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I love snacks. That
fact should be pretty obvious. You
don't get to be universally known
as "The Hungover Gourmet"
without at least a little snacking
jones.
During the extensive
research and promotional tour for
THG
#6 we bought, sampled, enjoyed
and spit out more than our fair
share of snack chips, crackers,
crisps, puffed things and stuff
that was rumored to be edible.
In the spirit of sharing,
here's a roundup – which we'll
continue to update – of some
of the items we've tried lately...
Have a snack review
you'd like to share? Send
it to us – with a scan
or digital photo of the bag if possible
– and we'll add it to the list! |
| Photo |
Name
& Description |
Rating |
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Sundried Tomato & Basil Wheat Thins
I have been accused of over-hyping these crackers, so take my raves with a grain of salt. Or better yet, take them on a Sundried Tomato and Basil Wheat Thin with a slice of pepperoni and a sliver of cheese. I like swiss. I only found out about these babies because my father-in-law didn't like them and was trying to push them off on me. Thanks Fran. (Posted 3/23/06) |
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Plocky's Caribbean Bean Black Beans & Rice All Natural Corn Tortilla Chips
After the ugly Natty Boh and Red Bean & Rice incident I can attest that I might actually like the black bean chips even more. They're substantial, hold up to heaping helpings of salsa and sour cream, and the "all natural" quality makes you feel like you're not simply gorging yourself on some chemical-laced monstrosity. Frankly, I can't even eat the Tostito's Tortilla Chips with Lime after becoming fascinated with these babies. (Posted 3/23/06) |
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Plocky's Louisiana Peppa Red Beans & Rice All Natural Corn Tortilla Chips
We bought these Plocky's chips while on one of our recent Wegmans excursions largely because they were "all natural" and seemed fairly reasonable at 2/$5. Who knew we were finding our latest snack obsession? Admittedly, I was rather drunk on no food and 87 Natty Bohs when I first tried the Red Bean and Rice chips, but my rating is backed up by Chris' sober and no-less enthusiastic rave as well as my own follow-up tastings. (Posted 3/23/06) |
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| Previous Snack Reviews... |
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Nong
Shim Shrimp Cracker
Deceptive snack that looks like a
french fry but has the same gross,
airy texture as Funyuns. Also has
the same funky aroma as Baltimore's
Inner Harbor at low tide on a hot
summer day. In a word... heinous. |
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Instant
Snack
My first reaction to this was "I'm
not tryin' it." And this from
a man who willingly ate something
called Monkfish Liver. Is it a snack?
Is it a breakfast cereal? All I know
is, despite what the label said it
was not hot. Nor was it good. |
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Eat
Smart Chedd-Airs
While these look suspiciously like
the packing peanuts I use to ship
ebay purchases, I kinda enjoy their
cheddary flavor and the initial CRUNCH
they produce. What I don't like is
they way they get kinda slimy if you
let them sit on your tongue. Kinda
like low fat cheese puffs (without
the orange powder) they get high marks
just because they're low-fat and edible. |
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Korean
Cracker
Once again proving that she is much,
much smarter than me, my wife refused
to eat these – a decision based
simply on the creepy octopus on the
package wrapper. These leap-frog those
snacks in the heinous category and
go right to f-ing gross. |
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Utz Crab-Flavored
Potato Chips
Totally addictive. Nice, crisp chips
with just the right amount of Old
Bay Seasoning. I could eat five
bags of these right now.
Utz Red
Hot Flavored Potato Chips
I like hot, but if you're gonna
give me hot give me some flavor
to go along with it. These things
taste, well, I don't know how to
describe it other than "fake."
They're just hot. Not an enjoyable
snacking experience.
Utz Carolina
Style Bar-B-Q Flavored Potato Chips
These are the opposite side of the
coin from the Utz Crab Flavored
Chips mentioned above. The same
flat, thin and crunchy chips, but
the flavoring is bland for something
that's supposed to be Bar-B-Q. |
Crab
Hot & BBQ
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Newman's
Own Pretzels Hot Salt & Pepper
Rounds
I'll be the first to admit that I'm
a huge Paul Newman fan. THE STING,
HARPER, BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE
KID. 'Nuff said. He's also a nice
guy based on the opinions of people
I know who have met the man. That
said, these are dry, kinda gross and
have little "hot" bite to
them. And while we're being honest,
I really bought them because "Pa"
Newman has devil horns on the front
of the package. |
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Cheetos
Crunchy Flaming Hot
Cheetos have always ranked low on
my snack chart, way behind Bugles,
Fritos, Doritos, etc. These are good
but I'm not crazy about the color
and I'm not going to go out of my
way to have 'em. |
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Baken-Ets
Hot'N'Spicy Fried Pork Skins
As a pork skin lover, I simply can't
be impartial about these envelope-pushing
microwavable snackies. It's like they
took a rice cake and put fat all over
it. They stink up the joint when you
make 'em and they're kinda creepy,
but I sorta dug 'em. |
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Herr's
Heinz Ketchup Flavored Chips
I knew we were in trouble when we
opened the bag and almost got knocked
over by the rush of ketchup odor that
burst out. It was like the end of
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK when the ghosts
turn mean and kill all the Nazis.
Except it was ketchup. There's really
nothing good about these and it was
the first use of the paper towel to
the tongue. |
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Yukon
Gold Yogurt & Green Onion Chips
Thick chips that, yes, taste like
creamy yogurt and green onion. As
a sour cream and onion lover that's
not necessarily a good thing as far
as I'm concerned. Chris likes 'em
but not enough to have more. |
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Rush
Gourmet Jalapeno Flavored Fresh Potato
Chips
Don't know what Rush Gourmet means,
but everything else in the name is
100% accurate. These rippled, flavorful,
spicy chips taste like they just came
out of the fryer. Good, good, good.
I've only found them at the White
Trash Wal-Mart but I need more. |
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TGI
Friday's Cheddar & Bacon Potato
Skins Snack Chips
Yet another checkout aisle impulse
purchase, this time at Target. Completely
uneventful eating experience, with
just the faintest traces of cheddar
and/or bacon flavor. Hardly the "big"
cheddar and bacon taste the package
promised. Perhaps I don't have enough
crazy crap on my walls to truly enjoy
these. |
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Two
Cops Instant Snack
Easily the best packaging of any snack
we've tried. Imagine MIAMI VICE if
the two leads were played by an ear
of corn and a piece of rice. Yeah,
you'd watch that show, too. The snacks
look like giant Crispix (a cereal
I enjoy) and taste like lemon cake
mix. In all, great packaging and a
taste experience that didn't make
me want to vomit like most of the
other Korean snacks we tried. |
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Michael
Season's Honey Barbecue Potato Chips
Thick chips filled with intense,
but not overpowering flavor. The
only drawback is that I have to
go to the hippie-infested, touchy-feely
Whole Foods grocery store to find
these.
Michael
Season's Chili Picante Potato Chips
After being wowed by their Honey
Barbecue Potato Chips (see above)
we were ready for another bold flavor
experience. Unfortunately, these
stray far from flavor country, making
for a disappointing snack. |
Honey BBQ
Chili
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Nong
Shin Cuttlefish Flavored Snack
Just smelling the contents of this
bag caused my gag reflex to kick in,
and that's never a good sign. Have
that gross, airy Funyun-esque "flavor"
that makes me ill. |
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Nong
Shim Octopus Flavored Tako Chips
While the smell isn't as disturbing
as the aforementioned Cuttlefish snacks,
these have a fishy aftertase that
is grim, Grim, GRIM! Let's put it
this way... of all the snacks we had,
these were the ones our dog loved
the most. |
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Sna
