I’ve been slacking in my duties as the Chip Mack. I’m sorry. I’ve been out in these streets pursuing my acting career, but have no fear, for the Potato Chip Villain is back! These caught my eye as I was doing my usual dip da through the Albertsons chip isle. Pico de Gallo! Upon first bite I get a flavor that I have never tasted before on a chip but is instantly recognizable…red onion! Oh shit! It gives the chip a very fresh taste reminiscent of Pico de Gallo. The chip is held together with a tomato flavor that becomes stronger with each chip and finishes with the wonderful essence of cilantro. Beautiful flavors deliciously balanced almost perfectly. If I had to nit pick it would be with the tomato flavor. When eating a lot of these (and you will) the tomato flavor becomes kinda “sweet ketchupy.” But you know what? Its raining outside. Im loving this weather. Im loving these chips. 

                                                          I’m giving these a solid 4 outta 5 on the chip mack scale.

I have a homie (whose name shall remain nameless cuz he’s on here) that once you let him borrow something you’d never get it back. We knew that, and our dumb asses still let him borrow stuff. The term was “jacked.” Damn I miss my DJ Quik “Safe and Sound” cd, VHS mix tape (pre-internet…;-)), the list goes on. Jacked. Anyway, these are quite delightful…for the first few bites. Upon first bite, I taste the excellently balanced jack cheese flavor with a very good savory/spicy jalapeño flavor. My only gripe with these is that after a few handfuls, the flavor dissipates. I owe this to the chips not being seasoned enough. It lacks that first bite “explosion” of flavors. Too bad…these coulda been a star. Still a very good chip.

                          3.75 outta 5 on the Chip Mack scale.

I don’t drink beer. Why? Because I don’t like carbonated drinks. They hurt my throat. Still macho? You’re got damn right I am. Anyway, these make up for the faux bacon travesty from yesterday’s review. These are marvelous! Upon first bite, you get the salty sharp cheddary goodness with a superb bitter finish (the hoppiness of beer im guessing). Complex flavors perfectly balanced. 

                    4.75 outta 5 on the chip mack scale

How can you mess up bacon flavored potato chips? Turns out its easy…just don’t put any bacon flavor on them. Upon first bite, the sweetness hits you in the face. It finishes very buttery with the slightest hint of something that is reminiscent of bacon. C’mon Kettle Chips…a lil smokey flavor would go a long way with these. A good chip…but due to lack of vitally important flavors, these get a 3 outta 5 on the chip mack scale.

Like a really hot bi-polar chick, some things are better off alone than paired up with something else. Doritos decided to combine their taco flavored chips with cool ranch and nacho to capitalize (and cross market) off of the taco bell amalgamation tacos. The taco chips make the cool ranch a tad more enjoyable, but brings the nacho flavor down a little. Still good, but I’d rather eat either the taco or nacho chips by themselves.

 Cool ranch = 3/5….Nacho cheese = 3.5/5 on the chip mack scale.

Its great being the Chip Mack because I now have people on the lookout for new and unique potato chips. Shout out to my sister Tanya for finding these at a Winco in the IE. Upon first bite…wow…I can taste the delicious beefy steak flavor. Tastes more like prime rib…pretty good! Its short lived unfortunately because on the second bite it tastes like I just bit into a salt lick. These are waaay too salty! These basically taste of beef bouillon powder and a grip of msg. Too much msg! As with a lot of great chip flavor ideas, these fell victim to poor execution. The saltiness makes it hard to finish the bag in one sitting. Sucks because I had high hopes for these.

                                                             2.5/5 on the chip mack scale

Ok…here is the last review of the Lay’s contest flavors…Siracha! I love Siracha sauce, and these chips are no different. Again, the Lay’s flavor scientist perfectly captured the vinegar-garlic spicy flavor of Siracha. I use to put Siracha on plain chips back in the day when all we had as a kid was plain ass potato chips(a travesty). These are a gift to Siracha/spicy food lovers everywhere. Not too hot, it doesn’t have the burn of the flamin’ hot line of chips, but it’s packed with flavor and finishes with a nice spicy kick on the back of your palate.

                                                                     

                    Solid 4.5/5 on the chip mack scale

I’ve been impressed with how accurately Lay’s has replicated food flavors on these chips. These taste just like cheesey gatlic bread. Cheesey garlicky goodness. So much so that I decided to eat these with a bowl if spaghetti. If you like garlic you’ll love these. If not, you should pass.

                    3.75 outta 5 on the chip mack scale

These are exactly what I thought they’d be. “Maply” sweet, buttery, poultry flavored chips. Better by themselves than paired with anything. Perfect interpretation of some unique flavors that pair well just as they do in real life. When you remove the thought of “I’m eating chicken and waffle potato chips,” the flavor on its own is pretty good, although not for everyone. If they removed the maple syrup flavor and added a more “herby flavor”, it’d be a great “Thanksgiving Dinner” flavored chip…just my opinion. I hope they keep these or release them as a seasonal flavor.

                                                                       4/5 on the chip mack scale

Whaaaat? Frito Lay must be reading my thoughts. I always thought they should come out with these. The corn along with the onion flavor goes well. Almost tastes like cool ranch Doritos but lest zesty/more “oniony.” Interesting. Pretty good. 3.75 outta 5 on the Chip Mack scale.