Tuesday, March 12, 2013

French Fry Diary 471: Lay's Sriracha Potato Chips


We're in the midst of an historic contest from the Frito-Lay folks. They took suggestions, millions of them, for potential new potato chip flavors.

I even tried my hand at it, suggesting Poutine flavored chips to not only cash in on the Canadian market but also appease those folks down here in the US who can't get it of haven't tried it yet. I suppose they either already have that flavor, or they just figured it was too gross. ;-)

The powers that be narrowed the field down to three finalists: Sriracha, Cheesy Garlic Bread, and Chicken & Waffles. Before even tasting, my personal preference would be Cheesy Garlic Bread, that's just a no-brainer. I've even had over twenty folks online tell me they are the better chips.

However, it has been impossible for me to find these things in South Jersey. I'm still looking, and would appreciate any help from my FFD friends out there. Where are the Cheesy Garlic Bread chips?

In the meantime, I did manage to find the other two. First up, Sriracha. For those not in the know, myself included, until I looked it up, Sriracha is a (very) hot sauce made from chili peppers, frequently used with seafood, and named after Si Racha, a city on the coast of Thailand. This soooo doesn't sound like me. I'm afraid of this potato chip.

Upon opening the bag, a spicy not unpleasant aroma hit my nose. Their appearance, other than typical thin regular Lay's potato chips, was that of a simple barbecue chip, perhaps with slightly darker seasoning than usual.

The first chip was good, so was the second, tasting like a spicier than usual BBQ chip... then the afterburn hit. It is a serious heat but it only lasts a few seconds. I was surprised. That was it? Not that I want my mouth burned out, mind you, but I was expecting a bit more fiery punch, you know? These are really not bad at all.

Tomorrow: Chicken & Waffles Potato Chips. And don't forget to vote for Cheesy Garlic Bread Potato Chips, and let me know where you found them!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I don't know if you have a harris teeter in jersey but i found the garlic cheesy bread chips at a harris teeter in maryland. They had a special for buy one chip and get 2nd for free. Garlic cheesy chips was by far the best tasting chip. chicken waffles tasted like ramyun mix powder (chicken flavored) mixed with some fat free maple syrup. Not horrid, but not that good either.