REVIEW: Limited Edition Lay’s Wavy Original Potato Chips Dipped in Milk Chocolate

Limited Edition Lay's Wavy Original Potato Chips Dipped in Milk Chocolate

My saturated fat-addled mind has been dreaming of these chocolate-dipped chips for a long time.

Well, to be accurate, I dreamed of Lay’s Original Potato Chips and Lay’s Kettle Cooked Potato Chips dipped in chocolate. However, even though it ended up being Lay’s Wavy Potato Chips dipped in milk chocolate, my saturated fat-addled mind is still happy.

Actually, to be even more accurate, my dreams didn’t involve the chips being dipped into chocolate, instead the chips were anthropomorphic and they wrestled in a Spongebob Squarepants kiddie pool of melted chocolate surrounded by cheering anthropomorphic crunchy snacks. At the end of the match, the cracked, chocolate-dripping loser would march into my mouth and the chocolate-dripping winner would battle another potato chip.

The Lay’s Wavy Original Potato Chips Dipped in Milk Chocolate don’t look like they were wrestling in a small inflatable pool because the chips are mostly coated on one side. Anyone who’s grappled with an opponent in a kiddie pool knows it’s impossible to not get completely covered in whatever is in the pool. It’s a thick layer of chocolate that gives each chip a noticeable heft.

Limited Edition Lay's Wavy Original Potato Chips Dipped in Milk Chocolate Closeup

Frito-Lay was correct in using their Lay’s Wavy Potato Chips. Their thickness doesn’t cause their crunch to get dampened by the chocolate like they probably would’ve with the thinner Lay’s Original Potato Chips. The milk chocolate was sweet and I loved the way it instantly melted in my mouth the moment it hit my tongue, as if my saliva was molten lava.

For a brief moment the chocolate’s sweetness and potato chip’s crunchiness made me happy, but there no epic unclasping-of-a-bra-like euphoria that makes my innards scream, “YES!” Instead, there’s a Wonderbra-like disappointment, because they aren’t as awesome as I imagined them to be in my mind. The whole point of combining chocolate with potato chips is to create that pleasing sweet and salty combo, but with most of the chips I ate, I felt they were significantly more sweet than salty and the potato flavor couldn’t cut through the sweetness.

Salt plays a huge part in what makes potato chips so addictive, but my taste buds didn’t regularly register any. And for those times I did, it wasn’t as potent as I hoped it would be. I think I can get a more pronounced saltiness on my tongue if I ran in place for 20 seconds and then licked myself.

Limited Edition Lay's Wavy Original Potato Chips Dipped in Milk Chocolate Bag Size

Besides the lack of salt, another issue is the sticker shock. Actually, now that I think about it, it’s really packaging shock, which is then followed by sticker shock. Each bag comes with five ounces of chocolate dipped chips, but that bag is the same size as the smallest bag of Lay’s Potato Chips (1 7/8 oz.) I could find at my nearest convenience store. Yes, chocolate is heavier than deep fried potato slices, but I’m pretty sure most people who see the bag will think, “Wow. That’s a small bag.” Then they’ll look at the price and maybe have some hesitation about purchasing it.

I know it sounds like I’m not thrilled by these Lay’s Wavy Potato Chips Dipped in Milk Chocolate, but I did enjoy making my way through the bag, getting chocolate all over my hands. They’re really good, but they didn’t blow my mind. But I think that’s my fault, because my saturated fat-addled mind had such high expectations of them.

A special thanks goes to Impulsive Buy reader Johnny who sent me two bags.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 oz./about 4 chips – 160 calories, 80 calories from fat, 9 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 130 milligrams of potassium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.)

Item: Limited Edition Lay’s Wavy Original Potato Chips Dipped in Milk Chocolate
Purchased Price: $3.49
Size: 5 oz. bag
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Really good. It’s frickin’ milk chocolate dipped potato chips! Use of Lay’s Wavy chips helped prevent the crunch from being dampened by the chocolate. Love the way the chocolate instantly melted on my tongue.
Cons: Most chips were significantly more sweet than salty. Target exclusive. Serving size is about 4 chips. Potato flavor couldn’t break through the sweetness. Potential buyers might have packaging shock, then followed by sticker shock. The dreams my saturated fat-addled mind has.

QUICK REVIEW: Salted Caramel Popchips

Salted Caramel Popchips

Purchased Price: $2.69
Size: 3.5 oz. bag
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Sweet, buttery caramel flavor, but that goodness doesn’t last long. The aroma that wafting out of the bag smells like a bag of caramels. No added preservatives. No artificial colors. No saturated or trans fat. Gluten free.
Cons: Much like Katy’s Kettle Corn Popchips, the flavor disappears quickly and most of the time the chip is in your mouth it tastes kind of like unflavored popcorn. Inconsistent seasoning on each chip, sometimes the flavor pops, but most of the time it doesn’t. Salt doesn’t really make an appearance. It’s not called Katy’s Salted Karamel.

Salted Caramel Popchips Closeup

Nutrition Facts: 1 oz./about 16 chips – 130 calories, 35 calories from fat, 4 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 3 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

FAST FOOD FIVE – 11/25/2013

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Here are five recent fast food news bites:

Are you tired of the same ol’ bird for Thanksgiving? Well, you can get a Popeyes Cajun Turkey from participating locations or an ostrich from wherever you get an ostrich. (via Grub Grade)

Did you know Burger King Japan has an annual promotion that allows diners to eat as many Whoppers as they can within 30 minutes? Now you know. And knowing is half the battle. (via Rocket News)

Chick-fil-A’s Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake is back! (via Chick-fil-A’s Website)

Sure, National Un-Turkey Day sounds completely made up and really should be on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but if you’d like to celebrate it Sonic is offering 1/2 off cheeseburgers tomorrow (November 26th). (via Grub Grade)

Hungry after waiting in numerous lines at Black Friday sales? Go wait in another line for 61 cent corn dogs at Wienerschnitzel. (via Wienerschnitzel’s Facebook Page)

Image via flickr user phalinn / CC BY 2.0

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 11/25/2013

Here are some interesting new and limited edition products found on store shelves by us and your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.

Dean's Sriracha Dip

Yeah, I don’t care about the buffalo ranch dip. That flavor has been overdone. I’m more interested in the sriracha one, which is a flavor that hasn’t been overdone yet…but is close. (Spotted by Emily at Pick N Save.)

Archer Farms Fruit Syrups

I think it’s pretty safe to say nutritionists will think this is one of the worst ways to consume fruit. (Spotted by Erin at Target.)

Quaker Warm & Crunchy Granola

Oh, Quaker. May thou never stop feeding us warm breakfasts. (Spotted by Charmi at Walmart.)

Del Monte FruitBurst Squeezers

I probably looked weird standing in the aisle and taking a panoramic photo of these Del Monte FruitBurst Squeezers. (Spotted by Marvo at Safeway.)

Limited Edition Honeycrisp Apple Slices

Hey! Remember when fruits were just “in season.” Now they’re “limited edition.” (Spotted by Joshua at Publix.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new or limited edition product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

SPOTTED ON MENUS – Larger Taco Bell Sauce Packets

Longer Taco Bell Sauce Packets

Okay, not at all spotted on a menu, but Impulsive Buy reader Garrett sent us photos of larger Taco Bell sauce packets he received from a Taco Bell in Southern California. They’re an inch longer than the packets I’m given way too much of. Anyone else receive these longer packets recently? (Spotted by Garrett.)

Longer Taco Bell Sauce Packets 2

If you’re out getting some fast food and see a test product on the menu board, snap a picture of it, and send us an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Menus post.