I haven’t had a really good gyro in a long time. Am I even saying that right? “Jy-ro”? Or is it “hi-ro?” “Guy-ro?” Meh, whatever, it’s all Greek to me.
*ducks tomatoes*
I’m sure by now you are all familiar with the yearly “Do Us a Flavor” competition Frito-Lay has been running. Last year brought us such favorites as Bacon Mac & Cheese and Cappuc…Bacon Mac & Cheese! It seems this year they decided to go with a theme – Tastes of America. The four finalists are – West Coast Truffle Fries (which are Wavy), New York Reuben, Southern Biscuits and Gravy, and the Kettle Cooked Greektown Gyro.
My suggestions of “Funnel Cake” and “A Complete Breakfast” were unfortunately declined, which is Grade A hogwash. “Malarkey,” I say. Am I even saying that right?
Tastes of America, huh? I know where the West Coast is. I’ve been to New York and the South. Where the heck is Greektown? I assumed it was in Detroit, but James, the man who submitted the flavor, is from Texas and claims the flavor is inspired by his local gyro place. Let’s see what they’ve got, Jimmy.
As I tore open the bag, I was hit with a semi-unpleasant but distinct, almost peppery smell. The more I inhaled; I recognized the scent of your standard Greek herbs and spices. These chips do indeed smell like a gyro.
The immediate taste of the first chip was off-putting. That, combined with the smell, had me ready to chalk these up as a loser, but the more I chewed the more the taste improved. Greektown Gyro chips actually ended up having a pretty complex and layered flavor.
The first thing I pinpointed was the “zing” of Tzatziki sauce. This is not a flavor new to Frito-Lay. “Greek Tzatziki” was one of the finalists in Canada’s “Do Us a Flavor” competition last year, so I was ready to write these off as a lazy rip off. But that’s when the other flavors started to hit my tongue.
I definitely tasted the lamb/beef/mystery meat flavor in these chips. The same spices you’re used to in your gyro meats were definitely used to coat these chips.
I have to say, it’s actually impressive that I could breakdown multiple flavors if I focused on them. I definitely got some faint tomato and onion flavor, and I actually think there is even a little lingering cucumber in the aftertaste, but that’s probably just part of the Tzatziki. Feta is one of the standard ingredients in most gyros I’ve had, but I couldn’t really pick that out. It could possibly be thrown in there in some way, but there doesn’t appear to be any cheese element in the ingredient list.
Also, I thought the kettle cooked texture was perfect for this flavor. I don’t think these would be nearly as good as a normal potato chip. That extra crunch really enhances the experience.
So to answer the million dollar question, “Do they taste like a gyro?” Yeah, sure, I think they do. If I was blindfolded I honestly think I would be able to narrow it down to that flavor. But let’s get one thing straight, when it comes to gimmicky potato chips like these, you always need to take the flavor they are trying to imitate with a grain of salt – or in this case 7.7 mg of sodium per chip. Did you guys know there is a calculator app on your phone?! What an age we live in!
I’m not gonna sit here and declare these the winner until I try the other three flavors. The voting is open until October, so you have plenty of time to track them all down and do whatever hashtag Twitter voting I’m sure they’ll set up. Just going off the other flavors, I think this one might have a really good shot at winning. But let’s be real; you’ll probably see all of them on the shelves even after the voting ends. I still see Sriracha on shelves and that wasn’t a winner.
(Nutrition Facts – 1 oz. – 150 calories, 80 calories from fat, 8 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 1 gram of sugars, 2 grams of protein, 2% iron, and 10% vitamin C.)
Item: Lay’s Kettle Cooked Greektown Gyro Potato Chips
Purchased Price: $2.68
Size: 8 oz. bag
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Gyros getting their due. Layers of flavor. Tzatziki sauce. Great kettle cooked crunch. Do us a Flavor competition.
Cons: Smell. Greece’s current economic state. Kind of a rehashed flavor. “A Complete Breakfast” denial. Bag confusion. Where is Greektown?
They should do something like this for Oreos.
YEAR-o. not like Guy-ro or Ji-ro.
The real loser is everyone because lays are gross no matter how much mac and cheese or bacon they throw on them.
TOTALLY AGREE…OLD DUTCH in CANADA is a wayyy better product !!
Old Dutch is, like, the best potato chip. I get em whenever I’m in Wisconsin.
Well still on the hunt here for sausage and gravy as well as gyro but the others 2 I have my hands on
Time to try these things …
There is too much going on with the Greektown Gyro chips. I actually like the tzatziki flavor but once that dies down the rest of the chip is …ugh. Really bad aftertaste, too.
New York Reuben, though? Excellent. Just like the sandwich and that’s because it’s pretty simple. I haven’t had the other two, but a potato chip that is supposed to taste like a potato? That’s malarkey. I’ll probably try the Gravy and biscuits flavor but I’m not expecting too much.
Reuben should win this hands down. It’ll lose, though, because none of my faves have ever won.
I concur with RoyH. I tried the Greektown Gyro and couldn’t find anything redeeming about them. I think if they went with a zippy Tzatziki flavor alone, or with some greek salad vegetable highlights, they might have hit a home run. As it stands it’s just a conglomeration of flavors all vying with each other, and none of them blending together well, or coming out on top. I was disappointed. I then tried the Reuben flavor and found favor with that one. There’s a definite rye bread/caraway seed taste front and foremost, and some sauerkraut-like vinegary note. I was trying really hard to pull out the corned beef flavor, but what I tasted was more wishful thinking than anything. I can definitely detect some pleasant cheesy flavor at the end, however. All in all I did like this chip. I haven’t gotten a chance to sample the other two offerings yet.
Wait, you’re still seeing Sriracha chips? I wanna see those for myself!
Last year’s Cheddar Bacon Mac ‘N Cheese keeps showing up on the shelves because it apparently sold quite well…but wasn’t it supposed to be only the winner that stuck around? If runners-up can be back on shelves, I want to see ALL the runners-up! …but mostly I just want Sriracha and Chicken & Waffles back.
Feta (or any cheese) is not a standard ingredient in any gyro! That’s an add-on, wherever you’re eating it.
I am a potato chip addict and have always loved Lays brand. All time favorite being their cheddar cheese and sour cream Mix. I like doing the yearly taste tests, and anxiously waited for the new flavors to come out. Truffle fries and biscuits and gravy? Oh yeah! Which by the way, are both addictively awesome. I never have tasted lamb and therefore no idea what a gyro was like. I was curious and looking forward to it. I have never in my life spit out a chip…..until now. The gyro chip is so revolting that my stomach lurched and to keep from hurling the contents of my lunch , I spit it out. They have a very “gamey” taste. Reminds me of a barnyard filled with dirty goats. Unbelievably bad. I’m sorry, but if this chip wins I’m boycotting Lays. Lol
These are legit. I ate the entire bag. I loved the flavor. It could have to do with the fact that I haven’t had chips for three years and I would have enjoyed any chip. But I thought this flavors on this were amazing. Maybe also because I have greek blood in me, I’m supposed to like these. I don’t think they will help with the financial crisis.
I noticed a lot of people on here do not like these chips I think they just don’t ethnic food (which gyros kind of are ethnic food). I work in a chain restaurant and all of my guests want their foods pretty much bland.. if you ask me thats American food in general.
These were the most vile things I have ever eaten. My husband ate one and exclaimed “IT IS LIKE SOMEONE FARTED IN MY MOUTH ITS SO REVOLTING”
No good Lays. No good at all.
I agree! These might be one of the worst things my poor mouth has ever been assaulted with. They also smell like vomit.
I’m one of the least picky people I know and the Greek Gryo chips were horrible!
I swear, the lays gyro to me tastes the way a billy goat smells or like they should’ve called it ‘goat cheese’ flavor. ACCCKKKKK!!!! I’ve rarely had to turn down a snack but I’m not sure I can eat this one.
worst chips i have ever ate. yuck. west coast truffle fries good but the greek gyros disgusting!!
Gyro..hands down especially with a cucumber and sour cream dip..yuumm the rest are too salty for my taste
I get more of the pita toasted flavor after taste. .I dont like lamb in my gyros so I make mine with thin cut beefsteak that I get at a Mexican meat market meat they call bistec brown the meat..toast the pita lightly with olive oil top it with tomatoes and sour cream mixed with shredded cucumber. .instead of Greek yogurt. .
Well as a Greek I can say for sure that this taste will be disgusting. If you wanna taste the great gyros (pronounced as YearOhs) you should come in Greece. The gyros you order in Greece it is grilled the same day. The meat in lay’s is for days in and maybe not the original one.
One word: Disgusting!
I enjoy gyros often, but this chip reminded me of wet corrugated cardboards smell.
Did anybody taste test this product before closing the bag on the production line,
Yuuck!
I love gyros, and am very lucky to have a Greek family that have their own restaurant near by. I can get wonderful gyros any time. When I learned about these chips, I was anxious to try them. They are just plain nasty. Sort of remind me of wet, dirty ass smell. My husband was more graphic! This is how bad they are…..Even the squirrels won’t eat them, and the squirrels around here will eat anything!
They taste as bad as they smell. YUCK
disgusting! they taste like dirty hair smells 😡
these are nasty as f**k
These are brutal. It’s like they swept up all of the flavor dust on the factory floor at the end of the day and made these chips.
Nasty, fishy tasting, ate one chip, tossed the rest in the trash!
my 3 co-workers and I just about choked on these. they are AWFUL
These chips are so delicious. I happen to be a fan of peppery spices and herbs, particularly in spicy foods as well. I agree that these chips have different layers of flavors.
If you don’t like peppery or spicy foods you probably wouldn’t like these chips. But i do and i love them !
Worst chips i have ever eaten. Tasted like the way trash cans smell.
First I love lamb and Gyros but this was so hideous not only could I not eat more that o e before throwing the entire bag out , I wanted to remove the peace from my mouth.
These taste like an actual layer of stale chip flavor was cascaded OVER the chip. Then the chip was doused in beef ramen packets.
THESE TASTE LIKE COMPLETE SHIT.
Smells like trash and chips shouldn’t make my mouth burn
Everyone above were right. These things are nasty.