Lay's USA Wavy Greek Tzatziki

Here is #1/4 from Lay's current Passport to Flavor promotion; "Wavy Greek Tzatziki".

Quick Review: These are HELLA GOOD! The wavy cut chip adds a ton of potato flavor and the seasoning tastes like you've dipped a chip in a bowl or refreshing, bright, garlic-y, minty, Tzatziki. If you are a fan of the traditional Mediterranean dip, you will enjoy this flavor.

Long Review: See my post from this flavor when it was a Costco Exclusive.

Gotta Get At This: Lay's USA Passport to Flavor promotion

Lay's USA just announced 4 new flavors that will be released this month of a limited time. "Brazilian Picanha", "Chinese Szechuan Chicken", "Wavy Greek Tzatziki" and "Kettle Cooked Indian Tikka Masala".
Are you a Lay's nerd noticing something fishy here? Me too. "Wavy Greek Tzatziki" and "Kettle Cooked Indian Tikka Masala" already exist Lay's!! Don't try to trick me!! These are both previously released Costco exclusive flavors. Read my review of  Tzatziki here.
THAT BEING SAID, the flavors will still be new to the general public. And won't come in ridiculous giant sized bags. The promotion is a fun tie in with the Summer Olympics in Brazil. These types of flavors haven't really been explored in the US... so it will be nice change on shelves.

Flavors: For those out of the know; "Brazilian Picanha" is a favored cut of beef at Brazilian Churrascarias, "Chinese Szechuan Chicken" is a deep fried or stir fried Chicken dish that uses the spicy Szechuan peppers for the Szechuan province in China along with Garlic, "Greek Tzatziki" is a Yogurt dip popular in Mediterranean cuisine that is seasoned with Mint, Cucumber, and Garlic, and "Indian Tikka Masala" is a Chicken dish popular in India and the UK composed of Yogurt Marinated Chicken that is then added to a Tomato based sauce with spice mix.
All of these flavors sound bold and exciting.
They will be available in the USA July 25th. Will you be searching for any of these?

Contest: Lay's USA Do Us A Flavor 2015 Finalists Announced!

They announced these flavors last week, but I was on vacation so sorry if you didn't hear the news here. However, if you didn't already find out... GUESS WHAT! Lay's announced the 4 flavor finalists in their Do Us A Flavor competition! This batch of flavors is pretty wild; this year's premise was that they've been inspired by local, regional flavors, so let's see what we've got and walk through them together.
First up, a Kettle Cooked option, "Greektown Gyro" a Gyro and Tzatziki flavored chip inspired by a Gyro shop in Texas. For this flavor to work, it's probably gonna be pretty hearty when paired with that thicker Kettle Chip. The Costco bag of Tzatziki chips I reviewed the other day was pretty authentic and delicious, so I'm hopeful these are gonna follow suit.
Next up, the Wavy option, "West Coast Truffle Fries". These are inspired by dressed up French Fries from Irvine, CA. Since, I live pretty close to Irvine, I'll just go out on a limb and say, this is not a typical thing. Yes, we do have a hipster foodie scene that sells all sorts of things on top of French Fries, but Truffle is not something I have found specifically often. These are probably pretty delicious though, since the Wavy chip only has to do the job of Fries. Not that hard to mess up. Right?
Third up is "Southern Biscuits and Gravy"; now this says regional flavor to me! It's another flavor of a dressed up starch, so if they can nail that gravy flavor and a hint of floury biscuits, these should be awesome.
Last one is "New York Reuben", again a flavor that sounds super regional to me and makes perfect sense. I'm a huge fan of the way Lay's USA handles Sandwich flavors, so I have no doubt this will be great. I anticipate it will have the corned beef flavor, and a sour note from either sauerkraut or pickles or both, and then a sweetness from rye bread.

So what are your thoughts about this year's finalists? Are they too extreme? Or are you excited?
Share your opinions in the comments section below.

Lay's USA Wavy Greek Tzatziki

So I'm sitting here at my cousin's house, trying to finalize our next International escapade... and she pulls this bag out! I'm like "why didn't you tell me about this!!" And she thought, obviously, that because I am the mastermind behind a ridiculous chip blog, I would have already had the pleasure. BUT NO!
UM, YOU GUYS...It's "Greek Tzatziki!! In the US!! On a Wavy Chip!!

Apparently she found this bag at Costco. Costco is known to have a lot of exclusive deals with Frito-Lay, (they exclusively carry Organic Ruffles, Organic Stacey's Pita Chips, and MSG-free Doritos Supreme Cheddar) so IDK maybe they are Costco exclusives... but no matter what, I've never heard of these!

Unlike Canada's intense fail of a "Tzatziki" chip, this version.... ACTUALLY TASTES LIKE TZATZIKI! The bag smells rich of Yogurt and Garlic. mmm. Then you take a bite, and the spot on taste of Yogurt, Garlic, Cucumber, and Dill cover your palette. The thick cut wavy chip is perfect. It's hearty and tastes like you've actually taken a chip and dipped it in Tzatziki. Everything about this bag is perfect. I was so surprised!

As, I've talked about here before, I make Tzatziki all the time at home, so I know what I think it should taste like... and to me this was just very well done! Maybe a little heavy handed on the garlic if I had to nitpick... but I can't because these were just a smash.
If you have a Costco Card, I say you gotta find these. They are just soooo good. Ask your friends to get them for you, do something.
Great for fans of Sour Cream & Onion or Ranch looking for a change... or even fans of the Wavy Roasted Garlic & Sea Salt.
So... has anyone seen these anywhere other than Costco? Have you tried them? Let's discuss in the comments section below!

Lay's Canada Kettle Cooked Tzatziki

Nope. Nope. Nope. This is not "Tzatziki". I don't know what this is, but "Tzatziki" it is not. "Tzatziki" is a refreshing yogurt dip made with Cucumber, Mint, and a bit of Garlic Salt. The flavor is meant to be light and refreshing. This bag should basically be re-labeled "SALT X 10000000". It was so salty that it was nearly inedible. It reeked of Garlic, and the flavor of Garlic competed with the Salt, giving the chip an overwhelmingly bad, off-putting, queasy, Garlic Salt flavor. There was a hint of Cucumber that came through on maybe one of every 9 chips. There was also a cheesy hint that I assume was meant to represent Yogurt but instead it sickened the Garlic Salt combo. The only bright star on this chip was the texture and cook of the Kettle Cooked Potato. As a person of middle eastern decent who eats "Tzatziki" at least a couple of times a week, this bag is an insult. It's like whoever made it didn't understand the basic flavors of the "Tzatziki" inspiration. Again, like the "Jalapeño Mac N Cheese", this bag tasted like it was part of a test batch in a lab, not ready for consumer palettes. Steer Clear of this one guys (even though it has already lost Canada's Do Us A Flavour contest... it's not worth the hunt).

Contest: Lay's Canada Do Us A Flavour 2014 Finalists Announced

 

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DAMNYOU CANADA! Why do you always have to be so amazing???! 

Get me a needle, cuz I want to mainline ALL of these flavors!!  

now.

"Bacon Poutine"? YES PLEASE.

"Cinnamon Bun"?  YES PLEASE.

Wavy "Jalepeno Mac N Cheese"? YES PLEASE.

Kettle Cooked "Tzatzki"?? GET OUT OF MY HEAD ALREADY AND GIVE THESE TO ME CANADA!!

For the uninitiated, Poutine is a Canadian classic... it's basically gravy and cheese curds on fries. The good lord knows that Bacon makes everything taste better... and so does Lay's, cuz they added it to their poutine flavored chips... (Also, Poutine is a year round flavor offered in Canada, so they gotta make this one stand out somehow. lol). I'm guessing this is the flavor to beat. Canadians already get "Smokey Bacon" and "Poutine" chips... so I reckon they will love the combination. 

"Cinnamon Bun" is a genius idea already... flavoring a chip to taste like a "Cinnamon Bun" is Hyper-genius! If you think about the unseasoned chip as a blank canvas (like the mighty Bun) and flavor that bad boy up with cinnamon and vanilla. MMMMM. It is probably gonna be the BOMB. (or nasty. it could be nasty too. who knows.)

"Jalepeno Mac N Cheese"... here us Americans were sitting cocky with our "Cheddar Bacon Mac & Cheese"... while all along the Canadians were in a lab somewhere concocting THIS!!?? 

Jalepeno. ANNNND. Macaroni and Cheese!!

HOW ARE WE STILL EVEN A SUPER POWER??

Refreshingly spicy Jalepeno against decadent Mac N Cheese....seriously. There is no way this will not be incredibly delicious.

The 4th finalist is "Tzatzki"... I am half Egyptian. This is my people's Ketchup, ok? We put this on EVERYTHING... because it belongs on everything. Including potato chips. This can not be bad. There's no way. 

OH, i'm sorry, what is Tzatzki you ask? It's basically plain yogurt with mint and fresh cucumber... I add Garlic Salt... some people use fresh garlic and lemon too... but the recipe kind of depends on who you ask. This will make every meal better. I'm not joking, I've seen my dad put it on Mexican food, Chinese food, Burgers... it doesn't matter. It is THAT good.

I just got a new passport, so I'm pretty much going to go now and get these... I can be there in 3 hours... who's coming??

Are you losing it for these flavors like I am? Or do you think I'm nuts? Let us know down below...