BIJOU-REVIEW: T.G.I. Friday’s – Sweet Potato Skins Original

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

We wonder if any restaurant out there has actually put a potato skin, using a sweet potato, on their appetizer menu? That sounds pretty tasty, and like it could actually work.

However, we are here to tell you that sweet potato does not work in this potato skin “chip” form.  Otherwise known as the sweet potato powder pressed potato crisp!

Yes, that is correct, the very first ingredient in these potato skins is sweet potato powder…..eww.

We appreciate TGI Friday’s stretching the potato skin family boundaries….but these simply DO NOT WORK.

Their taste is too odd, with a semi-off-putting finish and aftertaste.

The chips are sweet, there is no doubt about that.  So in that sense, they are a new type of potato skin unlike any we have tried before.  And quite frankly, based on these alone, unlike any we would like to try again.

We can, and do, taste some sweet potato, but in the end, all our mouths really did was recognize just how unnatural tasting these are.  And we agree with our mouths’ assessments!

Skins discovered at 7-eleven; Burr Ridge, Illinois

TGI Friday’s Snacks Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

REVIEW: Fritos – Chile y Limón (Mexico)

Rating: ©©©-1/2 chips  (notable)

Sorry Fritos, but compared to your fantastically delicious, and plain old amazing brethren, that we just recently reviewed, these Chile y Limón flavored corn chips are just sort of así así.

Really, it just comes down to these chile and limón not having nearly the depth of flavor, or the originality, or the funk of the delectable chorizo and chipotle.

Short funny story about finding  these Fritos at our local tollway oasis 7-eleven.  This particular gas station likes to relabel their Frito Lay Mexico snacks with the English flavor translation.  Most of the time they are usually accurate with these translations, but with this particular bag they had labeled them with Chili and Lemon…..WRONG!  Now, in their defense limón does accurately translate to both lemon and lime geographically speaking (in fact, this is a very widely discussed topic in Latin America).  However, in this case, we feel like it should be pretty darn apparent that limón is referring to lime.  We’re talking about Fritos from Mexico where they use limes predominantly, and we’re talking about a practically classic chip flavor combination used throughout the United States.  Not to mention that there is a green piece of citrus fruit in the bottom right hand corner of the bag……

Getting back to the corn chips themselves, they were, again, just so so.  We did get a pretty decent splash of citrus-y lime sour, but only the slightest dash chile pepper flavor.  Even less impressive was their complete lack of any chile heat.

All that being said, the corn chips are perfectly edible and crunchable, but we will be sticking with the impeccable chorizo and chipotles.

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

Discovered at 7-eleven; Hwy. 294, Hinsdale Oasis, Illinois

Fritos Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

BIJOU-REVIEW: Uncle Ray’s – Roasted Garlic Potato Chips

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

GREAT GARLICKY GOODNESS!!

Warning: if you are a vampire, or have an aversion to garlic, you will want to stay away from these!

We can really appreciate the simplicity of these potato chips.

There is not one shred of doubt regarding what the intention of these chips really is.

Plain and simple, garlic flavored potato chips.

We wouldn’t go so far as to call them “roasted” garlic, as we don’t really get much of that sticky-sweet-caramelized garlic flavor.  Instead, these are potent, pungent, GARLIC flavored potato chips.

The potato chips are very thin cut, crispy, and deliver a good amount of delicious potato flavor.

We could eat these all day long, and then we could work the entire next day on getting our breath to smell anything like garlic!

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

Discovered at Shell Gas Station; Burr Ridge, Illinois

Uncle Ray’s Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

REVIEW: Fritos – Chorizo & Chipotle (Mexico)

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

These are, far and away, without a shred of a doubt, the best Fritos we have ever, ever-ever-ever, tried!  Where have you suckers been all of our life?!?

THANK YOU – Hinsdale Tollway Oasis 7-eleven gas station!  If it was not for you and your little rack of Frito Lay Mexico snacks then we may have never found these fantastic corn chips!  Which brings us to ask one simple question – why is this flavor not made or produced in the U.S.?  Why?!?  Here’s a suggestion – make these available everywhere in the U.S.  And heck, while you are at it, bring back Frito Bandito – he would pair perfectly with these!

Wow, these have some real Mexican chorizo bite –  an unmistakable funk, a tang, a rich & zesty sausage flavor!  It’s almost as if these Fritos have been sprinkled with actual Mexican chorizo in seasoning form!

Right from the get go you can tell that these dark Fritos are bringing another level to their corn chip game.  Besides the spicy aroma that permeates from the bag, grab a handful of these corn chips and they are heavy, and almost wet, or sort of greasy….kind of like chorizo.

Fritos hearty corn chips go very, very, very well with this chorizo and chipotle seasoning blend! And, come to think of it, why wouldn’t they?  Corn is a major staple in Mexican cuisine, and of course it pairs perfectly with other staples like chorizo sausage and chipotle chilies!

Speaking of that other flavor component – chipotle, we don’t really taste any of this chili’s usual smokey notes.  Sure there is plenty of zesty heat present, but we can neither confirm, nor deny, that it is coming from the addition of chipotles.  What we can confirm is that we DO NOT CARE, because whatever this seasoning is made up of is delicious just the way it is!

Come’on Fritos!  Do us a solid and put these on our U.S. shelves everywhere regular Fritos already are.  And to you Fritos lovers out there, if you cross paths with these delicious chips, do not hesitate to buy every bag you see on the shelf!!

Junk Food Guy reviewed these about three years ago, and his opinion is quite different than our own.  Our best guess is that his taste buds were off from too many delicious vacation margaritas!

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

Discovered at 7-eleven; Hwy. 294, Hinsdale Oasis, Illinois

Fritos Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

BIJOU-REVIEW: I Heart Keenwah – Aged Cheddar Quinoa Puffs

Rating: ©©©-3/4 chips  (notable)

Quinoa = Keenwah

We still giggle a little every time we hear someone try to pronounce quinoa for the first time… Quin-noah?, is what we usually hear.

Ooooh, the quinoa puffs are in the shape of a heart. Yep, it’s those little details that really get us every time.

Well, these are certainly unique, and definitely a first.

Unfortunately, opinions seem to also be uniquely split right down the middle.

Some of us here at Chip Review really, really, appreciated the quinoa puffs, and after a couple additional handfuls, began to love them.  Extra crunchy, cheddar dusted, grain-y quinoa “croutons”.

Others of us here at Chip Review did not like them one bit.   Sorry.  Weird, hard, quinoa snack nuggets.

Hearty crunch, not a meltable texture at all. These are not puffs like we know puffs.  No corn meal melt at the site of tongue moisture here….these “puffs” have some body.  They are cruuuuuunchy!  Plain and simple, the quinoa puffs’ texture is not normal, and may even be off putting to some…..but, definitely unique!

The aged cheddar seasoning is fine. It is salty, a little funky, with a good orange color.

Some will love these, and others not so much.  We can’t wait to try some more flavors from these guys!

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

Puffs discovered at Marshall’s; Lombard, Illinois

I Heart Keenwah Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

BIJOU-REVIEW: Mariano’s – Fresh Fried Seasoned Deli Chips

Rating: ©©©-1/4 chips  (notable)

Those of you living outside of the Chicago area may not be familiar with Mariano’s grocery stores, but who knows, with the way that they have been expanding lately, you maybe familiar with them one day….very soon.

In a nutshell Mariano’s is an “upscale” grocery store that includes all of the typical big box grocery store items, but then then at the same time also includes higher end amenities such as a sit down sushi bar, beer and wine available to drink while you shop, wood fired pizza, an in store popcorn “shop”, and much more.  Long description short, they are a great place to pick up something to eat, while shopping for groceries.

On our most recent visit to Mariano’s we spotted this bag of Fresh Fried Seasoned Deli Potato Chips, and thought they deserved a quick crunch and examination.

First thing we noticed right off the bat is that these are some really thick cut potato chips, delivering an extra hardy crunch.

But with that thick cut also came lots of fry oil potato absorption…..aka, greasy, or let’s say oily chips.

To go along with that, the potato chips themselves do not have very much potato flavor.  All we really tasted was the oil, and the deli seasoning.

The deli seasoning seemed to be a riff on the traditional salt and pepper combo.  It contained plenty of salt, and big black pepper specs, as well as some garlic and onion for flavor.

The seasoning, along with the crunch, were the best things about these chips.

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

Chips spotted at Mariano’s; Westchester, Illinois

Mariano’s Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

REVIEW: Late July – Sriracha Fresca Tortilla Chips

Rating: ©©©© chips  (lip-smacking)

It was about a year ago this month when we first spotted Late July’s current bag design; which at that time was coinciding with the release of their Taco Truck inspired Clasico Tortilla Chips.  Both creations, the bags and the chips were pretty terrific.  We wrote the following words in regards to those newly designed bags, and those same words surely apply here with Late July’s latest aggressively green specimen!

Anyone who tries to tell you that appearance doesn’t matter is kidding themselves!  Appearance does matter, even when it comes to chips, and Late July Snacks really seems to understand this with the design of their new….bags!  Just look at that electric green bag to your left!  Eye catching isn’t it?  Great sense of style.  Bold, yet refined.  Simple, and yet so poignantly candid with their visual message that our mouths start salivating just by looking at the bag. 

Sriracha Fresca?!  Hmmmm…..  fresh sriracha huh….?  We sort of doubt that these chips have been covered in freshly blended, Thai chili, sriracha hot sauce.  Wouldn’t that make the tortilla chips really soggy?  Either way, nit-picking aside, Sriracha Fresca is a perfectly acceptable flavor name variation of the popular flavor!  Late July being the latest of chip companies adding another mark to the ever growing list of sriracha flavored chips!

Sriracaha hot sauce really goes well with everything!  And, sriracha hot sauce flavored seasoning goes well with every crunchy snack as well!!  However, in our opinion, the snack food seasoning version does go best with potato chips, as opposed to tortilla chips or popcorn.  That being said, these are probably the most delicious sriracha flavored tortilla chips that we have tasted thus far.

For one reason or another the combination of corn tortilla chips, and sriracha’s slightly spicy, slightly sweet, and extra garlicky flavor notes always make us think of other tortilla chip flavors that already existed prior to SRIRACHA EVERYTHING – flavors like sweet & spicy chili, or sweet chili & red pepper.  In other words, they do not really offer up anything new to the chip game.  Late July’s version does offer the addition of lime juice (we’re assuming this is the fresca aspect), and we can appreciate the slight variation, but it is not nearly enough for us to say WOW! These chips have something very different about them!

Late July’s tortilla chips themselves are pretty fantastic!  Easily among the best tortilla chips out there.  In fact, these tortilla chips could even quite possibly be mistaken for a Doritos tortilla chip in a blind crunch test.  Light and crispy, with those lovely little air pockets that give our mouths some real enjoyment.  They also deliver a good amount of real ground corn flavor.

So, in the end, these new Sriracha Fresca tortilla chips are lip-smackingly eatable, but if you are looking for something that scream unfamiliar, or even makes you actually think of real sriracha from the bottle, then these probably aren’t it.

If you see Late July Organic Chips in your neck of the woods, do yourself a favor and give them a try – all of them!

Chips discovered at Whole Foods; River Forest, Illinois

Late July Organic Snacks Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list