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.

French Fry Diary 679: Greektown Gyro Potato Chips

Unlike other years that I have done this, I was able to find two of the 2015 Do Us A Flavor finalists just scant days after they were announced. Usually there is an extensive hunting process but I found the Gyro and Truffle ones at the local Walgreens, so yay to Walgreens and props to the Lay's distribution department. Now if they could just get some BBQ Ruffles to the South Jersey area (hint HINT), I would really be happy.

Do Us A Flavor 2015 Taste Test #1 - Greektown Gyro flavored potato chips, kettle cooked style, submitted by James Wagner:

As a catastrophically picky eater, I have to be up front about this. I am not even sure what a gyro is, let alone what it tastes like, so this one was difficult from the get go. I know it's Greek, and I know how to pronounce it (see, being a Nia Vardalos fan pays off), but beyond that, I am lost. One source I found online indicated it was meat, onions, tomato, French fries (!), and tzatziki sauce rolled into a pita. Fries, eh? Now you have my attention.

Now tzatziki sauce, made from yogurt and cucumbers (I think) doesn't sound all that appetizing to me, and the 'meat' part could be just about anything - beef, pork, chicken, veal, or mutton. I'm getting less excited. The kicker is the picture on the chip bag itself, not a fry to be found. I guess Lay's and James Wagner don't read Wikipedia.

The ingredients list, among other things, and besides potatoes, sour cream, gum Arabic, and the vague and mysterious "gyro seasoning." I am getting less and less excited, but enough procrastination. Oh well, let's do this.

As I've learned in previous years' Do Us A Flavor contests, it's always best to let The Bride try one of the chips first. When I opened the bag, it was a good smell, but I knew I was not going to want any of these. We kinda talked about this on the most recent episode of The GAR! Podcast - just because it smells good doesn't mean you want to eat it.

The Bride said she could taste the sour cream and she could taste the lettuce, and it did remind her of a gyro - but "a potato chip should not taste like that." I tried one tentatively, and thought it too weird and spicy with a bad aftertaste. Some folks might dig this one, but I did not like it. Greektown Gyro would not get my vote.

Tomorrow: Truffle Fries!