Lay’s Flavor Swap: Smoked Gouda and Chive vs. Korean BBQ Chips!

Thank you Lay’s. Thank you for the addictive Bacon Mac and Cheese and Truffle Fries flavors. The Biscuits and Gravy and Chicken and Waffles flavors roused taste buds I never knew I had. But for every triumph like Cheesy Garlic Bread-drool-there’s been a few misfires.

How Cheesy Garlic Bread Chips make me feel.

The Gyro chip tasted like regurgitated Arby’s sandwiches. Did you try the Crunch Sauerkraut, wait, nope, I meant the Reuben? Unappetizing.  And don’t get me started on the Kim and Kanye flavor. Repulsive.

Because of the ingenuity and forward thinking in the Lay’s development department, I’m always game to try their new flavors. We also need to give props to their marketing team for rolling out new flavors in a deathmatch competition that’s sure to end in a bloodbath. Instead of introducing four new flavors, Lay’s is making four old chips battle four new ones. To the winner goes an eternal position in the chip aisle. So, how do some of these fried potato slices taste?

Lay's Chips Deathmatch Roster!

First up were the Korean BBQ.

When I think Korean BBQ I think YES. NOW. It’s so savory and succulent and always provides a good reason to binge eat. I think of the combination of soy sauce, pepper, honey and onion. They made a chip that tasted like loaded potato skins so why not Korean BBQ? Unfortunately, this flavor fizzled. The smell was right-just like a pork spare rib-but this chip tasted like an ordinary BBQ chip. It was bland. Muted. A flop. Honey BBQ wins.

Full disclosure, I had some of my students help me with the taste testings...

Next up, the Smoked Gouda and Chive.

Rousey vs. Holm. Palpatine vs. Yoda. Smoked Gouda vs. Cheddar and Sour Cream?

Gouda is one of my top 7 favorite cheeses. It’s smoky and creamy and pairs well with my mouth. Lay’s nailed those exact attributes-they had a velvety and smoky taste with the added funk of some chives. They were satisfying. Better than the venerable Cheddar and Sour Cream though? That’s a tall order. I’d say simultaneous knockout. They’re both winners.

Final decision: While neither of these new flavors were as awe-inspiring as some of the previous offerings, the Smoked Gouda and Chives was a worthy opponent to its competitor. Skip the Korean BBQ and head to your nearest K-BBQ restaurant.

Smoked Gouda and Chives: B+
Korean BBQ: C-

Review by Mark!

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Wendys Gouda Bacon Cheeseburger & Bacon Fondue Fries!

Well, folks, 2015 has hit the bricks and 2016 has arrived! So we're kicking off the year in style with a review that has more bacon than your average review. That's right, we're tackling two bacon behemoths today from that little ol' burger joint we all know as Wendys. Up first? The Bacon Fondue Fries! 

Over the past couple years Wendys has been trying out this thing where they usually just take a bunch of stuff they already have laying around and slap them on fries. While that usually sounds good on paper, what we're left with most times is a plastic tray filled with soggy fries that are drowning in some weird cheese sauce. I was expecting much of the same from these. But before we get started, take a look at the picture above this text...now take a look at the picture below...

The top one is what my Bacon Fondue fries looked like. The bottom one is the picture off of their website. The Wendys closest to me might be the worst Wendys of all time. They are VERY lazy about everything they do. Crumbled bacon? AIN'T GOT TIME FOR THAT, JUST TOSS WHOLE SLABS ON THEM FRIES! I like huge pieces of bacon as much as the next guy, but come on! In this situation the bacon is supposed to be evenly distributed so you can have some in every bite. Terrible. Why not just put a whole tomato on my burger next time instead of a tomato slice? RIDICULOUS!

Anyway, the Bacon Fondue Fries are basically Wendys fries covered in a Swiss-Gruyere fondue cheese sauce and then "crumbled" Applewood smoked bacon.  The fries were a bit soggy as expected, but the fondue sauce was actually really tasty. Very creamy and interesting and it played well with the bacon too, once I took the slices off and cut them up myself. The cheese sauce alone was enough to make these destroy the Baconator Fries we reviewed recently. I have to say, I kind of hope that this loaded fries fad goes away soon, but in the mean time, if your Wendys actually breaks up the bacon, these are pretty tasty.

Next up is the Wendys Gouda Bacon Cheeseburger! They boast that it's aged Gouda, the same Swiss-Gruyere fondue sauce and applewood smoked bacon. But also to note, it's one patty (Of course you can add more if you'd like) and what seems like an entire bushel of greens. Needless to say, mine didn't look much like their promo picture...

See what I'm saying? That promo picture makes it look like the greatest burger of all time! But you can't fault them too much for this. Fast food is never going to look as pretty as it does in their commercials and promotional pictures. We know this, it's just fun to point out sometimes.

After I got done picking half a dozen massive leaf stems out of my burger, I finally dove in. For not being too impressed with how it looked, I have to say the burger itself is damn good! You already know my positive thoughts on that fondue sauce and mixing that with a slab of aged Gouda? Genius! I think my only problem was ordering it how it was and not adding a second patty. Seeing how huge it looked in the picture, I honestly figured it had two. I figured wrong. The only real things I would change here would be way less greens and another beef slab.

But other than those two things, this burger is  force to be reckoned with. Extremely cheesy and juicy. Lots of different flavors playing off of each other too. I would have to say it's my favorite Wendys Burger since they came out with those Hot & Juicy burgers back in 2011. But this makes those look like dollar menu junk! Get to Wendys before these are gone!

In the end I give the Bacon Fondue Fries and C+, soggy fries are never great, even if the sauce that's making them soggy is. Plus? Break up that bacon!

The Gouda Bacon Cheeseburger gets a B+. I would easily give it an A rating if there were less greens and a second beef patty. Still, this is an awesome burger. Get one today! For more info on both of these and many more of their items, check out Wendys.com!

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