BIJOU-REVIEW: T.G.I. Friday’s – Buffalo Ranch Party Bites

Rating: ©©©-3/4 chips  (notable)

PARTY!!!

TGI Friday’s is back again with another restaurant themed line (if two flavors can constitute a line) of crunchy RTE snacks, that should be available in a snack aisle near you this month.

These Party Bites, if you haven’t already read for yourself, are “Premium Puffed Corn Snacks”; or, as we like to call them – PUFFS.

The Party Bites are roughly a third of the size of a standard cheese puff, and maybe 3/4’s of an inch long.

In other words, perfect for popping handfuls of bites all party long.

TGIF’s Buffalo Ranch seasoning is a tasty combination.  Nice, sharp, tangy and slightly spicy buffalo flavor, supported by a sour, herbal, garlic-onion background flavor.  Seasoning wise, these are very solid.

That being said, the puffs – wait, sorry, the Party Bites – are lacking the typical, rich, mouth-melting texture of the best puffs.

We’re guessing that there are two reasons for these Party Bites not bringing the delicious  thunder.  1) they are baked (are the usually fatty puffs baked?), and 2) they are lacking the usual presence of rich and smooth cheese powder.

Despite their texture lacking a bit, TGIF’s new Party Bites are a solid new snack item.

Bites provided to Chip Review by T.G.I. Friday’s for review

TGI Friday’s Snacks Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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BIJOU-REVIEW: T.G.I. Friday’s – Sweet & Spicy Happy Hour Snack Mix

Rating: ©©©© chips  (lip-smacking)

It is about that time, right?

We can only imagine how this over-the-top, disjointed “happy hour snack mix” came to exist.

Dude 1: Hey man, do you have anything we could crunch on with these ice cold brewskies?

Dude 2: Not sure…let me check the cupboards.  Oh yeah, let’s see here…..looks like I’ve got butter toffee peanuts, wasabi peas, roasted almonds, pecans, cashews, some rice crackers, and cajun corn sticks…..oh yeah, and apparently honey mustard pretzels.  What would you like?

Dude 1: Well, it is happy hour, so everything! Mixed together!

And as they say….the rest is history.

Not too much to say about these.  TGI Friday’s has taken a lot, and we do mean A LOT, of high quality products we know and love, and combined them into one sweet & spicy mess of a snack mix.  Despite the weird combination of disconnected crunchy pieces, it somehow all works!!  The wasabi peas are certainly the most dominantly flavor profile, but most of the other mix ingredients play off of the unmistakable nasal heat just fine.  The variety of nuts provide a good level of mouth fat and textural difference, and the pretzels are there to bring everything home, and probably to soak up the beer!

Mix 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

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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

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RATING: T.G.I. Friday’s – Extreme Heat Crunchy Fries

Rating: ©©©© chips  (lip-smacking)

Chips discovered at CVS; West Hartford, Conneticut

T.G.I. Friday’s Snacks Official Website

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

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RATING: T.G.I. Friday’s – Bacon Ranch Potato Skins Snack Chips

Rating: ©©©-1/2 chips  (notable)

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

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RATING: T.G.I. Friday’s – Salt & Cracked Pepper Kettle Cooked Potato Chips

Rating: ©©©-1/2 chips  (notable)

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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RATING: T.G.I. Friday’s – Jalapeno Cheddar Crunchy Cheddar Bites

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

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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