Snack #152 - Archer Farms Hot & Spicy Potato Chips

I forgot to mention this in the last post, but good work Target in creating a resealable chip bag! Now I frequently fail the Lays "betcha can't eat just one" test, but I also try to avoid eating a whole bag of chips in a sitting if I can help it. The resealable bag is a genius idea and I don't know why other companies haven't jumped on the bandwagon. Hear that other companies?? Get on the bandwagon!

Bag issues addressed, now onto the chip itself. And these were some fiery ones! It's nice to finally eat a spicy chip that is spicy in more than just it's name - it feels like it's been a while. The heat hits you immediately with a cough-inducing blast of black pepper. After a few more, I started to taste some cayenne and maybe even a little vinegar. But the initial heat stuck with me for quite a while until it dissipated into a not altogether unpleasant sweetness. These chips also had the nice crunch that I've come to expect from a kettle cooked chip.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 7/10
Bottom Line: get yourself to Target!

Snack #151 - Archer Farms General Tso Potato Chips

For those of you who don't know, Archer Farms is the Target in-house brand. I was amazed by their spicy snack section, so be on the lookout for more Archer Farms reviews to come. I HAD to start with the General Tso's flavor though. It's one of my favorite guilty pleasure Chinese dishes - fried, sweet, spicy goodness - and I was hoping the chip would be the same. Unfortunately these nice, crinkle cut chips tasted overwhelmingly of soy sauce - not sweet, not spicy, just soy sauce. And if I really concentrated hard, maybe a little black pepper. There were none of the ginger, garlic, or Asian-inspired flavors that the back of the bag promised. Weirdly however, after I finished eating and writing my notes on the chips, I felt like I had eaten General Tso's chicken. Somehow while the chips themselves tasted nothing like what they promised the aftertaste was spot-on.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 0/10
Bottom Line: just get the real thing

Snack #150- Ruffles Molten Hot Wings Flavored Potato Chips

Ruffles Molten Hot Wings Flavored Potato Chips

These smelled like salt and vinegar chips at first but these chips taste a LOT like chicken…and they have chicken fat, chicken broth and chicken POWDER in them.  That’s pretty disgusting.  The more of them you eat, the more you realize how much they taste like chicken, which is pretty unpleasant.  They do have some spicy flavors but they are more generic spicy and not very distinct.  They don’t taste like buffalo potato chips or anything, just spicy chicken chips.  They have a fairly solid burn but it’s just not an exciting flavor.  Basically sometimes things are better in their original form and hot wings just don’t translate well into potato chips.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 4/10

Bottom Line: Chicken chips.

Buy them here:
Ruffles Molten Hot Wings Potato Chips

Snack #148- Majans Bhuja Original Mix

Majans Bhuja Original Mix

This original mix is similar to the cracker mix but has fewer components and is a little spicier.  The peas and peanuts are pretty basic and not spicy and the raisins are dried out.  Instead of the rice crackers, this mix has a few different shapes of crispy noodles that all taste the same.  The noodles are the only pieces where the spice mix, which includes paprika and turmeric, has stuck enough to taste it.  It’s a nice spice mix but should be spicier.  Overall not a bad mix but the components are boring and the flavoring is weak.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 2/10

Bottom Line: Indian snack mix.

Buy them here:
BHUJA Original Mix

Snack #149- Cheetos Mighty Zingers Crazy Cheddar & Wicked Picante

Cheetos Mighty Zingers Crazy Cheddar & Wicked Picante

These LIMITED EDITION Cheetos are so original….cheese flavored!  The orange ‘crazy cheddar’ Cheetos in this mix taste exactly like original Cheetos.  The ‘wicked picante’ Cheetos are green which is bizarre and taste a little tangier than the orange ones but they don’t have a very exciting or unique flavor.  Also neither of the flavors are spicy at all.  They don’t taste bad, but they don’t taste special and I am not sure why Cheetos bothered to make this a limited edition flavor combination.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 0.5/10

Bottom Line: Cheetos.