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).

Lay's Canada Wavy Jalapeño Mac N' Cheese

Here's my first review of the bags that came out of Canada's most recent "Do Us A Flavour" contest. I'm starting off with "WAVY Jalapeño Mac N' Cheese" as this is the bag that has already been announced the winner and is still available across Canada. This bag was SO weird to me. When you pop it open the smell that hit you is DEFINITELY Bacon Mac N' Cheese... I was so confused. It smelled Bacon-y, Meaty, Cheesy, and Vinegary. I passed the bag around and asked; and everyone who tasted this with me agreed there was a mysteriously unexplainable meat smell. Beyond the smell, diving into the bag you see orange-y yellow Wavy chips that are cooked well. The flavor is Cheesy with a hint of spice. You get some subtle Jalapeño , but it reads more like a black pepper flavor that washes over the whole of your tongue. There is some sort of acidic brightness coming through, but I couldn't tell what it was. It didn't seem like Jalapeño. The overall flavor was muddied. Yes it had cheese and acid, but I wouldn't call this bag an accurate representation of Jalapeño x Mac & Cheese. The bag seemed like it was still in the testing phase or something, with it's meaty smell, and it's odd spicing and acidity. If you want to try it and see if you agree, the bag should be available for the next year on Canadian shelves. I was able to buy these online, so I'm sure you can find them with a little hunting. When you do, let us know your impressions in the comments section.

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Guatemala Pollo Campero

Guatemala is doing it all right.  Their newest bag is a flavor based on a Guatemalan fast-food chain called "Pollo Campero", if that name rings any bells that's because there are 50 "Pollo Campero" restaurants here in the US. "Pollo Campero" is like "KFC" and "El Pollo Loco" had a baby. They are famous for their Fried Chicken and offer it up alongside typical South American side dishes like Empanadas and Plantains. Lay's has bagged up that locally loved recipe and is now offering it up to the lovely people of Guatemala. I love crossovers like these! They make eating chips so fun!
SO, have you tried "Pollo Campero"? Have you tried these? How do they compare? We'd love to know!

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Chile Sensaciones Collection Salmón Ahumado con Queso Crema, Queso Parmesano, Costillar con Finas Hierbas, and Original

 Lay's Chile is launching a beautifully packaged new collection called the "Sensaciones" collection. It's similar to the Sensations flavors found Globally in that the line is composed of complex and intriguing flavors. However, Chile makes the collection their own by making it a Kettle Cooked collection. This is the only Kettle Cooked Sensations line that I am aware of. The bold collection consists of a "Queso Parmesano/ Parmesan Cheese" flavor, "Salmón Ahumado con Queso Crema/Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese" flavor, "Costillar con Finas Hierbas/ Rack of Ribs with Fine Herbs", and "Original". All of these flavors, even the overly fancied up Original, sound exquisite. I'm very happy to see a Parmesan bag and the Rack of Ribs sounds epic. All in all, I'd say this collection is hunt worthy! What are you feeling? Sound off in the comments below.

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Belgium Winter Edition Naturel Oven Stars, Oven Crispy Thins Emmental Cheese and Olive Oil & Herbs, and Collection Tapas Olive and Pesto

Lay's Belgium has a lot of new releases hitting shelves recently, all of which look DELISH! Here's what's new...

Winter Edition Naturel Oven Stars is a FANTASTIC idea! In celebration of the Winter Holidays, they've released a Natural flavored (This is the same as Original or Ready Salted flavor) Star shaped chip. These are the same as Belgium's current "Naturel Oven" ridged, baked chips; but shaped like festive stars. Here in the states you can buy the regular shaped equivalent under the "Ruffles Original Oven Baked" moniker. The shape adds a little Holiday kitch to it, and that's something I'm a big fan of... but as far as being a bag worth chasing across nations, it may not be worth the hunt for just a shape change.

Belgium has also added a completely new collection to their repertoire... the "Collection Tapas". This is a collection France debuted back in 2013 composed of an "Olive" flavor and a "Pesto" flavor. The Olive flavor had some very favorable reviews online and both of them make perfect sense as potato chip flavors. If the collection is spreading, it would be great to see them hit the states, I can see them being a hit here.

Lastly, Belgium is extending their Oven crackers collection, it started with biscuits and now has reached out to include "Crispy Thins". These are just airy, thin, potato-based crackers flavored as "Emmental Cheese" and "Olive Oil & Herbs". Emmental is just a fancy way of saying Swiss Cheese which is a subtle cheese that probably compliments the cracker well. And Olive Oil and Herbs is pretty straight forward too. They sound yummy, and I assume the collection is selling well because it is expanding. What do you think? Is this beyond the scope of what you expect from Lay's? Or do they sound yummy? Let us know your opinions in the comments section below!