Monday, June 21, 2010

Snack #127 - Deep Fried Jalapeno Chips



Pictured above, you will see one of the tastiest spicy snacks I have had the privilege to eat in quite some time. If you ever find yourself in Atlanta, Georgia - you MUST go to Fox Brothers BBQ.

These deep fried pickled jalapeno chips were just the right blend of tangy, crunchy, and spicy. And let me tell you, they got pretty spicy, a definite heat build-up. Nothing a cool dip of ranch couldn't fix though. I literally cannot say enough about these little morsels of goodness. You'll have to try them for yourself.

And the barbecue was really delicious too.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 7/10
Bottom Line: reason enough to go to Atlanta

Hot Chick Telepathy

In a weird moment of Hot Chicks Eatin' Spicy Chips telepathy, I signed on to review Lay's Sweet & Spicy Buffalo Wings only to find that my fellow blogger had just beaten me to it. Weird!?

A big ditto to everything posted below. With the additional observation that after bags upon bags of kettle style potato chips, eating a bag of good old fashioned Lay's was like eating a bag of soggy chips.

And chicken fat?! I had fortunately not noticed that when I was tasting the chips.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Snack #126- Lay’s Sweet & Spicy Buffalo Wing Flavored Potato Chips



Lay’s Sweet & Spicy Buffalo Wing Flavored Potato Chips

These chips are definitely sweet and spicy but the sweet flavor is super sweet and tastes like a mouthful of sugar (perhaps brown sugar). They are pretty standard potato chips, very thin and crunchy but with more seasoning than typical chips- almost more like Doritos or Cheetos because they leave orange residue on your hands. It is actually difficult to taste the potato chip underneath all the seasoning. The ingredient list reads like a recipe for buffalo wings, all the way down to the added ‘chicken fat’. Gross. They do taste like a buffalo wing but the flavor is unnatural packed onto a potato chip. And they are not spicy enough.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 1/10

Bottom Line: Chicken fat potato chips.

Snack #125- Corn Nuts Chorizo Chipotle Flavored Crunchy Corn Snack



Corn Nuts Chorizo Chipotle Flavored Crunchy Corn Snack

These corn nuts are sneaky little devils. The first two of them tasted like normal Corn Nuts with a little spicy edge but once I had about 10 of them my mouth was burning! They have a slightly dry, bitter flavor that tasted like straight paprika was sprinkled on top of them (and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case). Corn Nuts are generally pretty crunchy and taste slightly like corn although the artificial flavors tend to overwhelm most natural corn flavors.
Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 4/10
Bottom Line: Spicy, artificial flavored corn nuggets.

Buy them here:

Snack #124-Corn Nuts Chips Hot Sauce & Limon Flavored Crunchy Corn Chips



Corn Nuts Chips Hot Sauce & Limon Flavored Crunchy Corn Chips

These are TINY! I was so surprised when I opened the bag and discovered that these chips are seriously the size of dimes. I guess the idea was to keep them the same size as a Corn Nut but I think they are too small. Also they taste exactly like those lime flavored tortilla chips…nothing new or unique about them except their unfortunately small size. The lime flavor isn’t particularly good either, and the ‘hot sauce’ flavor tastes like when you eat something that is too hot and slightly singe your mouth. These are really bitter and not pleasing to the taste buds in the least.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 4/10
Bottom Line: Very small and pretty nasty.
Buy them here:

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Snack #123- Barcel Churritos Chile and Lime Flavored Corn Snacks



Barcel Churritos Chile and Lime Flavored Corn Snacks
So these snacks came from Texas, where they were imported from a manufacturer in Mexico. That being said, it is pretty disappointing that these aren't spicier. The lime flavor comes through but is somewhat overwhelming and the chile flavor is not exciting enough. The texture of these is a little disappointing as well; the corn is heavy and not crunchy. If they are claiming these snacks are more spicy now than before, I'm glad I didn't rate them before!

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 1/10
Bottom Line: Limey corn.

Snack #122- Cape Cod Sweet & Spicy Jalapeño Kettle-Cooked Potato Chips



Cape Cod Sweet & Spicy Jalapeño Kettle-Cooked Potato Chips
This packaging says the flavor is New! so these should be a new spicy variation of the classic Cape Cod Jalapeño and Aged Cheddar chips (which were the inspiration for this blog, in fact). And these do not disappoint! They are bursting with flavor and somehow manage to evoke a flavor that exactly matches the description. They are certainly spicy with jalapeño flavor but also have sweet notes as well, probably from the onion and green bell pepper seasoning. They have sinus-clearing, tongue-burning heat without overpowering the other flavors in the chip, creating a very well-rounded chip. My only criticism is that the jalapeño flavor is very natural and can get a little bitter in some bites. But the crunchy, sweet, and spiciness of these chips is very satisfying and reminds me why I love testing spicy snacks.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 7/10
Bottom Line: Highly recommended jalapeño potato chip.

Buy them here:
Cape Cod Potato Chips, Kettle Cooked, Sweet & Spicy Jalapeno

Snack #121- Ike & Sam’s Kickin’ Cayenne Kettlecorn



Ike & Sam’s Kickin’ Cayenne Kettlecorn
I was curious to see how the typical sweetness of kettle corn would work with the spice of cayenne. I’m still not sure how I feel about it, mostly because the cayenne was severely lacking in this snack. They definitely tasted like sugar-coated popcorn but the pepper flavor is very subtle. I can see specks of red pepper on the outside of the popcorn but somehow it doesn’t translate; maybe the sweetness of the kettle corn overpowers the spice but I think the recipe could probably kick the heat up a notch without losing that traditional kettle corn taste. I think the spice is fairly unevenly coating the corn as well because some kernels are very sweet and others are more peppery. I also got a few extra browned pieces of corn that added an unpleasant burny taste to the mix. I think the main downfall of this snack is its inconsistency. But if you’re looking for a classic kettle corn snack with a hint of cayenne, these are not a bad option. The sweet flavors make a tasty, albeit definitely not spicy, popped corn snack.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 1/10
Bottom Line: Sweet kettle corn with light dusting of cayenne.