Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Lays new Chicken & Waffles, Sriracha, & Cheese Garlic Bread chips!

Usually around the beginning of summer the chip companies come out of hibernation and start bombarding us with new limited edition flavors in the thoughts that you'll bring them to your next barbecue or perhaps to the beach or even a sporting event. These are times when chips sell better than the rest of the year, so it makes sense. However, looks like Lays decided to get ahead of the game this year. They have launched a massive campaign for you to vote on the next flavor that will join their regular rotation. You have three very interesting flavors to choose from.  Try them all and then you cast your vote on their Facebook page! We tried them. Here's what we thought...
First off was CHEESY GARLIC BREAD...

Is there a soul on Earth who doesn't enjoy cheese garlic bread? If so, slap them. 
Not much of a scent when you crack open this bag but let me tell you something, the people at Lays are Flavor Wizards. These could have easily just been some generic cheese flavoring with some garlic powder but they are not at all. They somehow capture the flavor of cheese garlic bread PERFECTLY. Cheese, garlic, butter...it's uncanny. It helps that I literally had cheese garlic bread the night before trying these so it was fresh in my brain. 



I'd say of these three flavors these are the ones where you will be able to enjoy the most of them in one sitting. My taste buds never got sick of the flavor even for a moment. Each bite transported me to a memory of enjoying a huge chunk of cheese covered garlic bread with a pasta meal. Just fantastic.

Next up was the flavor I was the most worried about. Sriracha!

Not a fan of the picture on the bag. If these win, it needs an upgrade!
I know hot sauce type flavors are popular, but I've never really been a fan. I'd much rather have a great flavor than eat something that just makes my tongue burn. I'm a big fan of things that might be spicy that also have a great flavor to go along with the burn though, and that's exactly what these chips have.


Initially you get an almost sweet, garlic taste, which is quite delicious, followed by a medium spice that isn't too much, but it does hang around for a little bit. If you're a wimp when it comes to hot stuff, like myself, you might still enjoy these. The great flavor is definitely worth the slight sting that comes with eating a bunch of them. Fans of Sriracha will go crazy for these chips.

Which brings us to the flavor I was most interested in trying...

Chicken & Waffles!!!!


This isn't photoshopped, they are real,. 
Definitely the strangest and most ambitious flavor of the three, Chicken & Waffles mirrors a very popular dish in the south. Up here in New England it's not really a thing, but we hear hushed whispers of places where it's the norm. Lays decided to give their flavor wizards a real challenge. Could they possibly conjure up chips that taste like a combination of chicken and waffles? The answer is YES.


At first you are bombarded by maple syrup flavor, then after a couple of seconds a strange spice fills your mouth and you realize you are essentially tasting the crunchy batter from fried chicken. I feel like as you are eating these if you focus on the waffle part, you taste that more, then if you make your brain look for the chicken part, it zeroes in on it. They did one hell of a job with these chips. The flavor wizards can raise their wands to the heavens in celebration of a job well done. However, if they make these in big bags, I might stray away from them. As interesting & delicious as they are, I found that I could only handle so many before the taste weirded me out and I had to take a break. But every time you go back to them they are a revelation all over again.

In the end I would have to say that when I put in my vote for which flavor sticks around, it will be Cheesy Garlic Bread. Just because I feel like it's a solid flavor that chip fans could love for years to come. The gimmick of Chicken & Waffles almost beats it out though.

Cheesy Garlic Bread: B+
Sriracha: B
Chicken & Waffles: A at first, then probably a C after you eat a few.

Review by Rich

38 comments:

  1. Lays is trying very hard to contradict its "Betcha can't eat just one" slogan, hm?
    Why don't they just go for broke and make Sour Cream & Kim Chi chips?

    Also, when will clam flavor chips come back??

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  2. I bet I would eat the whole bag of Chicken & Waffles-- when I find foods that have that awesome "top note" kind of thing that mellow out into a kinda weird one, I always end up eating more of them because I get to that weird point and want to get the weirdness out of my mouth and I do so by eating yet another chip. I have a similar problem with sweet/spicy things, but for some reason the sriracha really doesn't interest me at all.

    I did try the cheesy garlic bread and I'm not sure how to feel about them. They feel like they're too buttery tasting to me. Which is definitely accurate for garlic bread. But I feel like my mouth is extra greasy after eating a handful, like I was sucking on a dollop of butter, so I kind of stop wanting them. So I guess that's a good way to force portion control.

    When I went to buy them, there were a whole stack of Sriracha left. I randomly spotted a Cheesy Garlic Bread someone had hidden at the top of the shelf and snagged it. Also saw a blue bag up top that I thought was Chicken & Waffles, but after struggling to get it, it was just a Salt & Vinegar bag. The hunt continues for that one.

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    1. The Garlic bread ones are very buttery, but the fat guy in me loved that! Perhaps at the end of the week you will be our winner and we'll mail you a bag of Chicken & Waffles...

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  3. I hope these show up at the local Walmart. I love garlic!

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    1. Haven't seen them at our Walmart yet, but they have bee popping up everywhere else!

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    2. SPACE MONKEY! Guess what brother? YOU WON! send us your shipping info over to fatguyfoodblog@gmail.com and we'll get a bag of one of these fine chips over to you STAT!

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  4. I heard Walmart has a special three pack in some places with smaller bags of all three flavors but not at mine...

    My ratings were like yours. Sriracha was good, but not enough like the sauce to me. Cheesy Bread was good, but I doubt I'll be a repeat buyer. Chicken and Waffles was amazing at first but after about half a serving it's just two sweet and you have to stop. It'd be really hard to eat a whole bag.

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    1. I did end up taking down a whole bag of each later on, all little bags though. I think big bags would be rough though. Sriracha burned way more by the end of the bag though, haha.

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  5. Good idea doing the reviews all together. I think Cheesy Garlic Bread will win just because it seems like the most adaptable flavour. I can't wait to try all three though!

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    1. Dani,
      I agree about the Garlic Bread ones, I'll be surprised if they don't win!

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    2. DANI! you were one of the lucky winners to receive a bag of one of these from us! email us your address fatguyfoodblog@gmail.com

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  6. We love the Chicken & Waffle ones!! We really like the Cheesy Garlic Bread! and the Sriracha are OK, but don't taste like the Sriracha hot sauce we know.

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    1. I can not find any of them I scout every day now...

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  7. I must try all of these. Most excited about Chicken & Waffle. Have tried some chicken chips from New Zealand and they were A-Mazing so I am hoping these are reminiscent. Great review!

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  8. Loved the Sriracha ones, thought it to be a pleasant tangy spice. Although I agree that it doesn't taste exactly like the sauce. I'll try the Cheesy Garlic Bread tonight and the Chicken & Waffles tomorrow, hope they are just as good

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  9. Loved the review, top notch as usual Rich.

    Sriracha down here is a staple on everyones table, well that and Cholula hot sauce, so I assume they would sell well. However, it doesn't sound like it tastes anything close to the real thing and that will be a dissapointment. I get Chicken and Waffles once a month atleast down here in Texas and I am excited to try out that flavor. Cheesy Garlic Bread seems like it would be the winner for its ability to be more marketable to more chip fans, not everyone likes spicy and the Chicken and Waffles would just be a gimmick flavor. I also agree that Sriracha bag design is horrible.

    Well as usual I am now off to the local Wally World and Grocery Store to find these. Unlike you guys I have 3x Grocery Stores, 2x Walmarts and 27x Fast Food restaurants within 5 miles of me, oh yeah and a Best Buy and 2x Gamestops as well, so I should be able to find them easily.

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  10. Chicken and waffles is not a popular dish in the south... Maybe in the carolinas, but definitely not in MS, AL, LA, TN, or AR.

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    Replies
    1. BANANAFISH! you've been chosen as a winner to get a bag of one of these chips mailed to you! send us your address and info to fatguyfoodblog@gmail.com THANK YOU!

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    2. I live in North Carolina and it is not that popular here...

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  11. i am from south carolina... I found the sriracha and garlic bread ones but not the chicken and waffle ones! Can I buy these online somewhere? I wanna say this to readers... the sriracha chips are so so good. I put sriracha on everything. we call it rooster sauce... in columbia everyone is gamecock fan so we eat it alot. it is good. pizza, hotdog, whatever. I LOVE these chips. I put rooster sauce on them hahaha.

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    Replies
    1. Ebay is your best bet. Sadly, chip companies don't sell food online.

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  12. Sucks being deployed and not being able to taste these wonderful chips. All my friends back home are raving about the chicken and waffle chips. (I'm from Atlanta, GA, stationed @ FT HOOD, TX and deployed to SW Asia) Hopefully I get home in time to get my hands on a few bags.

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    1. have some friends save some for you! Or who knows, maybe chicken and waffle will win and you can eat them forever!

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  13. I've been going crazy trying to find the chicken and waffles and the cheesy garlic bread down in sw florida. I will keep checking every day!!!!!

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  14. I have been looking for the Chicken & Waffles.. No luck. I have tried the Sriracha but it tastes sort of like lays chile limon, without the sour. The Cheesy Garlic Bread were okay, too much if a butter taste. Now all I need are the chicken and waffles. Looked everywhere already. Anyone know where they might be located at?

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  15. Do you know where I can get the cheesey garlic bread and chicken and waffles chips in McDonough, GA?

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  16. I live in new hampshire, and you said you are from new england...where can I buy these chips?

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    1. walmart for big bags, cumberland farms or other gas stations with lots of snacks for small bags. That's been where we've seen them

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  17. In northern il we haven't seen these anywhere. we lucked out and found one bag of siracha in Wisconsin. we have been looking for months. we happen to live right next to lake Zurich the town where the siracha winner lives. how can we vote if we can't get them? We have been to all gas stations grocery stores target and Wal-Mart and not one bag big or small to be found.

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  18. As someone who lives in the South, "Chicken and waffles" aren't really the norm down here. In fact, most of the people I know thought it sounded really gross. There might be places DEEP South where eating them together is common. But it's not like all Southerners like such weird combinations. Oh the things Northerners must think of us if they think eating such combinations is the norm down here lol

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    1. As a side note, I find the Cheesy Garlic bread flavor the best. It's not impressive when you eat it at first, but after a few chips they become addicting. If that flavor loses and we never see it again, I'll be sad.

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  19. I've not heard of chicken and waffles either and I'm from KY. Have to admit though, I'd try them.

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  20. Actually, chicken and waffles is more of a California delight (I.e. Roscoe's). Places like Atlanta didn't get hip until about 10 years ago with Gladys Knight's restaurant.

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  21. As I write this, the contest is over and Chicken & Waffles took the prize. Just tried them for the first time today, and I cannot stop eating them! I love anything sweet and salty. You notice the maple syrup taste first, then the waffle. I'm finding it difficult to discern the chicken flavoring, though.

    I'm a wimp when it comes to hot sauce. Except for Frank's Hot Sauce (as used in Buffalo chicken wing sauce), which I LOVE, all others don't really impress me. So I won't be missing the Sriracha chips. I am DETERMINED, however, to find me a bag of the Cheesy Garlic Bread. Oh, man, that just sound utterly fabulous!

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    1. They're currently selling them at our local walmart... apparently the contest didn't mean anything?

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