REVIEW: Madden ’11 Inspired Doritos (Stadium Nacho & Tailgater BBQ)

I’m amazed with what Doritos is capable of doing with their tortilla chips. They do some crazy magic with seasonings and monosodium glutamate. Mountain Dew-flavored chips…BOOM! Fast food taco-flavored chips…KAPOW! Cheeseburger-flavored chips…(insert here favorite onomatopoeia used during the fight scenes in the 1960s Batman TV series)!

The only way I can imagine they came up with such flavors is by snorting monosodium glutamate through a hollowed out Cheetos puff off of the gut of a future Biggest Loser contestant to stimulate the right side of their brain.

While the folks at Doritos would never admit to using MSG like Jim Morrison used heroin to create music, Ernest Hemingway used alcohol to write prose and Phil Collins used baldness to come up with his song “Sussudio,” they have admitted their newest flavors, Tailgater BBQ and Stadium Nacho, were inspired by the football video game Madden ’11.

For those of you who have never played a minute of Madden in its 22-year history, it allows football fans to control any NFL team, and depending on what level of difficulty one sets the game at, they can make the impossible possible, like having the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl by beating their opponent 259-0 with their third string quarterback. Of course, one of the downsides of playing Madden is having the voices of either John Madden or Cris Collinsworth haunt your dreams by repeating the same color commentary over and over again, especially Madden’s “BOOM!” which has been known to spoil lovemaking sessions.

While the unusual flavors Doritos creates are awe-inspiring, what’s even more impressive is how accurate those unusual flavors are compared with the real thing. Their Doritos Late Night Cheeseburger tastes like cheeseburgers, their Doritos Late Night Tacos tastes like fast food tacos and the Tailgater BBQ and Stadium Nacho are supposed to taste like barbeque pork and nachos with jalapenos, respectively.

Because I’ve read previous reviews of the Tailgater BBQ, I knew I should expect a barbeque pork flavor, but for unsuspecting folks, its flavor will be kind of a mindfuck. The chip starts off with a sweet barbeque flavor that’s similar to barbeque Lay’s potato chips, and then the smoky pork flavor hits the tongue. At first, I thought the greasy pork flavor seemed a bit odd to have with a chip and it slightly grossed me out, but after eating a bit more, I got used to the flavor..a little. I kind of like Tailgater BBQ, but I don’t think I can eat too much of it in one sitting because I’m afraid its greasy pork flavor will eventually freak out my taste buds.

The Stadium Nacho flavor is definitely my favorite of the two Madden ’11 Inspired Flavors, even though it’s just another addition to the long line of cheesy Doritos flavors. But that’s probably a good thing because while the folks at Doritos do a good job of creating chips that taste like meat, they do a much better job at develop cheesy-flavored chips. The Stadium Nacho has a nacho cheese sauce flavor that would make Taco Bell proud, and then make them check to see if any of their nacho cheese sauce patents were violated because the chips taste almost exactly like Taco Bell’s nacho cheese sauce. But what makes the Stadium Nacho tasty in my mind is the mild jalapeno flavor, which also gives the chips a very, very slight kick.

Since a new version of Madden is released every year, I’d like to see Doritos comes up with flavors inspired by Madden ’12. I’m hoping after the people at Doritos snort monosodium glutamate through a hollowed out Cheetos puff off of the gut of a future Biggest Loser contestant they’ll come up with hot dog or beer-flavored Doritos.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 ounce – Stadium Nachos – 140 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 220 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein and 2% vitamin A. Tailgater BBQ – 140 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, 2 grams of protein, 2% vitamin B6 and 2% magnesium.)

Item: Madden ’11 Inspired Doritos (Stadium Nacho & Tailgater BBQ)
Price: $2.98 each
Size: 11.5 ounces
Purchased at: The Blue Store That Makes Kmart Look Slightly Better
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Tailgater BBQ)
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Stadium Nacho)
Pros: Accurate flavors. Stadium Nacho was tasty thanks to Taco Bell-ish nacho cheese sauce flavor and jalapeno flavor. Inventive Doritos flavors. 1960s Batman TV show. Winning the Super Bowl in Madden using the easy level of difficulty.
Cons: Tailgater BBQ’s pork flavor can seem a little weird. Contains MSG. Having John Madden saying “BOOM!” over and over again in your dreams. Trying to hollow out a Cheetos puff. Snorting MSG.

16 thoughts to “REVIEW: Madden ’11 Inspired Doritos (Stadium Nacho & Tailgater BBQ)”

  1. I am eating the Tailgater BBQ as I type this. Truly amazing flavor. I bought them just to see what the new flavor was all about… and man, this bag will be dead by end of today. Tastes like ribs. I can’t even pretend to understand how they did this.

  2. @Chuck: I don’t think I’ve had their habanero chips. Or maybe I did and they were so hot that my mind forgot about them due to the trauma they caused.

    @jason: I hope your keyboard keys aren’t turning orange-red due to the seasonings on the chips. Mine did. But a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser made them look new again.

  3. I’m so hungry anything looks good so maybe I can’t be a good judge right now. The first time I had Doritos I was about 10 years old and was a bit freaked out by the small specks of blue powder found on the chips. We bought them at the nearest base (5 hours away from home) and I think we got cool ranch and nacho. I liked them, but then I had Fritos and now I just never eat Doritos. I like the corn-nut taste of Fritos and would rather have regular tortilla chips with a good guacamole or salsa. Oh, sooo hungry!

  4. The stadium nachos seems like it would be the better bet, but I am bias on this since I love a little “kick” or “POW” in my chips.

  5. I bought the Stadium Nachos last Saturday morning and by Sunday night they were gone. I know what my new football watching chip will be this season. SAINTS!!!

  6. Praise Doritos’ creative uses of MSG all you want, but I tried both of these flavors, and to me they both just tasted like less-garlicky Doritos.

  7. did doritos really have a mountain dew flavor?? if that was one of marvos poor attempts at humor im gonna be really emmbaresed.

    jk marvo cracks me up big time!

    1. Oh they had a Mountain Dew flavor! It was a mystery-flavor, and you could win money by figuring out the flavor using some weird cipher on their website. I can’t remember the details, but it was a cross-promotion with new flavors Mountain Dew was releasing. I do remember that the chips were almost exactly the color of real Mountain Dew, and they tasted weird and sweet like Fruity Pebbles.

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