Tag: Potato Chips

REVIEW: Ruffles Limited Edition Honey Habanero Potato Chips

Ann 5 Comments

What are they?

Ruffles has continued its recent trend of spicy line extensions with limited edition Honey Habanero Ruffles.

How are they?

SPY-CEE. They’re hawt. Which, honestly, is a relief because I don’t support the irresponsible use of the term “habanero.” I realize that coming in hot, pun intended, on a review by jumping straight to the taste is a little out of the ordinary, but it’s definitely the first thing I noticed about these chips. They have the kind of heat that if you breathe in the wrong way while you’re eating them, the spice hits the very back of your throat and lights your whole esophagus on fire. My husband disagrees and thinks they’re not THAT hot. So I guess you should approach these with some caution, but not too much. “Habanero Peppers” are also listed as an ingredient, which I appreciate.

These stand out in a few other ways. First, they are saturated in oil and seasoning powder. The chips look remarkably similar to the graphics on the bag; no false advertising there. They are satisfyingly oily and full of flavor from the onset.

The initial sweet flavor is pretty flat. I wouldn’t say I picked up a ton of honey, even though I did see it on the ingredient line. I think it’s a hard flavor to break through all of the capsaicin, so it’s possible that without as much of the other seasonings, I would’ve picked up more honey. But I mostly just tasted “sweet” and then spicy heat. I thought the balance of sweet and then spicy was great, and these chips definitely left me wanting more, even with a mouth full of numb taste buds.

Anything else you need to know?

As you can see from the bag, there’s a Fast & Furious tie-in. There’s a sweepstakes that gives Ruffles eaters a chance to win movie tickets, Fast & Furious merchandise, or a 2023 Dodge Charger R/T. Also, did you know Vin Diesel’s birth name is Mark?

Conclusion:

These Honey Habanero Ruffles are pretty good. The sweetness isn’t quite complex enough to be recognizable as honey, but everything else about these chips is delicious, craveable, and worth picking up if you like spicy snacks.

Purchased Price: $4.79
Size: 8 oz bag
Purchased at: Mariano’s (Kroger)
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (About 13 chips) 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Baked Lay’s Buffalo Chicken Sandwich Potato Crisps

Marvo 2 Comments

Baked Lay’s Buffalo Chicken Sandwich Potato Crisps are the first Baked Lay’s product I truly enjoyed and want more of after finishing the bag. It’s a monumental moment in my snacking history!

I’ve had other Baked Lay’s products over the years, but beyond the original Baked Lay’s Potato Crisps, I can’t remember what they were, so they must’ve not been that great, right? But I’ll definitely remember these limited time only crisps long after they’re gone because they’re the best tasting Baked Lay’s product I’ve ever had.

What were these called again?

The graphics on the packaging show a crispy chicken sandwich topped with Buffalo sauce, pickles, and cheese. All of those ingredients are present at different levels here. To be honest, adding cheese flavoring seems odd for a Buffalo chicken sandwich. Blue cheese or ranch makes more sense, and the cheese is the least noticeable and gets overpowered by the hot sauce and pickle flavors most of the time. I expected a more robust vinegar tang from the Buffalo seasoning, but it tastes like it gets most of its tang from the pickle flavoring. There’s also a bit of chicken/grease flavor that’s easy to miss. While the Buffalo seasoning doesn’t have the same flavor punch or heat as the wing sauce, when combined with the pickle seasoning, they help make the usually unexciting crisp delicious.

However, the thing with these is that the flavor isn’t consistent. Only one side appears seasoned, and the only way the other side gets any seasoning is by rubbing itself with the other chips in the bag like they’re on a crowded dance floor. So I had to be aware of which side was hitting my tongue, which is not optimal when dealing with my tried and true method of shoving food mindlessly into my mouth.

Oh, speaking of shoving chips into my maw, I enjoyed these so much that I almost ate the entire bag in one sitting. I wish this bag was like a pint of Halo Top, and I could eat the whole thing without guilt. Sure, they have 65 percent less fat than regular potato chips, but this entire 6.25-ounce bag has 720 calories, so I’m feeling a bit guilty right now.

If you hate Baked Lay’s Potato Crisps because of their flavor or because they look, feel, and seem to soak saliva like dehydrated sponges, I’m not sure the spicy and tangy taste of these Buffalo chicken sandwich-flavored crisps is enough to change your mind or saliva gland’s opinion.

Purchased Price: $2.71 (on sale)
Size: 6.25 oz bag
Purchased at: Longs Drugs
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 17 chips) 120 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 1 gram of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of sugar (including 2 grams of added sugar), and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Ruffles Double Crunch Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips

Marvo 6 Comments

Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream is greater than Lay’s Cheddar & Sour Cream Potato Chips, and it’s my favorite potato chip. If I see a bag of the Lay’s version at a gathering, I sigh and then think that the person who was in charge of bringing chips should no longer have that responsibility from now on. Sure, same company, same seasoning, but the Ruffles variety is better tasting for some reason, and if given a choice between the two, I’d choose the Ruffles 100 times out of 100.

Is it the r-r-ridges? Probably.

So I wondered if ridges would make these Ruffles Double Crunch Salt & Vinegar chips superior to original Lay’s Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips, a go-to variety whenever I come across a regular Lay’s sale. Of course, Double Crunch’s ridges are significantly more profound than regular Ruffles, but I thought that depth might still have the same effect that it does with the cheddar and sour cream seasoning. However, that was not the case.

Look, I’m not going to lie. I ate the entire bag within 24 hours and didn’t regret one moment of it, even those moments when my wife gave me the I-wanted-to-try-those-but-can’t-now-because-someone-forgot-how-to-share look. But something about them makes them taste slightly less enticing than regular Lay’s Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips, which I’d pick over these Ruffles 100 times out of 100.

Is it the r-r-ridges? Probably.

I don’t know if those deep waves hold more seasoning, but when I bite into these, there are short savory bursts that have a slightly different salty to vinegary ratio than the Lay’s variety. And once those bursts fade, what’s left is more potato-y, which is probably the thicker chip’s fault. With the regular Lay’s, that salty and tangy seasoning lingers longer. Plus, that lingering makes my lower mouth tingle, which I oddly enjoy. I don’t know what that sensation is. Puckering? Putting my salivary glands on overdrive? My taste buds clapping? Whatever it is, I didn’t experience it with these.

Again, Ruffles Double Crunch Salt & Vinegar chips are pretty good, but I’d rather have the regular Lay’s version. Of course, my preference for them may change someday if Frito-Lay puts its salt and vinegar seasoning on regular Ruffles in the US. (It was available in Canada, which makes me even more jealous of our friends up north with its All Dressed and ketchup-flavored chips.)

Purchased Price: $4.50
Size: 7.25 oz bag
Purchased at: Times Supermarket
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 10 chips) 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: H-E-B Limited Edition Vanilla Milkshake Wavy Potato Chips

Sean 3 Comments

H E B Limited Edition Vanilla Milkshake Wavy Potato Chips Bag

What are H-E-B Limited Edition Vanilla Milkshake Wavy Potato Chips?

I often see new interesting items in the SPOTTED section of this site that I never see in person. Sometimes that’s just bad luck, sometimes it’s a product I would never buy, and sometimes it’s region-specific. A couple of weeks ago, a chip caught my eye so strikingly that I had to seek it out.

Exclusive to Texas-based grocery store H-E-B, this gorgeous teal bag is part of the Late Night Flavors collection, promising the flavor of a vanilla milkshake on wavy chips.

I put out a request to my Instagram followers, and someone in San Antonio was down for the hunt! Shout out to Lauren T for not only going to H-E-B and finding the chips but shipping them more perfectly than any other junk food oddity I’ve bought online (like that one time I purchased Cola Pringles from South Korea).

How are they?

H E B Limited Edition Vanilla Milkshake Wavy Potato Chips Pour

Much like a trip to the diner for a creamy shake and hot fresh, salty fries after a night of revelry, these chips are awesome. It’s an undisputed fact that wavy chips bring more flavor and crunch than their flatter counterparts, and these are excellent crunchy chips. Not as crunchy as a harder-cooked kettle style chip and not as greasy as the iconic Ruffles, these have a firm but gentle crunch akin to the Lays Wavy line.

The flavor strikes an even 50/50 split of sweet and salty with a strong undercurrent of pure potato. They aren’t too aggressively sweet or salty, which allows them to stay in balance as a crave-able chip that doesn’t steer too far into weird “is this dessert?” territory. These chips would have been a confusing train wreck if they were chocolate-based, but the nice neutral blanket of mild vanilla keeps them smooth and just sweet enough to keep me endlessly snacking in glee.

Anything else you need to know?

H E B Limited Edition Vanilla Milkshake Wavy Potato Chips Closeup

Have you ever dunked your fries into a fast food vanilla shake? That’s exactly what these taste like. I prefer to eat my fries and shake separately but for them to be combined into one flavor and bagged is fully a-okay by me. Fried potatoes and sweetened milk are a helluva tasty combo and one that should be explored more.

Conclusion:

Would I pay $20 to have these shipped to me again out of pure curiosity? No. But if I lived in Texas, near one of H-E-B’s 340 stores in Texas and Mexico, I would absolutely grab another bag the second these are gone because they’re enjoyable to eat.

Purchased Price: $2.55 (minus my crazy shipping scheme)
Size: 7 oz bag
Purchased at: H-E-B
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (11 chips/28 grams) 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 1 gram 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.