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?

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

 

click to enlarge

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...

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Romania De Sezon Flavors 2013

Last year Lay's Romania released a delicious sounding Autumnal collection that consisted of "Ciuperci și Smăntănă/ Mushrooms and Cream" and "Friptură de Porc/ Roast Pork". This year the "de Sezon" or "Seasonal" line has returned for Fall. "Mushrooms and Cream" is back and is accompanied by "Iaurt Cu Usturoi" aka "Yogurt with Garlic". Both flavors sound delicious and definitely representative of Fall in Romania. I said it last year, and I'll say it again, I think the idea of seasonal flavors is very clever. I was surprised not to see the collection continue into other seasons, and even more surprised to see it come back again during the Fall. I definitely think there are great flavors that could represent Winter, Summer, and Spring and think this should go on year-round. But, regardless, at least yummy Fall flavors are back.

Heads up Hunters, if you are looking for these, I doubt they will be out very long, so start searching now. Because, again, it's a Seasonal collection.

So, did anyone try these last year? How does the new offering sound to you? Do you want to see Lay's try this promotion in your country? Let us know in the comments below.

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Turkey Spoon Chips and Lay's Chile Salsa Mania

 

Lay's Turkey is spicing things up... their new "Kaşık Cips" or "Chip Spoons" come with a Turkish Baharat spice packet to be mixed in with yogurt to create a spicy yogurt dip... or you can skip the packet and just scoop up some plain yogurt. Very yummy-looking Mediterranean style chips. I gotta check these out.

And Lay's Chile is adding some flavor to their lineup... adding Salsa Mania to bags of "Corte Americano" bags. "Corte Americano" means "American cut" which is hilarious, because I don't think of "Wavy" cut chips when I think of chips in America, I don't think I've even  had a "Wavy" cut chip since I was like 6 years old lol.
I'm not sure if the bag comes packed with just Ketchup or just Mayo or both... I think it comes with both. So, if you are living in Chile, and are looking for something new, check this out. Chile also has their new finalist flavors out too... so there are a ton of yummy chip choices right now. AND, if you are NOT in Chile this is super easy to replicate here at home, so don't feel too bad about it. haha.