Honey BBQ Cheeto Puffs

If you recall, in my last entry I wrote about how chip makers don’t put out nearly enough BBQ flavored chips. After this post, it was as if the next chip brand decided to spite me and put out a BBQ flavor to accompany a chip I would have not seen coming.

Honey BBQ Cheetos. That sounds eight kinds of off to me. Cheetos are best known for their Crunchy and Flaming Hot variety. Any sort of deviation from this isn’t TOO far off the cheese or Flaming Hot trail. There are White Cheddar Cheetos, Hot Cheeto Fries, and Chili Cheese Cheetos, but I have to say that Honey BBQ caught me by surprise. The honey part in the flavor name especially got me because not even potato chips come in honey BBQ. The only snack that comes in Honey BBQ are peanuts and other varieties of nuts. This was interesting, to say the least.

A Honey BBQ Cheeto Puff

The first puff was a bit off smelling to me. The flavor was a mild BBQ flavor, but it was combined with some sort of cheese or butter smell. As you can see in the picture, this product still retains the trademark Cheeto orange. Overall, it was a bit odd and I’m not sure if it was good, but I know it wasn’t bad. Confusing, familiar, and somewhere better than below average is where this chip lies.

Honey BBQ Cheeto Puffs: 7/10

Japanese BBQ Corn Snack

It's a rare treat when I buy chips or salty snacks from foreign countries. The reason is because there are so many kinds of Doritos out there that I don't think I need to. However, when one walks down the aisles of an Asian market, one begins to realize that the foreign possibilities may be endless.

I bought this solely because of the picture on the lower right. My friends can attest that I am no fan of baseball, but there's something appealing about purchasing a product that has athletes on it. This is why I assume Wheaties has seen such great success. And if you notice there's Tim Lincecum throwing a pitch...he's a pitcher, right?

I took a picture of the back to verify that it was indeed a corn snack and because I thought I would be getting a mini jersey or something. There was no prize in my bag of BBQ corn snacks

Well it looks like we just met the Cheeto's Japanese cousin

Here's the skinny: Someone took Funyun flavor and put it in a Cheeto. This a perfect description for the snack. When I first ate one I thought, "This is a Funyun-flavored Cheeto, I am both disappointed because it is not a new flavor, but I love Funyuns." If you like Funyuns, and who doesn't, then this snack is worth the purchase. I won't say that I didn't like it, because I do like Funyuns a lot, but I was just disappointed that it was something familiar.

Japanese BBQ Corn Snack: 8/10

Cheetos Cheesy Enchilada and Doritos Tailgate BBQ

I haven't done a review on Cheetos because I never really felt like Cheetos needed anyone to say if they were good or bad. It was generally accepted, I believe, that the available flavors of Cheetos were generally well recognized and there was no need for me to weigh in on them. However, whilst in a gas station I stumbled upon this:

I know that Cheetos had released smaller "bites" with different flavors, but I didn't think they would would have a new flavor for their curls. Personally, I think they had a real good thing going with the regular Cheetos and Hot Cheetos (also their Hot Cheetos w/ Lime). Ergo, this bag intrigued me and I purchased one on impulse

A Cheesy Enchilada Cheeto cheese curl

As the picture shows there's not much difference in terms of appearance between this flavor and regular Cheetos. The flavor is pretty much the same as well. There was a slight hint of some sort of spice but after the first bite it disappeared and it was like I was eating a regular Cheeto again. I'm conflicted by this because I really enjoy Cheetos, but I was expecting more from this. Due to disappointment, I'd probably rate this maybe a half score lower than I would regular Cheetos, because it raised my hopes and brought them down in a hurry.

Cheesy Enchilada Cheetos: 8/10


Next, Doritos are also another variety of chip I haven't written about yet. They have many flavors and I could probably do a series on them. However, I never really had the motivation to do so due to, probably, laze. I found the next flavor at the same gas station and I also felt compelled to get them and write about them:

Maybe it's the fact that there were the words Madden 11 on the bag. Maybe it's because BBQ and Doritos don't really sound right. Whatever the reason, I needed to get it

A Tailgate BBQ Dorito

How should I describe this? I want to say that it was disturbingly delicious. The flavor tasted remarkably like a Western Bacon Cheeseburger from Carl's Jr. in chip form. I kid you not, that is what this flavor reminded me of. I couldn't stop eating them because I was so confused, but so delighted by it. I must say that I hope that they decide to keep this flavor around because its taste is amazing.

Doritos Tailgate BBQ: 10/10

A cereal flavored snack

Alright, so one day when I was in the European market, while I was stocking up on candy, I saw another patron buy a bag of something that I knew nothing of. Basically it looked like a bag of some sort of chip or snack product. The next time I came in, I decided to try something outside of the candies, so I grabbed a bag of something or another. This is what I bought:

The best I could tell on the drive home was that this was a product of the Republic of Serbia. Smoki I guess is a type of snack...or something I don't know. Flips sa kikirikijem means peanut flavored snacks or something. I didn't research anything past the "Republic of Serbia" part until after I tried the snack

So this is what it looks like. It reminds me of a corn puff snack or something. Nothing quite odd about the appearance of the snack

The first thing I noticed when I opened the bag was there was a peanut smell coming from the bag. AfterI ate one I thought to myself, "I guess this tastes alright." I kept eating and when I found that it reminded me of Cheetos or some other curl/puff snack combined with Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch. Yes, it tastes like savory PB Cap'n Crunch with the texture of a Cheeto. I'm not saying it was bad, but it was definitely different. You don't see peanut flavored puffs around. I'm going to give these to my students (the ones WITHOUT peanut allergies) and see how they feel about it. Personally, I thought they were okay. However, after eating a few they do start tasting a bit oily as well, but I didn't get sick of them.