Lay's Doritos Cool Ranch Flavored Potato Chips

A co-worker brought a bag of these to the break room table...

It was as if Lay's put the Cool Ranch flavor onto a potato chip but didn’t attempt to duplicate the Dorito flavor. I happened to have a snack sized bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and I decided to taste them side by side. Of course, the Doritos won. Doritos have a smoky corn flavor (being corn chips), with a hint of spiciness that is a satisfying flavor pairing with cool ranch. The potato chips are okay with cool ranch, but I have a problem with Lay's calling these Doritos flavored. They're just decent, cool ranch flavored chips. 

These get two potatoes out of four. I could eat them again, but they are not something I'd buy.

Lay's Wavy Jerk Chicken Flavored Potato Chips

This is one of the three limited edition flavors Lay's released in summer 2021.

Lay's did a great job capturing the jerk flavor onto these chips. I remember the chicken flavor, a clear jerk blend and more than a hint, but not enough to blow your roof off amount of heat.  They were so delicious. I know because I finished the bag even though I was struggling with leaving a few chips so that I could write a detailed review and take a photo or two. Now, I'm left with this spare review and a lack of detail. I bought this bag along with the BLT flavor. I never found the third flavor of the Lay's summer releases: Chile Mango flavored chips, holla when you see me!

Wavy Jerk Chicken flavored chips get four potatoes out of four. 

Lay's Summer BLT Flavored Potato Chips

These are one of three flavors Lay's released for summer 2021. 

Summer BLT chips have a smoky, salty, clearly bacon flavor, which, is the first flavor hit,  but then a muted, earthy tomato sneaks up. The more you tongue ruminates, it will get a light onion flavor along with something vegetal. It’s a smooth combination that is quite delicious and pairs well with so many entrees. So far my it is my favorite new chip since Lay's Electric Lime. Please add this to your regular roster Lay's!

Four potatoes out of four. They’re a hit! 

The Hunt Begins!

Oh my goodness! Can't wait to get ahold of these!
http://www.fritolay.com/lays/index.html
Here's  great article about the contest:
http://www.fastcocreate.com/1682425/how-lays-got-its-chips-to-taste-like-chicken-and-waffles

Margarita Chips, Lay's Brand in Colombia

Frito-Lay (owned by PepsiCo) has many labels around the world. Their label in Colombia is Margarita and at the time I was in Colombia, they were having a flavor contest for consumers to vote try these limited edition chips and choose which one will become a new Margarita flavor.

Hamburguesa flavored actually tasted like a hamburger. When I crunched on two or three chips at one time, I got distinct flavors of a grilled patty, pickles and tomatoes, maybe even mustard. I'm always amazed at chips that are able to accomplish that feat. I enjoyed these.

Pollo (Chicken) flavored chips unfortunately tasted and smelled like a Vienna sausage. There was no sense of chicken in there at all. That bag was never completely consumed, although I kept trying a chip here and there for a little while, just in case the chips needed to breath. This flavor was not apart of the flavor contest. It was already a regular flavor in Margarita's repertoire. Ugh.

Costillitas flavored chips were basically barbeque flavored. In fact, Ruffles was circulating Smokehouse Style BBQ flavored chips in limited quantities around Los Angeles. The Costillitas and the Smokehouse Style were virtually identical in flavor. The difference was one was a smooth Lay's style and the other was the crinkled Ruffle's style. They were good, but not distinct enough to warrant searching out Costillitas over any other BBQ flavored chip.

Onduladas con Sabor Tomate flavored chips tasted like potato chips with ketchup. It was a very simple flavor despite the length of their title. I did enjoy them.

Lay's Dill Pickle Potato Chips

This is a potato chip I discovered on the East Coast, specifically in Pennsylvania, while visiting family. Finding these in a Walgreen’s in San Francisco while inspecting their chip selection for anything of note was a great eureka moment. I didn’t think I would see these ever cross the Mississippi, but here they are, in my West-Coast-residing-hands and they are good! The dill pickle flavor is not mean and overpowering like you’d imagine adding the flavor of a salty pickle to a salty potato chip would be. The chip tastes like they took a potato and marinated it in pickle juice then cooked it. I like pickles so that works for me.

After I first ate these in PA, I returned home and attempted to create a homemade version. I mandolin-sliced some potatoes and soaked them for about an hour in a jar full of leftover pickle juice. Then I cooked them in the microwave. They came out delicious! The flavor wasn’t as pronounced as the Lay’s, but still distinct.

I’m looking forward to tasting other pickle chips!

Lay's Classic BLT

My BFF, Dante (of Dantania) found these chips at his local liquor store (a great place to discover new and limited release chips) and saved them for me. The next chance we got to hang out, we sat in my car, cracked open the bag and gave them a go.

I tried one chip, then I had to try two at a time to really get the flavor. My tongue sent this information back up to my brain: Sour cream and onion with bacon flavored salad topper thingees. Not particularly pleasant. Not something I'd like to repeat.

What was your take on these chips, Dante?

Dante: I felt lied to. A BLT is like one of the best sandwiches ever and the fact that I didn’t taste B, L, or T was shocking. When I first bit into one I said “Hotdogs.” I think at the factory they just had some random flavor sitting around and asked someone “What does this taste like?” and they said “Bacon.” Then they went home laughing at the fact that Lays believed them. Even the multiple method didn’t work for me. I hope 7/11 has this flavor done the right way.

Oh, yeah! You did taste those 7-11 hot dog chips with me! They were good! Have you found any other chips of note in liquor stores?

Dante: Not yet but I will keep you posted. The latest thing I have seen there but haven’t tried yet was the Cheeto’s Popcorn. This is a product that was out when I was a kid and I wonder if they’ve managed to make it taste good. Companies are sneaking old products onto shelves. When they bring back bacon flavored Cheeto’s my heart will jump with joy.

Thanks for tasting potato chips with me and I hope your chip dreams come true! I give these chips 1 out of 4 potatoes.