I Try It So You Don’t Have To: New Lays Chicken and Waffles and Sriracha Flavors mark March 5, 2013 I Try It So You Don't Have To 5 Comments Potato chips can be flavored with just about anything, it seems. When Lays announced the flavors they were testing out I was immediately intrigued by two of them: Sriracha and Chicken & Waffles. I am among the legion of Sriracha fans; I use it on just about anything. I have been a chicken & waffles fan for a long time as well. I don’t eat much in the way of sweets but a little real maple syrup and some salty, crunchy, fried chicken is a wonderful combination. Cheesy garlic bread in a chip just didn’t seem all that interesting to me, so I didn’t bother with the third new flavor. Besides, the bags were 2 for $5 so why screw up a nice round number? I did send all three flavors to Andy since they have not made their way Beyond The Wall yet. Andy: stop reading here if you don’t want your fun spoiled. I opened the chicken and waffles first, and the immediate smell was faux maple. Never a good sign in my book. If you dig Aunt Jemima or Log Cabin, then you might be in to it. Growing up around real maple syrup, I am a complete syrup snob. I dumped out a few and opened up the Sriracha next. You can really smell the spice–not quite Sriracha smell but clearly the scent of chilies. Into the basket they went. Up first: chicken & waffles. A hint of sweetness up front, definitely the cloying fake maple flavor that we all know and (should) despise. It was nice and salty, but chicken was completely missing. I really wanted the chicken-y richness of a Chicken in a Biskit cracker, but it failed to show up. Color me disappointed. The upfront sweetness and flavor went away almost immediately and left me with a bad chemical aftertaste. On to the Sriracha flavor. They were nice and spicy up front. Unfortunately, like their cousin above, the spice faded fast. It was also not the vibrant chili spice of Sriracha, more of a straight-up spicy with no other flavor at all. The unfortunate decision to add some kind of cheese powder to the chip made it cling to my tongue in a very unpleasant fashion. They did make a passable vehicle for actual Sriracha. All in all, I was really disappointed in both chips. Neither of them captured the flavor they were attempting to mimic, and the chicken & waffles flavor was actively bad. If you want Sriracha and chips just mix some in with some sour cream and use a plain chip. As for chicken and waffles, I just don’t think it’s worth it in chip form. Fake maple is a crime against humanity and there is no way to capture the real flavor with food additives. Both of these get a “you don’t have to” from me. The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts mark Latest posts by mark (see all) Pizzeria Bianco Review: Is it really the best pizza in America? - December 10, 2013 Truffle Fries Review - December 5, 2013 Breaking News! Jack In The Box to Release Fajita Ranch Melt Sourdough Sandwich - December 3, 2013 5 Responses lee ann March 5th, 2013 The garlic bread ones were just as bad, there like someone dumo powered garlic in the bag. Reply Mark March 5th, 2013 a darn shame. Good ideas done poorly Reply Ephemeral Noms March 6th, 2013 Your assessment is completely spot on. The chicken and waffle chips aren’t bad, but there’s no chicken, and I was hoping it would be chickeny, just like Chicken in a Biscuit. The Sriracha didn’t taste like sriracha, just more like average hot sauce, and they strangely have cheese and sour cream powder on them. Really strange choices, and not really on point. The cheesy garlic chips were also nothing to write home about. I’ll be reviewing all these soon. Reply Amy March 10th, 2013 Chicken in a Biscuit crackers are the bomb. I was looking forward to the Chicken and Waffles being on par with these but after reading your review I will pass and grab a box of Chicken in a Biscuit. Reply Mark March 11th, 2013 Chiken in a biskit are far superior. Wise choice. Reply Leave a ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Current ye@r * Leave this field empty
lee ann March 5th, 2013 The garlic bread ones were just as bad, there like someone dumo powered garlic in the bag. Reply
Ephemeral Noms March 6th, 2013 Your assessment is completely spot on. The chicken and waffle chips aren’t bad, but there’s no chicken, and I was hoping it would be chickeny, just like Chicken in a Biscuit. The Sriracha didn’t taste like sriracha, just more like average hot sauce, and they strangely have cheese and sour cream powder on them. Really strange choices, and not really on point. The cheesy garlic chips were also nothing to write home about. I’ll be reviewing all these soon. Reply
Amy March 10th, 2013 Chicken in a Biscuit crackers are the bomb. I was looking forward to the Chicken and Waffles being on par with these but after reading your review I will pass and grab a box of Chicken in a Biscuit. Reply