Chip Review of the day…..

Salveo – Southwest Cheddar Multigrain Snackin’ Puffs

Rating: ©©©-1/2 chips (notable)

Comments:

When you are popular, you’re popular….and right now, popped chips are POPULAR!  Every where we look we see popped this and popped that, and more often than not, we associate this style/technique with two things: 1) a healthier alternative to the more traditional fried version, and 2) (therefore) quite often a less tasty, and desirable product.

Salveo is the Latin word for “In Good Health”, and Salveo’s Puff are yet another addition to the world of healthier popped chips.  To be completely honest with you, we still seem to hold a bias towards this genre, and more often than not we assume that what we are about to taste will not be very good.  Luckily, and to our surprise, Salveo’s Southwest Cheddar Multigrain Snackin’ Puffs weren’t half bad.

Their texture reminds us of a cross between rice cakes and corn flakes, and are very reminiscent of some other cheddar popped chips.  The Snackin’ Puffs flavor is predominantly corn forward, which compliments the cheddar seasoning very well.  Speaking of cheddar, were not quite certain that we would label these chips as Southwest Cheddar, but probably more like Sour Cream & Cheddar, or Smooth Cheddar.  We did not taste any of those typical spicy and tangy southwest seasonings, but rather a smooth, sour creaminess that played well with the salty cheddar cheese, but just wasn’t what we were expecting based on their name.

Overall, we enjoyed these Puffs quite a bit, and they are definitely among some of the the better popped “chips” we have tried.  The best part was that we felt so healthy after eating them that we were able to also enjoy some good old fried ones as well!!!

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 for review

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

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©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

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REVIEW: Simply 7 – Black Pepper Pomegranate Chips

Rating: ©©©-1/4 chips  (notable)

Comments:

A while back we sampled, and reviewed, Simply 7’s Sea Salted Pomegranate Chips, as well as, their White Cheddar Pomegranate Chips, and we definitely liked both of them well enough.  We were impressed with the sea salted chips’ simplicity, and sheer pomegranate essence.  We had our doubts towards the white cheddar chips, but for some bizarre reason the pomegranate and cheese flavor combination just worked for us.  Well, truth be told, we thought that we were actually saving the tastiest pomegranate chips for last, but as it turns out we were actually incorrect.

Alright, we know what you’re thinking, but before you jump to any conclusions, we agree that these chips may seem weird at first, but let us just warn you, don’t knock the pomegranate chips before you try them.  Plain and simple, like the components used in these “chips” (technically crisps in our books), these do in fact taste of pomegranate, and we found that aspect of their flavor very intriguing, and quite tasty.  By keeping the ingredients list so minimal, the pomegranate flavor was able to shine through.

However, the finely ground black pepper, did not compliment the fruity pomegranate flavor very well in our opinion.  In fact, the two seemed to be battling one another the whole time in our mouths.  The “spicy” black pepper would zap the fronts of our tongues, while the sweet and sour pomegranate flavor danced and tugged on the backs of our tongues – each one juxtaposing, rather than complimenting, the other.  The two just did not work for us.

We feel that it is also worth noting again that we weren’t necessarily huge fans of the texture, and mouth feel of the crisps.  We pretty much always prefer a traditional potato chip, but because these were so light, and crispy, we did eat a lot of them before even realizing it.

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 Simply 7 for review

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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Chip Rating…..

Rock-n-Roll – Hippie Chips – Memphis Blues Barbecue Baked Potato Chips

Rating: ©©©-3/4 chips  (notable)

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

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©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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REVIEW: Pan De Oro – Red, White & Blue Tortilla Chips

Rating: ©©©© chips (lip-smacking)

Comments:

Pan de Oro – “bread of gold”.  However, in this case the “bread” appears to be made of precious stones – rubies, sapphires and diamonds, rather than precious metals.

Pan de Oro’s Red, White & Blue Tortilla Chips are among the minority of chips in the market today, that even without them indicating that their chips are all natural on the packaging, we could tell with just one bite.  This patriotic bag filled with bright red (using beet juice to color the chips), blue (natural corn color), and white (natural corn color) colored tortilla chips could make any Fourth of July party proud.  These chips proudly carry just about every healthy label that one chip can support.

As far as “plain” tortilla chips go, you can’t do much better than Pan de Oro’s.  Semi-thick cut tortilla chips, but not very dense, more of a crispy, and airy crunch.  You can definitely taste the difference in the quality of corn being used, and the cooking technique.  A wonderful rich masa earthiness that seems to pop with toasty baked flavor, nearly verging on being “burnt” – in a nutty good way.  The salt level is spot on, and simply compliments the chips rather than overpowering them.  Probably the best compliment we can give these “plain” tortilla chips is that they taste great, and we loved eating them, on their own.

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 Pan de Oro for review

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

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©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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Chip Rating…..

Boulder Canyon Cut – Sour Cream & Chives Wavy Potato Chips

Rating: ©©©© chips  (lip-smacking)

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

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REVIEW: Deep River Snacks – Nacho Kick Multigrain Tortilaa Chips

Rating: ©©©-1/2 chips (notable)

Comments:

Chip Review recently reviewed a very similar multigrain nacho cheese chip from Salveo, but this one from Deep River is a bit tastier, and definitely more flavorful.

Right off the bat – WAM! In your face flavor punch!  To say that these chips are very well seasoned would be a grave understatement.  These chips are the definition of flavor coating.  If Doritos were describing these chips, they would call them ‘JACKED‘!  The weird thing is though that these chips remind us much, much more of taco flavor, than of a nacho cheese flavor.  The seasoning doesn’t only encompass the super cheesiness that is nacho cheese, but instead exudes and includes other flavors – onion, garlic, tomato, and of course the typical generic ‘spices’ – that make up the usual taco seasoning.  The flavor is decent, but doesn’t taste like any nacho cheese we’ve ever tasted.

Deep River Snack’s multigrain tortilla chips are extra crunchy, and thicker-rustic style chips.  Each triangular chip included plenty of flax seeds scattered throughout its body.  Despite having plenty of nutty whole grain taste, the chips could not distract from the flavor-packed seasoning that coats them.

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

Chips provided to Chip Review from Deep River Snacks for review

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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Salt & Pepper Chips – Tell us what you think

Chip Review’s Top 5 Salt & Pepper Flavored Chips:

1. Poore Brothers – Salt & Cracked Pepper Kettle Cooked Potato Chips

1. Terra Yukon Gold – Salt & Pepper Potato Chips

3. Kettle Brand – Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper Krinkle Cut Potato Chips

4. Better Made – Salt & Pepper Potato Chips

5. Snyder’s of Hanover – Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper Pretzel Pieces