French Fry Diary 724: Lay's Passport to Flavor

Last week we got to hear what friend, FFD contributor, and guest blogger Bryan F. Irrera thought of Lay's Passport to Flavor potato chips, now here's my take.

In recent years, Lay's has made a name for exotic flavors in potato chips with their Do Us A Flavor contests both in the United States and Canada, as well as overseas. Now they've brought four new flavors to the US each with a specific international flair as part of their Passport to Flavor contest. I was lucky enough to find all four at Walgreens this past weekend, and here's what we thought.

Chinese Szechuan Chicken - While I've never actually had Szechuan chicken (I lean toward sweet and sour or General Tso myself), I understand it's got that hot and spicy vibe going on with just a touch of sweetness. The ingredients include actual Szechuan pepper and promise "the tongue tingling sensation of mala," and no, I have no idea what mala is.

Opening the bag revealed potato chips with seasonings of various colors. As always, The Bride tried them first. I'm no fool. She thought they tasted like what they were supposed to taste like, and that they were very spicy. I would definitely go with the latter, but unlike other 'meat' chips I couldn't detect any chicken. These weren't bad, unlike some of the other flavors, I had more than one. Have a beverage nearby because there will be a hot aftertaste.

Greek Tzatziki - I have encountered Tzatziki once before in chip form when I reviewed the Do Us A Flavor flavor Greektown Gyro, and I was not a fan. Tzatziki has that yogurt and cucumber vibe that just doesn't appeal to me, so I was hesitant to try these.

The smell at first when opening the bag was a bit off-putting, almost as if something had gone bad. These wavy chips did not taste as bad as I thought they would, but I definitely wouldn't try them again. The Bride thought they were okay, and again that they tasted like what they were supposed to taste like, noting the cucumber and yogurt.

Brazilian Picanha - This one is another meat chip, this one manifesting the flavor of Brazilian steakhouses, steak and chimichurri sauce. One I like and one I don't. I wonder how these will go. Picanha, by the way, is the finest cut of Brazilian steak, skewer-grilled with salt to lock in the flavor.

They smelled pretty good when I opened the bag, and these chips were big and had green seasoning on them. I'm not a big fan of chimichurri sauce but I assume that's what that was. The Bride thought they were just all right, rather unenthused by these chips. I got the steak right away, and kinda liked these a bit. I could get used to these.

Indian Tikka Masala - Despite what many folks might think, this catastrophically picky eater does occasionally try exotic foods, among them, I've enjoyed chicken tikka masala at Indian restaurants in the past. I have actually been looking forward to trying this one, and as fate would have it, so had The Bride, so we saved this one for last.

Upon opening the bag, a spicy aroma filled our nostrils. The Bride declared these kettle cooked chips the best of the lot after trying one and taking more for later. That said, she mentioned that they still weren't as good as the Do Us A Flavors from previous years. I thought they weren't bad, definitely tasting like what they were supposed to. I agree with The Bride, these were the best of the bunch.

What did you folks think?

Bryan F. Irrera on Lay's Passport to Flavor

Here's a guest blog on Lay's Passport to Flavor potato chips from occasional FFD contributor Bryan F. Irrera, take it away, Bryan, and thank you!

I finally got a chance to try all four Passport to Flavor chips (I hadn't seen all of them at once until now).

I think the least exciting one was the Brazilian Picanha. There's a little beefy flavor, but very light. Not much spice or seasonings. Not much of anything, really.

(Sidebar: of the "do me a flavors" in past years, I liked NONE of the 2013s, (the Garlic Bread ones were lackluster, Sriracha WAY too spicy and I didn't even want to try the Chicken/Waffles 'cause that's just wrong as an actual food, never mind simulated on a chip). In 2014, I LOVED the Mango Salsa ones, liked the Wasabi ones (that won), was mildly indifferent to the Bacon/Mac and Cheese and found the Cappuccino ones interesting but not worth buying again (I didn't see myself buying "dessert" potato chips, necessarily). Last year, I LOVED the Southern Biscuit ones, tolerated the Truffle ones (they were just weird sour cream and onion to me) and HATED the other two (the feta on the Gyro one turned me off and I hate Reubens in their true form... the chips made me nearly vomit.).

I thought that the Tzatziki ones were a VAST improvement on the Gyro ones from last year. No more lamb/feta flavoring (or lettuce/tomato). Just pure cucumber and yogurt (which gives us a milder dill pickle chip. There is light dill in this in addition to the plain (non-pickle) cucumber flavor. Nice and gentle without being bland like the Brazilian ones.

The Szechuan Chicken ones are definitely spicy, but not overpoweringly so. These aren't like Sriracha chips or most "SPICY" chips that sacrifice flavor just to burn your mouth. While I did have a tingling sensation, I didn't feel I had to run to get a glass of water immediately. These weren't "fire" chips. There's a nice sweetness from the peppers in addition to the heat.

My favorite of this batch is the Tikka Masala ones. A nice (mild) masala. Not overly spicy, but seasoned nicely. Again, a nice sweetness was present here. Full-bodied. Really captured the dish it was emulating and could be a great permanent (even if semi-rotating) addition to the line-up, since it has a different Ethnic flavor profile than most snacks.

Aarti's Spiced Sweet Potato Fries

The Bride and I love Aarti Sequiera. We rooted for her all season in last year's "The Next Food Network Star," and were thrilled when she won. We've watched her show "Aarti Party" whenever it's aired (which hasn't been as frequently as we might have liked, but that's another story).

Aarti makes food with a happiness, giddiness and zest as she brings her beloved Indian flavors and spices to everyday dishes. We also really dig the toy cars that pass by in the windows of her set (again, a whole 'nother story). One of her recipes is the spotlight for today's Food network Friday. In a recent episode, "Burger Station," she especially grabbed my attention with her Spiced Sweet Potato Fries.

You can find the recipe here. Mmmm... spicy and sweet, but most importantly, mmmm... fries...

Nendran Chips

These aren't your average everyday chips, this video, and the accompanying description from FIXOVISION tell you all about it:



If you have been if you are from South of India you will for sure recognize the Kerala Nendran chips. It is one of the popular snacks in Kerala. It is also called variously as "Nendrangna Chips", "Upperi" or "Kaya Varuthathu".

One generally snacks when not hungry enough or for just time pass. But the any time snack of "Nendran Chips" is purely entertainment.

The humble Nendran Chips is the most popular of all the plantain products. The Manjeri Nendran is the best suited for making the crispy, crumbly chips.

Deep fried in Coconut oil and seasoned with salt, it beats hollow any other type of snack (chips that is).

Any visit to my home town in Palghat (Palakkad) Kerala is not complete without buying loads of this stuff, both for our consumption and give away. Last week when I was at Palghat for the annual Kalpathy Ratholsavam (temple car festival), I was amazed to find a mechanical device doing the same job as the chip maker did. Slicing the raw banana into fine, even, thin and well engineered pieces, and putting them directly into the frying "uruli" filled with fresh coconut oil.

As if by magic, the pink Nendrans fall into the oil pan and emerge a crispy yellow. Too good to see and eat.

Dont even think about salt intake or you LDL levels. Grab a handful and start munching :))

French Fry Diary 246: French Fries and Curry

As seems to be the rule with movies with the word 'fries' in the title (see Freedom Fries and Home Fries) this film has very little to do with the favorite fried food.

While it's not really a Bollywood film, I really wish French Fries and Curry did follow the formula, I mean, the DVD even comes with a Bollywood style music video as a special feature. The movie, the first (and I hope the last) feature from English filmmaker Sarmishtha Parida, follows three women as they look for their Mr. Rights. Oddly writer/director Parida chose to film it on videotape, which at first seems cheap, and a bit disorienting, but you get used to it - except for all the freeze frames.

The title comes from the fact that one of the girls likes Indian food, and one of the others has a French fry addiction. We never learn what the other woman likes to eat. There are many restaurant and eating scenes but no fries. Talk about false advertising...

French Fries and Curry is ponderously written, filmed and acted, not to mention having values that are scarily prehistoric for being made in 2004. Even the voiceovers exhibit bad acting. This is bad, even worse than the worst student film you've seen, sooo slow and sometimes painful to watch.

This is a truly terrible, terrible, movie, probably one of the worst I've ever seen - and that's saying a lot. And to top it off, no fries. Boooo...

In Search of the Perfect Potato

French fries in India is serious business, especially if you're McDonald's. Much of the menu isn't what most Hindus can eat, so the vegetarian options, the biggest of which is the the McDonald's French fry, have to be the best.

Forbes India presents this tale of Vikram Bakshi, the CEO of McDonald's India and his search for the perfect potato. Check it out here.

McCain Introduces Masala Fries

One of the world's leading manufacturers of frozen French fries, McCain, is introducing a new product into some of its markets - Masala Fries.

From PotatoPro: "McCain Foods India Pvt Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of McCain Foods Ltd. Canada, has introduced a unique product - Masala Fries for the Institutional customers. The product has been introduced at Hosts 2010 being held in Mumbai annually. It is India’s first and largest hospitality tradeshow.

"McCain Masala Fries are SuperCrisp French Fries coated with a special Indian-style spicy seasoning. They are ideal for catering, fast food and restaurants as they deliver excellent hold time and perfect cost control.

"McCain Foods India Pvt. Ltd. currently offers wide variety of mouth-watering products, best suited for the Indian consumer, like Aloo Tikki, Tandoori Vege Nuggets and Vege Burgers apart from popular products like French Fries, Smiles, Savoury Potato Wedges, Hashbrowns etc."

Mmmm... Masala fries... Can't wait until they're available in the States, and to the public, they should go great with curry!

Masala French Fries

Manjula of Manjulaskitchen shows us how to make French fries Masala style. Mmmm... spicy...


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