Lay's USA Lime & Sea Salt

OH HELLO BEAUTIFUL!
Look what we found in the wild guys! A Limited Time Flavor from Lay's USA! I found these "Lime & Sea Salt" Lay's when I was cruising Fremont Street in Las Vegas, NV. I had heard NOTHING about them, but that flavor looked DELICIOUS, especially in the 100 degree heat.
The potato is thin and has a nice light yellow color. The light cook on this chip really lent itself well to such a refreshing flavor. The flavor was VERY complex. There was a noticeable sweetness from the Lime but also a refreshing sour/ acidic taste. Sharing this bag with my friends, we all compared the bag to "Salt & Vinegar" but noticeably sweeter. The sour flavor is very clearly juicy Lime.  And the Salt is the perfect amount for this bag.
So it's this beautiful, even balance of Salt & Sour with a bit of refreshing sweet. I really LOVED this bag. It was really perfect for a day in the desert, lol.

I haven't heard a peep about these online, so I don't know how long they will be available. I would guess it's a Summer flavor. So, if this sounds like something you'd want to get a hold of, I would start looking now. If you can't find it in Supermarkets, I'd suggest checking liquor stores or gas stations. This is THEE Summer bag for fans of Lay's "Limon" or "Salt & Vinegar". Happy Hunting!

Lay's USA Tapatio Limon

These are the bomb yall!! Another bag that scared me with red seasoning and this time a bottle of hot sauce on the outside! But, it is a gentle giant.
The Tapatio Limon flavored bag is LITERALLY the same seasoning as Mexico's Sabrita's "Adobadas" BUT with Lime! It's also pretty close in flavor to the "Chile Limon" flavor from Lay's USA. It was spicy, but not crazy spicy. The spice builds as you snack. I made my way through almost half the bag before I decided I needed to stop, so it's pretty addictive. The chips, as usual now with Lay's USA is a pretty good/ decent quality. The potato flavor definitely benefits from the comforting, tomato-y, flavor of the Tapatio, the kick from the spice, and the brightness of the Lime. All in all, it's an A+ chip. Great addition to the Lay's USA range.

Cheetos Mexico Horneados Bolitas Queso y Chile and Fritos Mexico Sal y Limon

 Every once in a while I like to mix it up and not eat Lay's, lol. This time while visiting a Mexican swap meet my friend and I decided to grab some Cheetos and Fritos. I'm always suspicious about what the "plain" flavor of Cheetos is because it varies from country to country. Here in the US it's "Cheese" but in Mexico it happens to be a "Chili and Cheese" flavor and that's what you have in this bag. Cheetos Horneados are baked Cheetos and Bolitas are the cheeseball shape, but the only mention of a flavor is down in the fine print where it says "Queso y Chile".
The flavor immediately reminded me of the classic Lay's Mexican Adobada flavor, a spice mix of mostly Chipotle and Lime. But here on the Cheetos it is mixed with the classic Cheetos Cheese flavor. It is suprisingly epic!
So much is happening flavor-wise; the corn flavor from the puff is very rich. PLUS the cheese, then spice with some smokiness, and lastly some lime tang. It sounds like nonsense, but it is really yummy!! I highly recommend these. They are just weirdly good!

The other pickup that day was Fritos "Sal y Limon" aka "Salt and Lime". These were interesting. The texture is a fail. Compared to the US Fritos, the texture is much thinner and flakier. Thats pretty weird for a corn chip. The flavor however is awesome. While US Fritos are VERY Salty (but it works), the salt in this bag was way more tame. That, combined with the bright Lime flavor, was pretty delicious.
I think ultimately, what is good about these two bags is what I have cheered before in regards to Mexico's Lay's Chips: that's to say that the chip texture is weird but the seasoning always makes their chips addictive.

I think if you have the chance to pick these up, do it. They are a nice change of pace, without being full on CRAZY flavors. They are typical flavors used in Mexican cuisine, so they are being executed well.

OK Here's Some Late News: Walkers UK Market Deli & Sensations Lime with Thai Spices

Walkers in the UK has also launched the Market Deli line I talked about the other day from Holland. They've got 3 of the same flavors "Balsamic Vinegar of Modena", "Flame Grilled Spanish Chorizo with Roasted Onion", and "Wiltshire Cured Ham, Mature Cheddar and Farmhouse Chutney". Plus 2 more flavors "Cornish Mature Cheddar" and "Anglesey Sea Salt". As I said before, the sophistication of the flavors makes these really exciting and unique in the world of Lay's.

Another differentiation between the UK range and Netherlands is the expansion into Pita Chips and Tortilla Chips. Even though I don't really mention these usually, I might as well cover the expanded range. The Pita Chips are available in "Roasted Garlic and Mediterranean Herbs"and "Sweet Roasted Red Pepper with English Tomato". The Tortilla Chips are flavored as "Roasted Red Chilli with Mediterranean Sundried Tomato" and "Anglesey Sea Salt with Cracked Black Pepper".

Real Talk: These are beautiful and I want them. That is all.

(Apparently this line came out first, and that's why it's a more comprehensive line than the Dutch one)

 Last little Bonus is that the Sensations line has added a new potato chip flavor in their "Gently Infused Lime with Thai Spices" flavor. Sounds literally perfect. Lime and spice go great together. The Sensations line has always been that more sophisticated line of Potato chip flavors from Lay's/ Walkers. And even with the new Market Deli collection, it still will be an elevated flavor experience from the run-of-the-mill chips. So this new flavor seems to just be a continuation of that experience.

Sabritas USA Adobadas

My friend was so sweet... she was visiting from Mexico, and while here she heard I had this blog so she asked me to try these "Adobadas" chips with her. I was thinking they were gonna be from our southern neighbors, but as soon as I saw these I knew they were from the wonderful US of A. I've reviewed the Mexican version in the past so I noticed the logo is different... but also, this US version says it comes from Plano, Texas on the back. That is a pretty good giveaway if you are ever confused.
I assume these are made for communities in the United States that have a substantial percentage of Hispanic people in them. I used to see them in the Hispanic markets in my neighborhood before they all converted to Asian markets lol. #butreallytho

So, lets talk review. When you open the bag you catch a huge whiff of Body Odor... yup... body odor. At least, to me, that's what cumin smells like. Because Cumin is straight up nasty. Cumin is one of the many spices that make up the Adobo seasoning that is popular in Spanish cooking. Adobo can be used dry as a spice rub or it can be made into a sauce and it is comprised of Salt, Pepper, Onion Powder, Cumin, Garlic Powder, and Chili Powder. Just from the smell, the bag may seem overwhelming, but if you can hold your breath, it is a great bag of chips. Just like it's Mexican counterpart that I reviewed back in 2012, these chips are seasoned deliciously. You don't get the taste of Cumin once you start snacking, however the Paprika and Onion Powder do shine through. Along with the spice mix comes hearty tomato flavor and sour lime. The adobo is rich and flavorful, and the lime cuts that spice perfectly. The chip itself is light-years ahead of Mexico's version (theirs has a weird gritty texture), the chips all look nice and have a mild flavor (As with regular US Lay's, the chips just don't have the rich potato-y taste you find in other nations). But, as the seasoning is the star on these chips, you don't miss the robust potato flavor. The combination is really tasty and I could see fans of BBQ chips and fans of spicy chips both liking these a lot (and no, i'm not calling these spicy). If you are a fan of Mexico's "Adobadas" chips, then I def think these are an upgrade, and they are much easier to get a hold of.
If you haven't tried these before I highly recommend you hunting them down next time you are near a Hispanic market or a convenience store in Hispanic neighborhoods. Happy Hunting ya'll.

Contest: World Cup Round-Up - Colombia, Perú, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Panama, El Salvador, Honduras, Egypt, Arabia, & Chile... and a little Ranting!

Ima put this out there right now. Some of these companies should be ashamed by how bad their online presence is. ASHAMED. The World Cup has been over for like 3 months now, however, 6 of these countries started World Cup contests and just never revealed who the winners were on their shared website. Peru, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Panama, El Salvador, and Honduras; they don't really have websites to begin with, but they launched a beautiful interactive site that was tracking the winners of each round of this contest. I kid you not, go on it right now, it's lovely but that damn site does not say who the winners are (www.copadesabores.com). Guatemala and Peru at least have functioning Facebook pages, and with a little digging I found that they did in fact announce winners on those pages (albeit the announcement was 1 picture hidden away on the timelines). This has actually happened before with Lay's Dominicana, they announced a previous contest online and then never announced the winner... check it out on Facebook, as that page is still showing off pictures from that unresolved contest. Whoever is handling South America's online marketing just needs to get it together... FOR REAL. Go look at how Margarita from Colombia handles their business. Flawlessly, they maintain a nice website, update their Facebook, and interact via Twitter and Instagram. I don't understand how it's that hard for the others to simply update a website that they've already had built.
 END OF RANT.

ok. So, let's talk about the contests that did have winners... and I apologize that it took SO long to share this info. I had really tried to be patient and 'round-up' all the winners in one post.

The only country from South America that actually announced their winner on their website was Colombia and their Margarita Chips. The winner was "Colombia Chorizo con Limon" (Chorizo and Lime). Voters chose to keep it Patriotic, and it's no surprise... Colombia had their most impressive World Cup EVER this year... plus the flavor sounds delish! This flavor is still available for a limited time in Colombia. Grab it while you can.

 Chipsy Egypt and Lay's Arabia shared their Flavor Cup and selected "Brazillian BBQ" as their winner. No surprise there. Not only does that sound yummy. But Brazil did an amazing job of hosting the World Cup and capturing the World's heart.

Chile also went Patriotic with their "Chile Enselada Chilena" and it sounds unique and tasty. I love a good acidic bag of chips. mmm.

Peru went Patriotic as well and chose "Peru Pollo a la Brasa" (Rotisserie Chicken). Can't complain, Chicken is da bomb! Good choice.

Guatemala  was swayed by flavor and chose "Suecia Queso con Especias" (Sweden Cheese with Spices). Can't go wrong with Cheese. Can't go wrong with Spices. The duo sounds awesome.

 Dominican Republic, Panama, El Salvador, and Honduras basically don't have any online presence, so if you know what flavors they ended up choosing, I'd love to know. Share it down below!

All the winners should still be available for a limited time in the Countries that conducted the contests. If you're interested in these, I'd say try to find them soon since like I said, this article is coming a bit late. AND If you're just curious and would like a reminder of what the other flavors were in this contest; click the "World Cup" tag at the end of this post.

Contest: Margarita Colombia Copa De Los Sabores Round 3

Margarita looks like they are the only country doing a third round in their World Cup tie-in contest, but they've saved some strong contenders for Round 3.

 

For Round 3, Colombia has chosen to represent itself with "Chorizo con Limon" aka "Chorizo Sausage and Lime" flavor. Strange to me, as that is not really a flavor I associate with Colombia, Chorizo is a much more Mexican thing... but whatevs. The flavor still sounds YUMMO! They've chosen a real fun flavor to represent Peru as well, "Aji Peruismo" or "Peruvian Pepper"... this is a flavor I have talked a lot about in regards to Peru's on flavors. It is a type of Pepper that grows only in the mountains of Peru and Lay's Peru loves to use it in their Peruvian collection of chips. The bag depicts a salsa next to the peppers, so it may be a bit of a spicy Tomato salsa flavor as opposed to pure pepper. Either way, both are exciting flavors. 

Yet, I wonder if either will stand a chance. Suprisingly, both Round 1 and Round 2 went to Barbecued Beef flavors. And Ribs and Meats tend to win Margarita's contests historically. But to me, these, along with "Jamon Serrano" are some fun, and unique flavors, even if they are only available for a limited time. I actually just got to try the Round 2 winner which is a Brazilian BBQ flavor, and was really unimpressed by it (review coming soon). I'm not really sure how it won, but the Colombian people have spoken, so I can't really say confidently that either of these have a chance at the title.

What do you think? Does Chorizo come to mind when you think of Colombia cuisine? Have you had a chance to try these? Sound good? Let us know in the comments below... 

Contest: Lay's Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Panama, El Salvador, & Honduras Copa De Sabores Round 2

Round 2 has begun for the South American nations participating in "Copa De Sabores".
As with Round 1, Guatemala, Panama, El Salvador, & Honduras all have the same flavors for Round 2...

 

 Brazil is represented by "Churrasco" or "Brazilian Barbecue" if you should like to call it that, and Sweden is represented by "Queso con Especias" or "Cheese with Spices/Herbs". We've seen this flavor represent Brazil in a lot of countries, and it won Round 1 in Colombia. But, the Swedish flavor is new and could be fun!

As for the Dominican Republic, it is also offering up a new and a not so new flavor...

 

Dominican Republic has chosen flavor to represent itself in the game; "Pollo al Limon" or "Lime Chicken". Sounds DELISH!! While they've chosen a popular flavor to represent Spain; "Jamon Iberico" aka "Iberico Ham". mmm. Looks like it will be a tough round in the D.R.

So, what are your thoughts this round? Who will emerge victorious? Have you been able to snag any of these World Cup tie-ins? Let us know down below!

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Thailand รสพริกเผาปรุงรส and รสเมี่ยงคำครบรส

 Lay's Thailand has just released 2 new flavors... "รสพริกเผาปรุงรส" aka "Spicy Chili Paste" and "รสเมี่ยงคำครบรส" aka "Miang". The Chili Paste is pretty straight forward... in Thailand Chili paste is made with Garlic, Shallots, Dried Red Chili flakes, Lime, Tamarind, and a hint of Fish or Shrimp Paste. Thai Chili Paste is used in Thai cuisine to spice up things like soups and noodles. The other new flavor is "Miang"; a little bundle of joy wrapped in a Wild Pepper Leaf. The leaf fillings include Roasted Coconut, Roasted Peanuts, Lime, Ginger, Shallots, Garlic, Thai Chilis, and Shrimp. YUMMO! 
As with most of Thailand's flavors, both of these seem well suited to the region.  So what do you think about these? Are you gonna hunt them down? Let us know in the comments section below :)

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Guatemala Original with Tajin

Right now in Guatemala, Original flavor Lay's come with a packet of Tajin seasoning. Tajin is a seasoning from Mexico, it's made up of dried Chile peppers, dehydrated lime, and salt. It has a tangy flavor, and here in California people love to eat it on fruit (I often find it packaged inside my pre-sliced Mango containers with a fresh slice of lime).
The cool thing about this is that we can replicate it here in US, so if you are up for it, grab a bag of plain "Original" Lay's, and you can find Tajin at most shops that carry Mexican food. Just open the bag, season, and shake!

Have you already had this combo? Did you just now try it? Let us know how you like it in the comments below!

Gotta Get At This: Lay's India French Salt & Cracked Pepper and Chile Limon

Two New Flavors!!! The lucky kids in India just got French Salt & Cracked Pepper AND Chile Limon, a double release. So Jealous. They are fairly straight forward, Chile Limon is a flavor we have here in the states and also I've seen it in a lot of middle eastern countries. Here in the States, its one of my faves, its spicy and sour but in the end it is all balanced out and tastes great on chips. Salt and Pepper is also fairly straight forward, most countries have some type of Salt and Pepper chip. We have it offered here in the States in the Kettle Cooked range. I don't love the US variety because to me it was all pepper and no salt, but I can't say that India's would have that problem. It's nice to see India is always willing to have a huge line of different products, they seem to always be expanding. Congrats India! PS, as always in India, Lay's come standard as Ruffles. They will always be Ruffle-cut unless they say otherwise. Just a tip incase you are looking to hunt these down :)

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Guatemala Ponle Tu Sabor a Lay's Contest

Another day, another contest!
Looks like Lay's Guatemala and Lay's Dominican Republic are both conducting this contest right now. "Ponle Tu Sabor a Lay's", which translates to "Put Your Flavor in Lay's", is a typical 'create the next flavor' type contest. It seems this contest started off with fans submitting potential flavors online (just like the current US contest), but right now the contest is down to two flavors inspired by two different fans; Andrea and Francisco.
The flavors seem to be available in stores (I've yet to confirm this), and fans can go to the website to vote on which bag should be added to the full time lineup. Both of these bags sound KILLER! I would grab either of these without a second thought. Pollo al Limon or Lime Chicken is Andrea's flavor. Even the picture on the bag just makes me want to dive in. And Lomito Encebollado or Tenderloin with Onions is Francisco's flavor. That sounds like a delicious take on the Steak and Onions bag. mmm. Both sound worthy of winning. I'll update when I find out which one wins. But if anyone has friends in Central America that can get their hands on these, I recommend you try and get some.
Also, I just wanted to say, these bags look AWESOME. They have a little touch of 80's with the white striping at the top, but modern coloring and a modern logo. These just look so cool. Not to mention that they have the food being sliced into chips. SOO COOL! Love the look of these!

UPDATE: I was recently looking at the Dominican Republic site and saw that they had 2 different finalists on the page now, I don't know what happened, but they do share a landing page so it looks like the pages got crossed and are now fixed. The Dominican finalists are Carlos with "Salsa a la Parmesana" and Indhira with "A la Parilla". Which are basically Parmesan Sauce and Grilled Beef. I'll throw together a new entry in more detail, but for now I want to clarify that DR has their own unique finalists. The two flavors in this blog entry above are exclusive to Guatemala.

Lay's USA Chile Limon

Hope you all ate a ton of chips this past Memorial Day! There is no better excuse for potato chip feasting then a sunny BBQ friendly holiday! My friends and I had a great poolside snack session that included another bag of Lay's I hadn't tried yet. This was my first adventure with Chile Limon. In the past I have made it pretty clear that I hate the plain Limon flavored Lay's (grossss) ... BUT these are the BOOOOMMMMBBB!
They are sooo YUMMY!
The word "Chile" had me scared, but these aren't really all that spicy. They have a decent bit of kick, but nothing extreme. When I see that red bag and red seasoning I immediately think of "Flamin Hot" (eeeep!) but the bag is FAR more intimidating than need be. These were like the American cousin of the Adobada flavored chips from Mexico had a spicy baby with a Lime. They have a complex Mexican style seasoning that reminds you almost of Red Enchilada sauce, that little bit of kick, and then a perfectly complimentary tang of Lime. MMM. These are fantastic with Carne Asada on the BBQ and a Corona or Pacifico! The quality of the chip is great and doesn't fight with the seasoning. The seasoning is evenly applied and offers a ton of flavor without being heavy handed. The Limon in particular just comes in at the end to give tang, it isn't overwhelming like the Limon bag. All in all, I would highly recommend these bags. This is the ideal bag for a Southern California, poolside, Cerveza, kind of day! Great bag!

Sabritas Mexico Limon

Well, well, well. Here's another bag of Limon chips... my arch nemesis. If you haven't read my review of the puke-worthy Lay's Limon bags then feel free to track it down and read it to catch my reference.
I've put off eating this bag of Limon chips from Mexico just because of how unfortunate the other bag was. Luckily, I am now once again a believer that a Lime flavored chip can work; but these are by NO means perfect. If given a choice between the two I would pick these. To begin, I realized with this bag that Sabritas have a weird "mealier" taste/texture when compared to Lay's. The Adobada flavor chips I had tried from them had the same problem, but I didn't think much of it (I called it Baked Lays and Regular Lay's had a baby). I can clearly say now that I think the quality of chips produced by Sabritas is the poorest quality chip I have tasted among countries because of this weird texture. (Not to mention it's pretty low on Potato flavor.) However, if you can get passed that, it tastes close to US Lays and is a hair less greasy. Now, the seasoning seems to me VERY similar, if not the same, as the US Limon seasoning. But, in my opinion, there is WAY less of it on the chips. Now, for all my nitpicking, I ate half of the bag and I kind of enjoyed it. I would say the chip is lacking, but if you like Lime; the seasoning is spot on! And for that reason I consider them to be the more preferable chip. If Lay's could take their chip (Or better yet, Walkers) and applied this seasoning, in this manner, we could build the perfect Lime chip. (or just eat Lime Tortilla chips... mmmm).  If you must have a Lime flavored chip, try to get these, but I wouldn't consider these worthy of a trip across the border.

Sabritas Mexico Adobadas

Here's my first bag of Mexican Sabritas chips. Totally had no idea what to expect from these but I was VERY pleasantly surprised. When I opened this bag I was SMACKED in the face with the smell of cumin. I FUGGIN HATE CUMIN. Do you hear me spice producers?? Cumin is disgusting!! So I kinda threw the bag at my mom and told her to try them first. When I looked back at her, half of the bag was gone. I wrestled it back at that point. Getting past the smell; I tried one. Note: I still do not know what "Adobadas" is but I think it's a Mexican dish or sauce or marinade.
Not sure, but these chips had everything. The seasoning was hearty tasting and tomato-y, but then it was sour. Unlike every other potato chip I've tasted so far, which are usually either savory or acidic; this seasoning has managed to capture both. It was like that perfect bite of Mexican food where you've managed to get tortilla and meat and sauce and lime all onto the same bite. I couldn't believe it. The cumin on these is not subtle though, so it loses points with me for that. Now we'll talk about the chip. It definitely has more Potato flavor than the US counterpart, and they aren't overfried to the point that they are bubbled and flakey. The strange part was they had the texture almost like baked Lay's and regular Lay's had a baby. They were all kind of flat and way crunchier. But, still, it was closer to the fried Lay's that we know. I will say that aesthetically, I didn't like that the chips had a lot of dark marks on them. I don't know where those spots came from, but they looked like burns or poor quality potatoes... looks wise, but the taste was killer, and that is really the key.
So I recommend these. At least try them once... but get the authentic ones from across the border, because they do make this flavor for Latin communities under the US smiley face Sabritas brand. (Authentic ones will say "Hecho en Mexico" on the back.)

Lay's USA Limon

This is one of the worst bags of chips I've ever eaten. I was incredibly disappointed with everything about this bag. These are Lay's Limon flavor, which sounded so good when I looked at it on the shelf. The chip was a DISGUSTING fried flavorless mess. My stomach got physically ill from the quality of the chip. It was like a thinly sliced piece of sponge had been soaked in oil and fried for a day. I love lime juice, I go through lime's constantly... I'm from Southern California, so we dress everything up with it here. Being so close to the Mexican border I find these chips all the time... but I didn't try them until I started this blog, because, frankly, domestic Lay's are a let down. I opened the bag and took a whiff, I breathed in a potent but pleasant Lime smell. I grabbed a chip and set it back down to grab my phone... before I did, I licked my fingers and got a ton of delicious Lime taste... as if I had just been holding a real fresh lime. When I reached back in I noticed the ugly texture of the chips. I put one in my mouth and got smacked in the face with a TON of Lime flavor. Over done and heavily applied, this flavor was intense. The chip taste itself though was what stood out. It tasted NOTHING of potato... I tried and tried to find the potato taste but there was absolutely none. The oil tasted like cheap drive thru french fry oil, it was overwhelming. Lime and cheap oil... nothing could be less appealing. I had 5 chips.... that is all that I could stand. I would never buy these again, recommend them, or even give them away to a hobo. I need a tums a.s.a.p.