  sport peppers & celery salt).  Once you’ve tried one of these, there is no going back to just ketchup, mustard and relish!

Those are our thoughts.  Let us know what you think below.

Chips provided to Chip Review by Nathan’s Famous for review

Nathan’s Famous Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

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© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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