Gotta Get At This: Walkers UK Mixups Snacks Mix Cheese and Spicy

Walkers in the UK launched a new line called Mixups last month. The bags are all a mix of different treats, the first 2 of 6 are the "Snacks Mix" bags. The snacks mix bags are composed of 4 of Frito-Lay's most popular UK snack items: 'Doritos', 'Monster Munch', 'Wotsits', and 'French Fries'. The mix comes in 2 flavor bags: "Cheese" and "Spicy". These look like a delicious mix of the best Walkers has to offer aside from Potato Chips. Now, check out this weird-ass commercial for Cheese Mixups Snacks Mix....

So what do you all think? Looks better than Munchies in the US, right? Stay tuned for the next part in our 3 part article on Walkers Mixups.

Gotta Get At This: Lay's India MAXX Sizzling Barbeque and Macho Chilli

Last week Lay's India also released their own MAXX line of deep ridged chips. India has a love affair with Ruffled chips and bold flavors so it's no surprise to see them expand to include the MAXX line. The 2 starter flavors are Sizzling Barbeque and Macho Chilli, which both sound well suited for these thick and crunchy new chips. As with all chips in India, they are 100% Vegetarian, and you can see the unique all-veggie skewer on the BBQ bag art. So if you are a fan of Vegetarian snacks, you may wanna hunt these down. Lay's India bags are sometimes available on Amazon so, maybe we will get lucky to find these online.
Are you interested in these? Do you wanna try a Vegetarian BBQ flavored chip? Tell us in the comments section below!

Gotta Get At This: Margarita Colombia MAXX Pizza Pepperoni and Hamburguesa

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!
Colombia has jumped on board the MAXX train! That's not why I'm excited though. I'm excited because they are bringing back Hamburger flavor!! AHHHHHH. There are 2 bags in this world I consider to be my favorites of all time; one is Jamon flavored Ruffles from Spain, and the other is Margarita's discontinued Hamburguesa flavor (my review is here). I remember it fondly hitting every note of Hamburger flavor from the meat to the ketchup, mustard, and then the bright pickles. Impeccable seasoning and texture.
Now Margarita is launching the popular MAXX collection (which is subtitled Super Onduladas meaning Super Ruffled). The MAXX collection has shown up in practically every major market for Lay's; in Thailand, Belgium, Russia, Australia, the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, and just this week in India. They've also been branded under the labels "Max", "Deep Ridged", and "Xtra Onduladas" (& probably more). We even have them here in the US, but you may not even know it, as they fall under the Ruffles Brand as "Ruffles Deep Ridged".
The MAXX style chip is a thicker cut chip with deep ridges and it usually makes a great base for heartier seasonings like meat flavors and spices. Both flavors Margarita is launching seem to be perfect for this cut of chip. Pepperoni Pizza flavored chips tend to be on the spicy, greasy, meaty end of the spectrum, and Hamburger will offer up a Beefy flavor with all the trimmings. They both will also fill a space in the Colombian snack world that is pretty much unoccupied, as there are few snack companies making things with bold flavors (their Cheetos are plain, cheese-less flavor... to give you an idea of what I mean).
I say this in every post about Margarita, but they really make the best Chips in the world. Period. They know how to season. If anyone can make these bags killer and amazing, it's them. I can't wait to hunt these down. YUMM.

Contest: Lay's Canada Do Us A Flavour 2015: Tastes of Canada

Lay's Canada has closed their 2015 Do Us A Flavour entry period. Now, 4 flavors that represent the "Tastes of Canada" will be chosen. As with the last few years, those 4 chosen finalists will be sold in stores across Canada and the people will go online to vote for their favorite. Last year "Jalapeno Mac N' Cheese" took home the crown. I expect this year we will see more unique flavors, similar to "Maple Moose" from 2013... which I learned the hard way, was actually Moose flavored.
Can't wait to see what comes!

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Belgium and Lay's Netherlands MIX Bacon & Cheese and Paprika & Sour Cream

Lay's Belgium and Netherlands are both releasing some very creative new bags. The collection is called Lay's Mix. The concept is 2 different flavored chips sharing 1 bag. Belgium is advertising both Bacon flavor and Cheese flavor in one bag and Red Pepper flavor and Sour Cream flavor in one bag... while Netherlands is only promoting Red Pepper + Sour Cream. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if the Netherlands also has the other bag. The range is new so I expect more info in the coming months. But until then, these looks like a GREAT idea. How fun to taste one chip as one flavor, and another chip as another flavor, and a third flavor when you mix the too. You gotta love the interactivity. The flavors are solid too, so I would be surprised to not see these stick around.

So, who's got the Dutch hookup? Send me some, LOL.
What do you think? Would you buy these in the states? What would you wanna see Mixed?

Lay's Canada Bacon Poutine

Real talk. I should have posted this ages ago. I just forgot. So here is my review of Bacon Poutine flavored Lay's that you probably can't find anymore. Firstly, it is VERY forgettable. That is my excuse.
When you pop the bag open you get a hefty Bacon/Meaty smell, that is accompanied by several seasonings, so the smell is pretty strong.
The chips are fine. They are crispy and thin, & a little bit flaky. What makes this bag interesting at all is the seasoning. You can taste prominently the Bacon flavor, that is followed by a thick Cheddar/Cheese flavor. It adds richness to what would otherwise be just a meat flavored Chip. Throughout tasting both of those notes there is also a sweeter flavor. I racked my brain trying to figure out what it was, and the most similar thing I could think of was Ketchup. But, the flavor isn't Ketchup, it's meant to be Gravy. Now, I'm not Canadian, so I don't know what Poutine should taste like or what Gravy in Poutine in Canada should taste like. But, It wasn't a flavor I would have determined to be "Gravy". It felt like exactly what the sauce on the picture on the bag would probably taste like. A thinner, sweeter Gravy than I'm used to. That sweetness helps cut that rich cheese flavor, keeping this chip from feeling too heavy. Poutine can be a heavy dish, but this chip has a good balance of savoriness, sweetness, and richness. Somehow though, this made this bag just a bit too boring for me. So unless you are just obsessed with Bacon + Poutine, and you missed my posts announcing this bag's limited release, you aren't really missing anything to write home about. MEH.

Cheetos USA Sweetos Cinnamon Sugar Puffs

I know this is a "Lay's" blog... but every once in a while I have to digress. I mean, how could I NOT do a taste test on these Limited Edition Spring Cheetos?? These crazy looking things are "Cinnamon Sugar Puffs" and are cutely shaped like decorated Easter Eggs. I really loved these. They are a little bigger than a quarter and have the texture of Cheetos Cheese Puffs. The flavor is similar to a Mexican Churro, (or the cinnamon twists from Taco Bell) with the Cinnamon and Sugar flavor. But I also got an aftertaste that kind of reminded me of Butter. That was the only semi-weirdness, because these were pretty dang delicious. I took these to the park with my nieces and nephews who loved them, and then the next day had them in a hotel room in Vegas being devoured by late-night drinkers.... so LITERALLY this bag can be for anybody and any occasion. I think it's a pretty big win for Cheetos.
... and just a little fun fact for those in the "Cheetos have to be Cheesy" camp (I used to be that person)... Cheetos have always been Cheesy (or Cheese and Jalepeno-y) here in the States. But, a lot of other Countries brand Cheetos completely differently. In Colombia, Cheetos are a plain corn crunchy snack. In Korea, the standard flavor is BBQ. Sweet Cheetos have been made in Yogurt and Strawberry flavor too... so the Cinnamon Sugar idea isn't that odd.
I love to see these fun and odd ideas see the light of day here in the US, especially when executed well. For me, this is a pick up... and you better swoop on it soon before it's limited run is over. It's not exclusive to any stores, but I found mine again in the Target seasonal section (next to some yummy looking seasonal Angie's popcorn in flavors like Lime White Chocolate mmm). If you love Cheetos or Churros you gotta give this a try!

Frito-Lay Central America Kachitos Arepitas Mantequilla

This was a weird but fun bag to try. The bizarre story of determining what these actually are begins as such: My cousin brought these with him from Bolivia... but I'm guessing these were imported from Central America to Bolivia because the back of the bag lists off several Central American countries that it may be sold in, and no South American countries like Bolivia... and since it is pretty far from that region I think it was imported (I've seen it before, Sweden doesn't carry Lay's but some stores get the Danish ones that are meant for just Denmark).
The bag is filled with corn tortilla rounds called Kachitos Arepitas, in the flavor of "Mantequilla" which is Spanish for "Butter".
Now, I'm Colombian, so I know that Arepitas is a nickname for small-Arepas.

Arepas are these DELICIOUS cake/bread/pancake things made of corn... they look like thick tortillas.

In many Countries, Arepas are cut open and stuffed... but in some places, like Colombia, they are eaten just plain with melted Butter (or a piece of cheese) on top. They are pure delicious-ness in any recipe, but I love them plain with Butter. So, when I saw they were called Arepitas with Butter flavor, I thought YUM YUM, I've had something like these before!
In Colombia, there is a brand of chips called "Yupi" and they manufacture "Tosti Arepa", a tortilla chip flavored like Butter that are literally mini-Arepas. They are frikin awesome! If you can find them, I recommend them.

So, I cracked this bag open looking for the smell of Butter... but I couldn't find it... weird... then I smelled Cheese... like Aged Cheese... weird...
I tasted one... it tasted like Cheese... weird...
I flipped the bag over and read the ingredients... "queso"... that means Cheese... wtf was going on here!!?

I had another chip, I could taste the Butter come through as a secondary flavor. But it was no match for the Cheesiness. I figured the bag just didn't taste good, I mean, it say's "Butter" flavor, but it just doesn't taste like "Butter". A little investigating, and now, I think I understand what is going on.
I THINK, Kachitos are cheese flavored... like, always. I THINK, the standard base flavor is Nacho Cheese... very similar to Nacho Cheese "Doritos".
There are several bags of Kachitos brand products, but I believe the main bag is called "Kachitos Nachos: Clasico" and they are Nacho Cheese flavor. They are rounds and the bag shows off some liquid Nacho Cheese. This would explain why the Cheese flavor is not mentioned on the outer packaging of these. And the "Arepitas" bag is distinguished solely by it's addition of "Butter" flavor.

Here is a picture of the other options in the Kachitos collection.

The only evidence I have to support this crazy theory I have is that the Red bag pictured on the left is listed as "Kachitos Antojitos: Picante" flavor (Snacks: Spicy) but on Kachitos facebook page the flavor is described as 'Bacon and Cheese flavored with a hint of spice' and seeing as how the shape of the chips in that bag match the shape in the "Kachitos Clasicos: Bacon Queso" bag... It would be another example of them presuming someone knows the "Classic" flavor and only describing the bag by the additional flavor.

IT IS SO CONFUSING!! So basically all of these bags are Nacho Cheese flavored, whether they say it or not.

So what is my final review of this misleading bag of chips?? Well, I think for a chip similar to Doritos, it was actually pretty good. The cheese flavor was well developed and didn't overwhelm the chip. The Butter flavor comes through and gives the chip a fun, decadent taste. The crunch is well done, and you taste the yummy corn chip flavor. The color was nice. It was a tasty tortilla chip. However, I feel that the confusion about the flavor was distracting and frankly, poor branding. Since there are chips that exist that are butter flavored, others could very well have the same expectation I did. If I wasn't writing a blog and investigating, it would have quickly gone in the trash, I would have thought the chips were rancid... really. Because the flavor was so far away from what the bag said.
But, from a position of knowing that it is a Nacho Cheese flavored chip, I think it's worth a taste. If you like "Doritos", or even "Chili Cheese Fritos", I think you will enjoy these.


BONUS ROUND: It looks like Taco Bell Panama does in fact see these as comparable to "Fritos", because just like Taco Bell USA has stuffed "Fritos" into all their delicious treats, so has Panama done with "Kachitos"... so if you want to try some fun food in Central America, check out these beauties that are available now.

 

PS If anyone has any more insight into what the actual Kachitos flavors in each bag are please comment below or message me. I'd love to know!!

Gotta Get At This: Lay's South Africa Prego Sauce Flavour

Lay's South Africa has a new flavor that South African and Portuguese fans will probably enjoy. This bag is Prego Sauce flavored... NO, Not THAT Prego Sauce. Prego Sauce is a Portuguese Sauce used on Prego which is Flank Steak that has been tenderized. Prego can usually be found in Prego Rolls, which are sandwiches made of Prego inside of Portuguese bread (called "Paposeco") with Prego Sauce on top. The Prego Sauce itself is a creamy, bright orange, Portuguese sauce made with vinegar, garlic, onion, spices, bay leaves, other herbs and a hint of Chilli's. The Portuguese sandwich is a favorite in South Africa and now the sauce flavor can be found here in this bag. The bag is a Limited Edition release to coincide with the 2015 Cricket World Cup, with this bag and the regular range potentially carrying tickets to the Cricket World Cup in a random bag. Love the promotion, and the unique flavor, very fun. Looks good South Africa.

Love is in the air: Lay's Canada Wavy Milk Chocolate Covered Potato Chips

Are you missing the Wavy Milk Chocolate Covered Lay's from Christmas? Well hurry up and drive to Canada, because our Northern Neighbors have released the bag in celebration of Valentine's Day. I'm guessing that just like it was a seasonal Holiday item here, the same will apply to this batch, meaning it may be gone very very soon. Canadians who want to read my review of the American bag can check it out here. They are definitely a home run, and I'm looking forward to them making their return next Christmas.

So what are you waiting for, get your passport and GO!