Tag: Frito-Lay

REVIEW: Doritos Tangy Tamarind

Marvo 10 Comments

Doritos Tangy Tamarind Bag

Despite having several beverages with tamarind in them, I can’t tell you what it is.

Its name makes me think of an obscure wind instrument or an obscure children’s cartoon character known for making body noises that sound like an obscure wind instrument. But it’s none of those things because I imagine a beverage with either one blended into it would taste horrible and not provide the sour flavor that tamarind offers.

I’m not even going to do the usual thing I do when I don’t know what something is or want to spoil the plot of a TV show/movie I haven’t watched yet — check Wikipedia. I’m just going to be clueless about tamarind until, I dunno, someone decides to share what it is in the comments below that hopefully gets lost among explanations that other folks fabricate.

Doritos Tangy Tamarind’s bag evokes thoughts of cheese. Wait. Is tamarind orange in color? Again, I’m ignorant of the, um, whatever it is. Is it a fruit? Is it a root? Is it a plant? Or is it an ant? Is it used as ink? I don’t know what to think.

Doritos Tangy Tamarind Closeup

With its dark red seasoning, the chips could be mistaken for something on the Flamin’ Hot side of the family. They smell like regular corn tortilla chips with a sweet aroma that includes a little something that hints at spiciness.

Doritos Tangy Tamarind Back Bag

The back of the bag offers a big hint that things will get spicy. However, its kick is a few levels below what one’s mouth will experience when eating something with Flamin’ Hot seasoning. Along with the spiciness are a light sweetness and a sour flavor that’s probably supposed to be the tamarind. But I’ve had a lot of lime-flavored Frito-Lay chips, like Hint of Lime Tostitos and Doritos Twisted Lime, and this sure tastes a lot like lime. Again, I have no idea what tamarind is, so maybe it’s part of lime’s family tree. With most chips, the sourness level is about equal to the chip’s spiciness, and that balance, along with hints of garlic and onion powder, makes for a great tasting chip.

Doritos Tangy Tamarind Plate

With that said, I can’t help but think these chips are a less spicy version of Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limon that came out in 2020, which I loved. So if you liked the taste of those chips, but you’d enjoy them more with a tad less heat, Doritos Tangy Tamarind is here to tantalize your taste buds. Even if you don’t know what tamarind is.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 2 3/4 oz bag
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 11 chips/28 grams) 150 calories, 7 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Ruffles Spicy Dill Pickle Potato Chips

Sean 5 Comments

Ruffles Spicy Dill Pickle Potato Chips Bag

What are they?

Everyone knows Ruffles’ ridges not only carry crunch but deliver more flavor than their flatter counterparts. With Ruffles Spicy Dill Pickle, those ridges carry a tangy pickle profile with a bit of heat.

How are they?

Ruffles Spicy Dill Pickle Potato Chips Spill

These chips boldly deliver on everything their name promises. A perfectly acidic and bright dill pickle flavor hits immediately — on the nose and tongue. If you love pickles, you will love the taste; if you don’t, steer clear. After a prominent pickle beginning, the flavor evolves into a legitimate heat that stacks the more I chomp down on the delightful ridges.

The spice level is medium and never becomes overbearing, but it does linger. The spiciness has enough weight to leave a little tickle when I stop grabbing more from the bag, which is hard because these are addictive.

Anything else you need to know?

Ruffles Spicy Dill Pickle Potato Chips One Chip

The heat on these chips is unique for Ruffles. It doesn’t have the notable pepper taste of a jalapeño but also isn’t quite as hot or slightly sweet and cheesy in the way Flamin’ Hot chips are. The spice reminds me of crushed red pepper flakes in that they create a blanket of spiciness without introducing any other flavors, which is great because the strong pickle flavor gets to shine.

Conclusion:

Ruffles Spicy Dill Pickle Potato Chips Closeup

Ruffles Spicy Dill Pickle Potato Chips are excellent. They bring all the big textured crunch and salty satisfaction that the Ruffles brand is known for with a fantastic spicy and tangy smattering of flavor that is an absolute must buy for any pickle fan.

Purchased Price: $5.59
Size: 8 oz bag
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (13 chips, 28g) 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Doritos Roulette Cool Ranch

Brandon 4 Comments

Doritos Roulette Cool Ranch Bag

I’m not much of a gambler. I’ve been to Las Vegas once, a couple of years ago on a work trip, and I played (and lost) $5 in the hotel casino slot machine just so I could say I did it. It’s not that I don’t like risk; I will skydive or play basketball with brittle 40-year-old man knees or scream obscenities at a bull in Pamplona any day of the week. What I don’t like about gambling is the part where I am forced to part with money (mostly) due to things outside of my control.

But what about gambling with food? I do plenty of that, actually. I’ll eat pizza that was accidentally left out on the counter all night and slather my sandwiches with mayonnaise well north of its expiration date. As a young man brimming with virulent stupidity, I once ate a chicken tender from a trashcan on Bourbon Street. So is an extremely hot Cool Ranch Doritos any worse? (Well, okay— it’s undoubtedly safer than Trashcan Chicken, that’s for sure.) Let’s discuss.

The original Doritos Roulette chip — of the nacho cheese ilk — debuted in the US in 2015. (It’d been available abroad the year prior.) To the delight of spicy snack fans, they resurfaced last year in their original nacho incantation. But with the recent advent of Flamin’ Hot Cool Ranch Doritos, it seemed fated that Frito-Lay would eventually try its hand at Cool Ranch Roulette. So is it worth the gamble?

If you like Cool Ranch Doritos and don’t mind hot, you’ll like these chips. But how hot do they get, you’re wondering? Pretty hot. Like, really pretty hot, but not, “My nose and eyes are leaking, and I’m rethinking some of my life’s decisions, and why did I put off meeting with that guy about the living will. He said that the consultation was free unless they actually drafted paperwork” hot. Fresh jalapeño hot, but not 7 Pot Douglah hot. (It’s a pepper, look it up.) The heat is intense and lingering, and it is almost immediate.

Doritos Roulette Cool Ranch Closeup

The first chip I had was a regular Cool Ranch, and as I reached for a second, I wondered, how many hot chips are there in this bag? Is it like, 1 out of 10? 1 out of — and then as soon as I bit the second chip, my lips were burning, followed almost immediately by my tongue. Alarming as this was, it didn’t hold up statistically. I ate five or six chips before I got another hot one. (You know, just enough time for your mouth to begin feeling sort of okay again.) And really, that seemed to be about the ratio -— one out of every six or seven chips was burny.

It’s also worth noting that just because you liked the Flamin’ Hot Cool Ranch Doritos, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll like these. The FHCRD are a bit tangier and have more of a hot sauce burn, if you will, while this is much more of a pepper-based heat. Another reason that I enjoyed these more? If you have a kid who can’t yet read, it makes for a cheap laugh. (And it may also deter them from stealing your precious snacks.)

Purchased Price: $3.00
Size: 9.75 oz bag
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (12 chips) 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, 0 grams of added sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Ruffles Flamin’ Hot Cheddar & Sour Cream Potato Chips

Alex 8 Comments

Ruffles Flamin Hot Cheddar Sour Cream Potato Chips Bag

I feel comfortable sharing something rather controversial with you all: I can’t stand Cheetos, crunchy or puffed. (Feel free to express your outrage in the comments.)

As the tastebuds of my peers developed to handle Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, I was envious that there wasn’t a Flamin’ Hot food for me to call my own. Luckily Frito-Lay began to add the seasoning to other munchies, and I could finally join my friends in doling out some bright red high fives. The newest snack to stain my fingers is the Ruffles Flamin’ Hot Cheddar & Sour Cream Potato Chips.

Ruffles Flamin Hot Cheddar Sour Cream Potato Chips Lebron

The bag says the flavor is by LeBron James and it features a large photo of him and some inspirational words that tie into Ruffles’ “Own Your Ridges” campaign. I’m not sure if the flavor was LeBron’s idea or if he just supports Ruffles Flamin’ Hotting its cheddar and sour cream potato chip, but with the popularity of Flamin’ Hot snack foods in Los Angeles, a partnership with the Lakers star makes perfect sense.

Ruffles Flamin Hot Cheddar Sour Cream Potato Chips Inside Bag

In the bag, the chips smelled very similar to the regular Cheddar & Sour Cream but with an added vinegary tang. They had that same richly colored Flamin’ Hot powder that coats other chips and puffs, and it was a generous covering that made the not hot version seem under-dusted by comparison.

Ruffles Flamin Hot Cheddar Sour Cream Potato Chips Red Not Red

True to the name, these tasted like a Flamin’ Hot version of the Cheddar & Sour Cream Ruffles. Cheese and sour cream have long been standard accompaniments for spicy foods, and the pairing made just as much sense on these chips. The Flamin’ Hot powder felt comfortably at home with the cheddar and sour cream dust, but also switched things up a bit. Unlike the regular Cheddar & Sour Cream, which is very cheese flavor-forward, the acidic coating on the Flamin’ Hot version really brought out the sour cream, which was a welcome change for this fan of sour ‘n’ spicy foods. Additionally, Ruffles are robust chips and really hold their own when given the Flamin’ Hot treatment. I loved the substantial crunch and full potato taste of the chip underneath all that zesty seasoning.

Ruffles Flamin Hot Cheddar Sour Cream Potato Chips Red

Like other Flamin’ Hot snacks I’ve tried, the spice level disarmed me by being minimal at first but then building after a serving or two. Even then, these chips never noticeably burned my mouth or stomach, and I only realized they were getting to me once my nose started to run. Others may wish these Ruffles were more picante, but I feel like they had the right amount of heat to allow one to eat them by the handful without a night of heartburn.

On that note, it seems I almost finished the entire bag as I wrote this review. Bright red high five to whoever can tell me the best way to get Flamin’ Hot Cheetle out of a laptop keyboard.

Purchased Price: $3.49 (on sale, originally $4.79)
Size: 8 oz bag
Purchased at: Ralphs
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (28 grams/about 13 chips) 160 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Smartfood Doritos Nacho Cheese Popcorn

Holly 13 Comments

Smartfood Doritos Nacho Cheese Popcorn Bag

What is Smartfood Doritos Nacho Cheese Popcorn?

Kicking off the year strong, Frito-Lay created a Sam’s Club exclusive variety of its popular Smartfood Popcorn that uses the classic Doritos Nacho Cheese seasoning. It offers the flavor of Nacho Cheese Doritos, but without the stained fingers you might get with the chips.

How is it?

Smartfood Doritos Nacho Cheese Popcorn Bowl

The flavor of Nacho Cheese Doritos is strongly present but without the expected crunch of the tortilla chip or corn flavor. Admittedly, it was a little jarring at first. Once my mouth and brain took a moment to adjust expectations, it was a very delicious snack. Without the chip’s corn flavor, you get a chance to really taste the different elements of the nacho cheese seasoning. The garlic, onion, and paprika shine the most, with the cheese flavor coming in subtle at the end.

Anything else you need to know?

Smartfood Doritos Nacho Cheese Popcorn Bag Back

Because this is available at Sam’s Club, the item is over 2.5 times bigger than the standard Smartfood bag. If you don’t want to open it yet, you can always use it as a lower back pillow when you’re sitting at your desk.

Conclusion:

Smartfood’s Doritos Nacho Cheese Popcorn is an all-around enjoyable item. It’s a nice blend of Smartfood Popcorn and Doritos Nacho Cheese that feels new, but familiar. I could absolutely see it being a hit at parties or as a new snack to break up the normal noshing. Hopefully, it does well enough that we get other crossover flavors in the future. Maybe some Smartfood Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle Popcorn?

Purchased Price: $5.28
Size: 17 oz bag
Purchased at: Sam’s Club
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 1/3 cup) 160 calories, 11 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 14 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 1 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.