French Fry Diary 603: Lay's Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger Potato Chips

After yesterday's Do Us A Flavor taste test of *gasp* Lay's Cappuccino Flavored potato chips I needed something to get rid of that awful aftertaste. I thought Lay's Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger Flavored Potato Chips might be a nice refresher. After all, if my friend and fellow writer Uriah Young digs them, how bad can they be, right?

Wasabi is not an unknown component in enjoyable potato accompaniments. Oh Yoko! in Cherry Hill rocks the wasabi fries, so this could be very good. It's notable that these are one of two of the four flavors that come in an extra special variation - in this case, kettle cooked. I'm not sure why that is in this case, as opposed to the other three flavors.

The image on the front of the bag had me a bit worried as the Cappuccino chips showed exactly what was going on taste wise. I had to wonder if these chips would taste like sushi. I hope not. A glance at the ingredients betrayed no fish, raw or otherwise, but did indicate a couple different kinds of wasabi seasonings, horseradish, and mystery spices. This could be good or bad.

I learned my lesson with the Cappuccino chips, I let The Bride try one first. One bite and she threw out the rest of the chip. Her words were "I like wasabi and I like ginger, but that just doesn't work." I got kinda a sour cream cream vibe with my first taste, and then a slow burn aftertaste that did not go away quickly at all. These weren't bad, and the kettle cook gave them a good crunch at least.

I think the problem is that unlike last year when I definitely would have not only have given Chicken & Waffles and Cheesy Garlic Bread second chances, I would have finished the whole bag - this year that ain't happening so far.

French Fry Diary 328: Outback 2011

Recently my buddy Ray and I were going to have a guys night out at the movies, and wanted to have some dinner beforehand. It wasn't as easy as we thought it would be. Our last resort after trying Applebee's, the Library II, and even McDonald's was finally the Outback Steakhouse.

How I've reviewed the Outback before and wasn't really all that thrilled. This time however, I found a meal I was quite happy with. But first, a few words about the Outback's signature appetizer item, the Bloomin' Onion.

The Bloomin' Onion is a wonder of culinary science. It's a one pound onion cut to bloom open, breaded and deep fried. Beautifully crispy, and the breading has that spicy extra kick most Outback food has. The kick is very hot, you will sweat, so have a beverage nearby. Being the catastrophically picky eater I am, I usually pass on the mayonnaise horseradish sauce, but other folks tell me it's good. This time it was a little underdone, but Ray and I still demolished it. Hands down, the Bloomin' Onion is still the main reason to come to the Outback.

The meal I found was the Chicken on the Barbie that comes with a delicious barbeque sauce, that was also very good on the Aussie fries. I'm not that much of a fan of the regular natural cut fries, but this barbeque sauce made them so much better. Good meal, good friend, and good customer service… unlike Applebee's…