BIJOU-REVIEW: Chef’s Shoppe – Salsa Cheese Popcorn

Rating: ©©©-1/2 chips  (notable)

Anytime Chip Review’s all too generous friends bring them back the latest new popcorn creation from Chef’s Shoppe Gourmet Kitchen Store our mouths begin to water.

Unfortunately, this is not one of Chef’s Shoppe’s best offerings by a long shot….but then again it’s not fair to think that every new flavor we try from them will be as fantastically delicious as their Sriracha, or Beer, or Bacon Cheddar popcorn offerings.

Chef’s Shoppe’s Salsa Cheese flavored popcorn suffers from the same faults as a very few of their other flavors also do.

A touch too salty.  And we love salt.

Too cheesy.  Too cheesy?  Yep, that’s right, in this case the cheese powder completely overwhelms any sense of salsa flavors there may be.

Nacho Cheese in disguise.  The only other flavor that we could actually distinguish was some essence of chile pepper.  Maybe jalapeño.  Combine this with the loads of cheese, and all our minds could think was NACHO CHEESE (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just not what we were hoping for).

Of course Chef’s Shoppe’s popcorn itself was top notch as usual.  Crispy, and fresh, and expertly coated in seasoning.  But, all we were thinking the whole time we were eating this flavor was why we hadn’t just gotten bigger bags of those other great flavors mentioned above?!

Popcorn provided to Chip Review by J & V for review

Chef’s Shoppe Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

BIJOU-REVIEW: Pop Art – Tandoori Yogurt Gourmet Popcorn

Rating: ©©©-1/2 chips  (notable)

Last year we were lucky enough to try Pop Art’s fantastic Thai Coconut Curry Gourmet Popcorn.  In fact, they nearly cracked our Top 10 of 2015.

So, to say that we were excited for Pop Art’s Tandoori Yogurt Gourmet Popcorn would be a huge understatement.

Unfortunately, we were let down by these the very second we popped some handfuls into our mouth holes.

Compared to the unique and explosive Thai Coconut Curry, the Tandoori Yogurt was just plain old tame and muted.

The seasoning was not bad in any way, just simple and bland in every way.

Certainly savory, we’ll give it that.  Also, evoking of a few fleeting thoughts of Indian food.  But really, we could not pinpoint any actual, single, typical Tandoori flavors of ginger, or cumin, or tumeric, or coriander, or yogurt.

All we really tasted was a slightly rich creamy essence, combined with an extra savory jumble of seasoning.  Both of which were scattered evenly across Pop Art’s deliciously light popcorn kernels.

As always, these are our thoughts. Agree or disagree, make sure to let us know.

Popcorn discovered at TJ Maxx; Oakbrook, Illinois

Pop Art Snacks Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

BIJOU-REVIEW: Chef’s Shoppe – Jalapeño Ranch Cheese Popcorn

Rating: ©©©-1/2 chips  (notable)

This is not Chef’s Shoppe’s best offering by a long shot….

Maybe they just set the bar too high with the likes of their amazing Sriracha, and Beer, and Bacon Cheddar flavored Popcorns.  Or, maybe we just scrutinize them too harshly??  Either way, this flavor doesn’t come close!

Too salty.  And we love salt.

Too cheesy.  What?  Too cheesy?  That’s right, in this case the cheese powder completely overwhelms the other flavors.

Ranch = creamy garlic.  That’s we really taste.  No tang, and certainly no mention of any herbal notes, like dill.

Wheres the jalapeño?  Sure, we feel that tickle in the backs of our throats, but we don’t really taste any of the actual vegetal chili flavor.

Of course the Chef’s Shoppe’s popcorn itself is top notch as usual, but all we were thinking the whole time we were eating this flavor was why we hadn’t just gotten bigger bags of those other great flavors mentioned above?!

Popcorn provided to Chip Review by J & V for review

Chef’s Shoppe Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

BIJOU-REVIEW: Rachel’s – Sriracha Sour Cream Gourmet Kettle Chips

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

Wow Rachel, been a long time.  And what’s this…you’ve changed your look, haven’t you?  Well, just wanted to let you know that we like what you’ve done with your style!

Rachel’s New! Sriracha Sour Cream Kettle Chips are really pretty tasty!

We have tried quite a few different Sriracha flavored chips and popcorn over the past few years, but these kettle chips mark our very first sour cream and sriracha combination.

Quick flavor opinion = winning combination!

The sriracha seasoning blend – red hot chili pepper, vinegar, garlic – is tasty and accurate!

The sour cream flavor aspect adds a delicious layer of smooth and creamy tongue tang.

The overall flavor combination is very savory, and simply very delicious!

Rachel’s “Gourmet” Kettle Chips are medium thick, and substantially crunchy.

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

Chips graciously provided to Chip Review from TurkeyBucket for review

Rachel’s Kettle Chips Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

REVIEW: Pop Art – Thai Coconut Curry Gourmet Popcorn

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

This popcorn probably, NO, most certainly, deserves a thorough review, but as we tried to formulate the correct descriptive sentences to accurately communicate the amazing deliciousness that is this popcorn, we found ourselves at a loss….plain and simple, this popcorn is delectable and perplexing!

We are not very familiar with Pop Art Gourmet Popcorn other than we have tasted and reviewed their Rosemary Truffle popcorn in the past (which we enjoyed as well).  But, after this Thai Coconut Curry popcorn, we’re thinking that we had better familiarize ourselves with them really quickly!

We checked the database and it looks like we have tried plenty of Thai flavored snacks (which we more often than not – love!), and a few Curry flavored snacks, but never the two together.  Now we know what we have been missing.

This popcorn is so good, and we think that it is also so authentically seasoned.  Truly spot on!  The list of ingredients includes curry powder, lemongrass, coconut milk, curry spices, mustard, lime, turmeric, and more!  And the best part is that we we could actually distinguish a lot of those ingredients, while enjoying tremendously how well they came together!

So savory, so fragrant, so flavorful, so foreign, a little spicy, and so, so, so originally authentic!  It achieves a total food sensation, and somehow makes you feel as if you are really eating curry!

The Thai Curry seasoning blend mingles with the tight, fresh, crispy, toothsome, full bodied popcorn kernels extremely well!  Really good popcorn, combined with great seasoning equals very happy reviewers!

All in all, great lip-smacking popcorn, and we can’t wait to spot some of Pop Art’s other gourmet flavors!

As always, these are our thoughts. Agree or disagree, make sure to let us know.

Popcorn discovered at TJ Maxx; Oakbrook, Illinois

Pop Art Snacks Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

RATING: Chef’s Shoppe – Loaded Potato Cheese Popcorn

Rating: ©©©© chips  (lip-smacking)

Popcorn provided to Chip Review by J & V for review

Chef’s Shoppe Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

RATING: Brim’s – Gourmet White Cheddar Popcorn

Rating: ©©©-3/4 chips (notable)

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list