Rating: ©©©-3/4 chips (notable)
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REVIEW: The Amazingly Wondrous Nuggets featuring The Natural Wonders
Rating: ©©©©-1/4 chips (lip-smacking)
Come one, come all to the tasty adventures of The Amazingly Wondrous Nuggets featuring none other than The Natural Wonders (aka corn puffs coated in butter toffee)!! What the….?!? Are we at a show, or reading a comic, or enjoying a snack here? Please try to stay calm, and before you make your final decision to run and hide in fear of these weird, little, leg-less, butter toffee creatures, give us a chance to tell you about the deliciousness behind the strangeness (seriously, marketing people, what were you thinking..?).
Although we are sure that The Amazingly Wondrous Nuggets are not the first sweet corn puffs that we have tasted (Old Dutch has some caramel flavored ones), these do appear to be the first that we have ever reviewed.
What can we say? Rich, sweet, buttery, toffee coated corn puff pieces, YEAH, they are simply lip-smackingly delicious! Similar to kettle corn, the corn puffs have a crispy outer sugar shell, that provides a nice textural crunch before allowing the puff corn to melt away at the first contact of moisture from your mouth. The ‘nuggets’ are approximately a third of the size of a traditional corn puff, and definitely more randomly shaped than the usual curved puff.
The decadent butter toffee coating the corn puffs was really spot on. Usually, our qualm with the sweeter snacks is in reference to their lack of salt, but in this case we were pleasantly surprised with the presence of plenty of contrasting salty notes.
This bag did not last long after we had opened it. One because The Amazingly Wondrous Nuggets were so tasty, and two, because we just could not stand to look at those creepy, circus, snacks for any longer!
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Wondrous Nuggets provided to Chip Review by Lehi Valley Trading Company for review
Nuggets Snacks Official Website
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REVIEW: Lesser Evil Chia Pop – Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper Popcorn
Rating: ©-3/4 chips (return to sender)
We must hand it to Lesser Evil, they are really redefining the concept of healthy “junk food” snacks. The variations, and combinations, that they are developing are unique and interesting; and for that we say bravo! But, as with the majority of companies who attempt to create something original and delicious, they sometimes also produces some stinkers!
Similar to the same deception that Lesser Evil portrayed with their Chia Crisps, by naming this popcorn Chia Pop, many may assume that Chia seeds had been popped alongside their counterpart popcorn. When in all actuality, Chia seeds (those trendy “super foods”) have been ground into a powder and dusted all over the popcorn like a seasoning.
Unfortunately, the result of grinding up Chia seeds, mixing their powder with some brown rice flour, and sprinkling it all of some popcorn is one of stinky arm pits! That’s right, the funky aroma of sweat permeates from the bag as we crack it open!! The popcorn’s initial taste is not that much better. The heavy powder coating of Chia and brown rice delivers a tongue coating, chalky-grainy texture that sort of gums everything up in your mouth as you try to swallow everything. The first flavor notes really reminded us of eating flour. Sort of bland and bread-y, and not very appetizing.
However, we can say that once the initial Chia and rice flavors had passed we were able to taste some cracked black pepper, but not very much salt. The pepper did exude a little bit of that spicy pepper kick after a few handfuls, but not really ever enough to distract us away from the funky smell and flavor of the Chia powder and brown rice flour coating!
Plain and simple, this is not one of our favorite popcorns. Despite the bold, all capital lettered, declaration in the center of the bag, this popcorn is absolutely NOT necessary. We’re going to stick with unhealthy popcorn that has not been coated with an unusually aromatic dusting of Chia powder!
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Discovered at T.J.Maxx; Lincoln Park – Chicago, Illinois
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REVIEW: Brad’s Organic – Salsa Verde Tortilla Chips
Rating: ©©©©-1/4 chips (lip-smacking)
Each time we encounter a new salsa verde flavored chip we are faced with (or, more appropriately, the chips are faced with) the same old dilemma. We inevitably compare them against the greatest salsa verde chips of all-time. Not only did Doritos introduce us to salsa verde flavored chips, they knocked it so far out of the park that Doritos themselves has yet to introduce another flavor as good as their Salsa Verde!
First, before we get into any sort of review regarding these lip-smackingly delicious organic salsa verde tortilla chips, we feel that we should mention how ugly the packaging of these chips are! Oh, but how can you say that? Isn’t the baby’s photo cute? Sorry, yes, the little boy’s picture is cute and cuddly, but it does not belong on the front of a bag of chips!! What is the connection here?! We’re guessing that the little boy is Brad? And, he has a line of organic food items that are his, and his face is on the front of the packaging (multiple times!).
Fortunately for all of us, Brad’s Organic Tortilla Chips themselves completely make up for his lack of creativity in packaging design! These chips are superb! Great rustic corn flavor, with a light as air, crispy crunch! It is as if some one grabbed freshly pressed stone ground corn tortillas, toasted them lightly over a hot grill, dusted them with some great seasoning, and packaged them up for us to enjoy! Some of the best tortilla chips we have had in a while.
Brad’s salsa verde seasoning recipe is a bit different than what we are used to. Usually, salsa verde chips include a heavy does of jalapeno, with a splash of some citrus and onions. This recipe reminds us more of some zesty ranch chips than traditional salsa verde. Very garlic forward, with a touch of creaminess and sweetness, and flavorful layers of green bell pepper, cilantro, tomato and onion. Lastly, the chips are not short on salt, and we like it!
Do yourselves a huge favor and grab these chips if you ever happen to spot them! Just close your eyes, disregard their packaging, and simply enjoy the riches inside the bag!
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Discovered at Brookhaven Marketplace; Burr Ridge, IL
Brad’s Organic Official Website
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REVIEW: Simply Sprouted Way Better Snacks – Oh, My Sweet Punkin Cranberry Tortilla Chips
Rating: ©©©© chips (lip-smacking)
Believe it or not, these are not the first cranberry flavored chips that we have crossed paths with. That being said, they most definitely are the best tasting ones!! A deliciously sweet, and sour, and fruity, cranberry combination!
We just love it when we stumble upon one of those rare surprises that make us smile with enjoyment after just one chip!! Not necessarily because we’ve just tasted the greatest chips, or even something revolutionary, but simply because when we weren’t really expecting to enjoy then, let alone like them very much! A little special something, what more can we ask for?!?
Immediately upon crunching down on Way Better Snacks rustic tortilla chips, a bright, tangy-sour cranberry essence reveals itself. The “punkin” aspect was definitely present in the orange hued color of the chips, along with providing a subtle, complimentary, background pumpkin essence. To round it all out, the chips were salted very, very well!
Probably the most surprising aspect of these chips (even more unusual than the unique cranberry and pumpkin combo), was the fact that the chips were not very sweet at all. We weren’t necessarily thinking that the chips were going to be so sweet to be called dessert chips, but we were thinking that they were going to have an underlying sweetness. Great flavor. The chips deliver on a fresh, cranberry, fruity essence. In fact, there was so much fruity essence that we suspected that there may be other fruits involved, and wouldn’t you know it, one quick glance to the ingredients list showed that there was raspberries included in the recipe! Definitely the first chips we’ve tried with raspberries among the ingredients.
As for the chips themselves, what the heck are sprouted grains? According to Way Better Snacks website: “…seeds, grains and beans play an important role in a healthy diet, but their nutrients can be increased multifold through the process of germination. Germination releases enzymes specifically designed to start the seed on its way to becoming a plant, which in turn consolidate nutrients. Sprouted foods are high in fiber, helps neutralize and remove waste from the body, and some (like our Broccoli and Diakon Radish Seeds) even contain anticancer substances.” Sounds good to us.
These multigrain tortilla chips are definitely some of the most uniquely textural chips we can think of, and we’ve encountered quite a few. They remind us of some other chips with unique textures, such as Lundberg’s Mojave Jalapeno Multigrain Chips, Wild Riceworks Sea Salt and Black Sesame Gourmet Wildrice Crisps, and Real McCoy’s Sweet & Spicy Rice Chips. They have a great, seedy-rustic mouth-feel and crunch to them. We love how we can see the seeds and grains scattered throughout the body of the chips, and we love the unique shape to these ones – it sort of reminds us of a swaying flag.
The chips are probably not for everyone, even among our group there were some detractors, but if you are looking for some fresh and original chips, then these would be for you!
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Chips discovered at TJMaxx; Chicago, Illinois
Simply Sprouted Official Website
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REVIEW: Food Should Taste Good – Guacamole Tortilla Chips
Rating: ©©©-3/4 chips (notable)
Is there anything better than enjoying freshly made guacamole & tortilla chips outside on the patio in the warm summer sun? Those bright green, perfectly ripened, and flavorful avocados all mashed together with a handful of complimentary ingredients, creating a perfectly harmonious chunky dip.
Let’s take a moment to evaluate why it is so difficult for a chip company to capture what we really love about guacamole. First of all, the texture. Predominantly consisting of chunky avocado pieces that exude a rich and unctuous mouth feel, that is offset with bright pops of onion, garlic, tomato and cilantro. Secondly, fat on fat. Sure, in both cases we enjoy the deliciously fried corn tortilla chips, but with real, fresh guacamole, we that fat level is heightened to a whole new level. Lastly, with real guacamole it is mandatory be have cold margaritas or beer within an arm’s reach at all times (we’re fairly certain that this is a law…). And, we can’t say the same about whether or not this same “law” is mandatory with guacamole flavored chips?
Food Should Taste Good’s Guacamole Tortilla Chips do a fairly good job of hitting the flavor notes of real guacamole. First, right off the bat is a waft of some vegetal presence. Next, came a powerful lime note, followed closely by a bit of heat. Actually, that bit of heat continued to build as we consumed more chips. The chips were rounded out with a muddled melange of other flavors that seemed to include cilantro, chili, tomato, garlic, onion, and even cumin. The chips were flavorful, and pretty tasty, but something about them seemed sort of weird.
It took us a few minutes of pondering to really pinpoint what it was that perplexed us about these chips. First of all, the chips are not reallly seasoned in the typical sense of the description. Normally, we can taste the “flavor” of the chip by licking them, because they have been coated with a dusting of seasoning. These chips were not coated with seasoning, instead the flavorful ingredients were ground, or mixed, directly into the tortilla chip’s dough. While this is not the first time we have seen this technique, we can’t say that we really enjoyed this technique with these chips very much. On another note, we also did not enjoy the use of the ultra aromatic lime oil; especially without the use of some type of acid, or sour notes to accurately represent the citrus. These chips really could have used that burst of citric acid, or some vinegar, to cut through all of the powerful, slightly monotone, flavor components.
All that being said, we found the fresh, and crispy tortilla chips very easy to eat. Their dirty green color made us feel like we were getting our veggie servings in while still enjoying some crunchy goodness. While they may not be satisfying our urges for real guacamole and chips, we would gladly crunch on these in a pinch. Once again, we should definitely recognize Food Should Taste Good’s decision to push the industry’s flavor limits, and continually add unique flavors to their impressive line-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 by Food Should Taste Good Brand for review
Food Should Taste Good Official Website
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REVIEW: Hardbite – Smokin’ BBQ Handcrafted Potato Chips
Rating: ©©©-3/4 chips (notable)
Hardbite’s Handcrafted Potato Chips arrive to our front steps all of the way from our chilly neighbors to the North. According to the back of the bag, Hardbite Potato Chips are: “The Official Chip of Cascadia,” which apparently, “is the area of land from the great Pacific Ocean to our towering coastal mountains, running wild and free from the border of the Golden Bear State to the northern tip of British Columbia…..Cascadia is a movement, an idea, an ethos. It’s like-minded individuals driven by a unifying vision.” Apparently, Casacadia encompasses a lot, but can Hardbite’s Potato Chips do the same?!?!
Believe it or not, Hardbite Handcrafted Potato Chips are true to their name! We would consider their potato chips on the medium to heavy thickness level, and probably the best way to describe their texture is sort of hard? Rather than the usual crispy description, the chips exhibit a dense chewy and toothsome quality, that seems to be the result of being cut so thick, and absorbing so much oil. Luckily, the chips some how do not seem “oily” at all, they are just a bit of a work out for our mouths.
When it comes to barbecue seasoning, it seems like far too many companies just cannot balance the many ingredients to create one cohesive flavor. And, anytime we see an adjective describing the type of barbecue flavor we are about to taste as, ie: spicy, sweet, or smokin’, we immediately assume that the seasoning will include a heavy hand towards that flavor. However, Hardbite’s Smokin’ BBQ is not really very smoky at all. Rather, we would call them a well rounded BBQ flavor with subtle hints of sweet, heat, and of course smoke.
Probably the best part about their specific BBQ seasoning blend is that it compliments Hardbite’s thick cut, potato chips rather nicely. The light coat of seasoning allowed the potato chips to shine, and exude their pure and tasty potato flavor. Hardbite’s chips remind us of eating fried potatoes (why this is a surprise, we don’t know, because they ARE fried potatoes).
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 Hardbite Potato Chips for review
Chip Ratings Scale:
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Chip Review 