Lay's Chestnut Flavored Potato Chips

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

These are Lay's from China! And they're delicious. The chestnut flavor is more sweet than salty or savory. But the sweet, slightly savory flavor matches nicely with the crispness of the Lay's. I don't know why it works, but it does. That being said, Its not a flavor that matches with food well, in my opinion, so these chips are a great novelty, but I wouldn't buy them as a snack chip. 

I give these three potato out of four.

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! 

Turkey & Stuffing Seasoned Kettle Chips

During Thanksgiving, Trader Joe's provided its loving customers with a special treat: Turkey and Stuffing Seasoned Kettle Chips: "All the flavors of Thanksgiving in each potato chip." I get very excited at the prospect of entree flavored chips such as 7-11's Big Bite Hot Dog Potato Chips or Lay's Classic BLT, but this bag of chips promised me the flavors of a Thanksgiving dinner! Move over Willy Wonka!

I brought these to a Friendsgiving potluck for my food-loving friends to taste with me and although no one thought they were awful, I was only one having a hard time eating just one. I closed the bag so I would have room to enjoy all the amazing food my friends made, but took the chips home, where I ate them by myself over the next few days, along with leftovers.
The back of the bag says "first you taste the turkey, then comes the stuffing, and if you close your eyes, you'll swear you can taste the creamy gravy, too."  My experience was slightly different. There is a distinct flavor of poultry, sage, celery and onion. They taste like I took a forkful of turkey and stuffing and popped it right into my mouth. No gravy, but I also didn't close my eyes while tasting them! As far as mouthfeel goes, they are a light kettle-style chip and therefore did not tear up my mouth and they also did not leave an oily feel nor a bad aftertaste.

Trader Joe's has successfully bagged the "traditional American Thanksgiving meal," although, and I am grateful, they did not try to squeeze dessert in on this chip!
Flavor: accurate
Texture: kettle style
Rating: Three Potato. I can't eat these all the time, but they're a great treat and worth buying one bag of during the holiday season.

P.S.
Two Thanksgivings ago, I found Boulder Canyon Brand's Turkey and Gravy and Pumpkin Pie Kettle Cooked Potato Chips (two separate chips). As you can see on the left, there was a time period I was not posting any blogs and I wasn't really doing a good job at chip tasting, either. I let those chips expire in my snack cabinet and I'm ashamed of wasting food, and more importantly of wasting possibly delicious chips. I'll keep an eye out for Boulder Canyon for next holiday season.

Fage Crossovers tomato basil blended low-fat Greek strained yogurt

I heard in passing that some yogurt company was going to release a curry-flavored yogurt and I got excited. I found myself in the dairy section of a supermarket with one of my aunts and we came across some yogurts with interesting combinations, but nothing savory. We ended up grabbing a few of those to try, but my search for the savory continued. About a month later, I found it: Fage Crossovers coconut curry blended low-fat Greek strained yogurt with roasted cashews. Right next to the curry was Fage Crossovers olive thyme blended low-fat Greek strained yogurt with roasted almonds and Fage Crossovers tomato basil blended low-fat Greek strained yogurt. Tonight, I tried the tomato basil.

Texture is thick smooth and creamy just like most greek yogurts.

Flavor: Before adding the almonds, there's a tangy, savory-sweetness to the yogurt. It took me a while to get, but after a few tastes I finally got the tomato flavor and then the basil came through, too. After adding the roasted almonds, which were seasoned with salt and course ground black pepper, the black pepper took over the flavor and it was hard to sort out the tomato and basil.

I was amazed at how much I liked a savory-flavored yogurt. I would have this again, but I wouldn't add the full serving of almonds so the tomato flavor won't be overpowered. This is a good serving for a light and savory snack.

7 Select Brand Spicy Guacamole Thin Tortilla Chips

The bag says “thin tortilla chips,” which is accurate. They are light and crispy and a nice texture for snacking. No jaw-shaking crunch or mouth-slicing shards of hard tortilla chips. 

The first thing that hits you is the spice. These are spicy, so those with a low tolerance for the heat, should avoid them, but the acclimated will think it nothing. When you start chewing and moving the chip bolus around you get a creamy nuttiness that I assume is supposed to be avocado. Then the smokiness comes in and brings it all full circle: a smoky, creamy spice. I wasn’t able to taste any tomato, although there’s tomato paste in the ingredients. But I think the sour cream, onions and garlic that really come through. There’s no avocado listed in the ingredients! 

Overall, these are good. I would eat them, again. I would serve them at a party. I will probably use them in my taco salad recipe. I give them three potatoes. 

My best friend bought these for me from 7-11, where they continue to offer interesting and often good flavors under their own brand. 

Carmela's Mint Cacao Nib Ice Cream

October 6, 2013

I first came across Carmela Ice Cream when they had a booth at the Larchmont Farmer's Market. I would buy several different flavors in their small cups and take them home or to someone's house for a tasting. The flavors were novel and quite yummy. I remember how excited I was about learning what new flavors they were offering. My favorite during that period was the Aztec Chocolate Ice Cream, an amazing blend of cinnamon, chili and chocolate an ice. Then suddenly, they weren't there anymore. 

I thought they just went out of business, so I was surprised to come across their simple little ice cream shop near the corner of 3rd and Fairfax. 

The past few years, I've found a lot of enjoyment in not-green mint chocolate chip ice cream, and I was happy when I found the Carmela was offering their own take on it. The cream was smooth and refreshingly minty. The cacao nibs brought a subtle and slightly waxy cocoa flavor. If you look at the spoon in the picture you can see that there's a substance that is left on the spoon. The ice cream was so good that the substance was hardly a turn-off, but I did some online digging and I found some suggestions that it separated butterfat, which is a sign of over-churning. Oh well! I'll order this ice cream every opportunity!