My favorite competition of year: the Lay’s Do Us Flavor contest to choose the next Limited Edition flavor of Lay’s Potato Chips. It’s an eclectic group this time: Everything Bagel, Crispy Taco, and Fried Green Tomato
Quick takes:
Everything Bagel, B
Crispy Taco, F
Fried Green Tomato, C
Details:
Everything Bagel was the best of the 3 flavors this year. It had a distinct-and-not-unpleasant poppy-seed flavor, a very subtle sour cream & onion aftertaste, but not much else. The crunch from the Kettle Cooked preparation worked well with this flavor, so bonus points for that.
Crispy Taco should be avoided at all costs. I know you’re curious, but run, don’t walk, away from this abomination. The minute I opened the bag, I knew I was not in for a good experience. The aroma was akin to lettuce that has started turn, and the overall flavor profile was wilted lettuce and tomato with taco seasoning. The combination smells slightly worse than dry dog food, and (assuming here) taste about the same. (I encourage any dogs who read this blog to reach out to me if my comparison is off-base, since I have never actually tasted kibble, so there is a chance these chips are worse.) Seriously, take a hard pass on this one.
Fried Green Tomato was the one I was most curious about. They were disappointing…not bad, just sort of “meh”….a hard to describe flavor that didn’t really leave much of an impression on me. It smelled vaguely like pickles, with a fried oil taste and somewhat sour, tangy finish I did add bonus points for being of the Wavy variety, which holds the flavoring better and, in my opinion, provides a more consistent taste experience chip for chip.