Lay's USA Southern Biscuits and Gravy

Here's 2015 Do Us a Flavor competition's Winner: "Southern Biscuits and Gravy". This is by far the best of this bunch that I have tried. It REALLY tastes like Biscuits and Gravy. Lay's always succeeds when it does Bread/Sandwich based flavors... like the "Cheesy Garlic Bread" Flavor. This one is no different. The potato chip plays the part of the biscuit, and the gravy flavor comes from cream and spices in the seasoning. The flavor is creamy but not too much like "Sour Cream and Onion" flavor. The spices are super authentic and I detect a little heat in the back of my palette that builds as you eat more. I really don't know how they hit this so perfectly on the head, but they did and I'm into it.

These should be available until Summer here in the US. Grab em, they are awesome!

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.

Lay's USA Wavy West Coast Truffle Fries

Here's another bag from 2015's Do Us A Flavor contest, this bag lost the competition, but whatever let's discuss it anyways. This is "Wavy West Coast Truffle Fries".
So, here's my thoughts... If you like Fancy Truffle Fries, you will probably like these. If you are a little more low key, these may not be for you.
The Wavy potato chip adds some thick crunchiness and extra potato-y flavor. A good stand in for French Fries. But, the seasoning reeks of Truffle Oil. In my opinion, Truffle Oil tends to be over used in a lot of dishes, and the same can be said here. It gave the chips a bit of a bitter taste. This combined with a TON of Garlic, and Duck Fat, made the overall flavor a bit funky.
Were these horrible? No.
Were they brilliant? No.
They are what they are: An abundance of sophisticated flavors thrown haphazardly on a cheap potato chip.
That might sound harsh, but it's my real interpretation of what's happening in this bag.
I can't imagine the average midwest citizen wanting to eat these. Not to mention that for a "Vegetarian" flavored chip, it's inclusion of Duck Fat AND Chicken Fat put off my pickier friends.
I see why this one didn't last, and I wasn't really impressed. Try it if you can find it just for the novelty, but it's no biggie if you missed out (like the rest of this collection).
SOOOO, what did yall think of these?

Lay's Argentina Asado

Got this awesome flavor from my lovely friend who just moved to Argentina and brought them back with her on a visit. "Asado" is a "Grilled Beef" flavor, plain and simple in the best way. Unlike an American Style BBQ flavor, which would focus on the BBQ sauce, this South American BBQ is focused on the the actual Beef. This lovely bag of chips features a pretty decent potato chip with good potato flavor. These nice chips make the perfect showcase for the smokey, chargrilled, beef seasoning. It tasted so genuine, so fresh off the grill. It was a Willy Wonka moment.
The awesomely unexpected bonus to this bag was that it was actually meat free, so my Vegetarian friend who brought these with her was able to eat them. For a vegetarian chip, it was insanely convincing.
I really loved this flavor. It was simple, no gimmicks, and just tasty.
Good job Argentina!

Lay's USA Smoked Gouda & Chive

Here's another new bag from Lay's USA's current Flavor Swap promotion. The contest pits a classic Lay's flavor against a competitor, and in the end 4 flavors will make it back on to shelves permanently while 4 will be lost to history. "Smoked Gouda & Chive" has been pitted against "Cheddar & Sour Cream". While I didn't pit these 2 against each other directly to taste test, nor would I claim to be a "Cheddar & Sour Cream" connoisseur; I can say very confidently... I'm PRETTY sure these are the same flavor.

Really.

I tried these and I was like, um, so what's the difference?
They have a creamy, cheesy flavor. Maybe some mild chive that I didn't notice. I didn't pick up any smokyness, or Gouda as the particular Cheese (although 2 of my friends swore they could taste Smoke flavor, but I was skeptical).
Ultimately, it's a delicious bag of chips. The Cheesy flavor is yummy. The chips themselves are well cooked and tasty.
I think this battle is better left decided by those Cheesy chip fans who can notice the subtle differences better than I can. If the choice was left to me in this battle, I'd have to be blindfolded and just point at one. They were just too similar to give me any sort of preference.

BUT, I'd love to know what you all think? Could you taste a significant difference? Is their a smoke flavor I was just oblivious to? Gouda vs Cheddar, who do you want to see prevail?

Lay's USA Fiery Roasted Habanero

Lay's USA debuted their newest batch of flavors just in time for the Super Bowl last Sunday, and this flavor here was made for it. It's perfect for a Sunny California day Barbecuing and throwing back Beers.
This is "Fiery Roasted Habanero" a flavor, being matched against the classic "Flamin Hot". Check it: I hate "Flamin Hot", I don't understand it as a flavor. It is full blown nuclear and reminds me of licking batteries. "Fiery Roasted Habanero" on the other hand, may be the best spicy flavor I've ever tried. Really. It's a Red Pepper and Tomato based flavor that is super tasty, and then after a moment, a creep of Habanero goes across your tongue until your whole mouth feels the heat. And to me, it never got overwhelming. It was Hot, for sure, but nothing someone with moderate heat tolerance couldn't endure.
The Lay's USA Potatoes have come a long way in the last few years, and the quality now is pretty good (not great, but good). So while the potato doesn't pack in a ton of flavor, it is still a good mass produced chip, and the awesome seasoning in this bag makes up for that. Overall, I think if you are a fan of heat, you have to give this bag a shot. The friends I shared this with, were all "Flamin Hot" mega fans, and they all agreed this bag blows "Flamin Hot" out of the water. Among 5 people the bag was gone in 10 minutes.
So, what do you think? Have you tried this flavor yet? Are you a heat fan? Will you be devastated to lose Flamin Hot, even if this flavor is better? Share your thoughts in the comments below :)

OK Here's Some Late News: Walkers Bring Me Back Contest 2015 brought some flavors back

This is like 8 month old news guys. It might as well be a historical archive at this point.

I told you all I had taken a bit of a break from the blog, so that's why this story never got covered, which is stupid, because it's Walkers, so it wasn't really something I should have missed. BUT none the less I did, and I've got to Thank Georgina Malcolm over at http://cheeseburgercrisps.blogspot.com/ for bringing the contest to my attention. (PS She's got a really cute blog about all things crisps, so head over and check it out!)

Last Summer, in place of the typical "Do Us A Flavor" contest everyone has been running for the last handful of years, Walkers UK decided to mix it up and hold the "Bring Me Back" Contest.

The "Bring Me Back" contest brought back 5 classic retro Walkers Flavors back for a Limited Time, to see which would be brought back into the permanent collection. The 5 flavors were "Beef & Onion", "Cheese & Chive", "Barbecue", "Lamb & Mint", & "Toasted Cheese". The Promotion also brought back a 6th retro flavor to be permanent; "Marmite".

In the end, "Beef & Onion" was victorious and brought back as the winning retro flavor. Making both "Marmite" & "Beef & Onion" permanent flavors.

And that is why, I still felt it was important to report on this contest... because rarely do beloved retro flavors come back on shelves, let alone 2 of them. If you miss the beloved taste of either of these, track them down and enjoy.
I've only ever tried the "Beef & Onion" replacement flavor that came out as "Steak & Onion" (ps Didn't know that had been discontinued either, Walkers!) but I know "Beef & Onion" fans didn't like it as much as the original, so I see why this would be a popular choice for the win. I can't wait to hunt it down and see what all the hype has been about.

OK Here's Some Late News: Lay's Canada Do Us A Flavor 2015 & Winner

 Look guys, I haven't even OPENED the US bags, so I definitely didn't even report this contest. But these sound wack so don't trip, we missed nothing. The typical Do Us A Flavor contest was conducted and there were 4 flavors selected. The flavor finalists were "Cowboy BBQ Beans", "Butter Chicken", "Montreal Smoked Meat", & "P.E.I. Scalloped Potatoes".
I don't think any of these things sound good. I would rather eat that weird Moose meat bag from 2 years ago. If you disagree with this, comment below, I'd like to hear a defense for these gross flavors.

"Hey Terrance, you know what sounds delicious? BBQ Beans flavored Crisps."

Try to believe that sentence! It's IMPOSSIBLE!

So of course the least offensive flavor was chosen. "P.E.I Scalloped Potatoes"... I don't know what PEI stands for, and I'm not googling that shit for one second. So to me, cheesy potatoes won the contest, and since chips are potatoes already... cheese flavor, the most basic of all g-damn flavors, won the contest.
That's right. A nationwide competition for the winner to be CHEESE.

 

These finalists and this winner offend me, in case that wasn't clear. I'm done with this article.

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.

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Peru Chancho al Palo

"Chancho al Palo" is a new flavor from Lay's Peru. It is an open flamed "Roast Pork" flavor. Peru usually get awesome, authentic local flavors for their chips. I bet these are the BOMB. Have you tried these yet? Do you want to? The hunt begins for me!