In this episode, we spend significantly less time talking about Oreo cookies than we did in the last two episodes. But we do spend part of it talking about the Lay’s Do Us a Flavor finalists again. Also, Eric brings out his inner James Lipton and asks his co-hosts questions about food and blogging.
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Here are links to products and reviews we mention in the show:
What We’re Drinking
Follow Up
- Eric’s Lay’s Reuben Potato Chips review
- Eric’s Lay’s Southern Biscuits and Gravy Potato Chips review
- Eric’s Lay’s Wavy Truffle Fries Potato Chips review
- Eric’s Lay’s Kettle Cooked Gyro Potato Chips review
Nosh or Not of the Week
Finally got my hands on the Biscuits and Gravy flavor, after weeks of none of them being on shelves. Had the other three, was just missing this one. First off, congrats to Lay’s, this is the first year of this contest that I’ve actually wanted to try all four flavors, no Cappuccinos or things not meant for my palate, like Wasabi. Also, congrats to Lay’s. for making all four flavors edible. For the second year in a row, the flavor I was most excited to try became the flavor I was disappointed in the most. I really wanted last year’s Mango Salsa to be good because … well, because I like Mango Salsa, duh. This year I was most interested in Gyro. The Mango Salsa hit the garbage after 2 chips, the gyros did not meet the same fate, however they turned out to be the worst of the bunch. I think for the most part, I’m pretty much in line with Eric on these four.
The best was the Reuben. That was surprising to me, I am not really a Reuben eater, but these chips were great. I didn’t get much of the flavor of the meat, and I was ok with that. I didn’t get much of the flavor of the cheese, and I was certainly ok with that as well. But I did taste Caraway, and I was more than ok with that. I also got more flavor from the supporting cast, the sauce, the kraut and so on than from the meat and cheese, but that rye flavor stood out the most, and these turned in the best flavor of the four.
Next best was Biscuits and Gravy, which for some reason Eric kept calling Chicken and Biscuits in his review. Despite that, these were great, and I’m glad they went more for the flavor of the gravy, creamy and peppery, then the flavor of biscuits, which can often be pretty flavorless and dry, which is why you need the gravy in the first place. A very good chip.
Third was the Truffle fry, and really, there wasn’t anything wrong with it, it was just boring. A potato flavored potato chip, oooooh! Any sort of truffle flavor was quite muted, and when it comes to the Wavy Lay’s line, I love the simple Lightly Salted flavor the best, this will not replace those, which is buy more than any other chip on the market.
Lastly, those damn disappointing Gyros. At first, I got freshness. Tomatoes, onions, tzatziki, it really started great. But after a few chips, things started going south, and those flavors got pushed aside by some of the other stuff, and it became more and more of a chore to eat. It made me wish we could have the Tzatziki flavored Wavy’s because those sound amazing. Also, in general I prefer a crunchy chip, which is why I tend to prefer Wavy’s and Kettle Cooked over the standards, but in this case I wondered if they would have tasted better as an original, with the crunch toned down. I think Biscuits and Gravy would have made a good replacement as the Kettle Cooked one.
So, if Reuben wins, it will hit the rotation. It’s not as good as the Lightly Salted Lay’s or most any Cheddar and Sour Cream chip, but it fits somewhere in there. The Gravy is in a similar boat, and the Truffle fries are fine at a party, but I’m not likely to purchase. The Gyros will be boycotted in favor of getting the tzatziki flavor across the border.
Costco had a Lay’s Wavy tzatziki flavor earlier this year. I don’t shop at Costco, so I don’t know if it’s still there.