Pringles: Restaurant Cravers Cheeseburger

Brand: Pringles
Style: Restaurant Cravers Cheeseburger
Origin: USA
Type: Potato Chips
Flavor: Like a mild BBQ chip, only vaguely cheeseburger-like
Verdict: On the fence.




I can has cheeseburger, but I can also has cheeseburger Pringles! However, I'm pretty sure I'd rather have the real thing (vegetarian, of course). The Restaurant Cravers line of Pringles is one of my favorite new snack lines, but the cheeseburger flavor is definitely my least favorite of the bunch. It's not that they're bad, per se, they're just lacking. With all of the other Cravers flavors, upon the moment of the flavor powder touching my taste buds, I was in snack heaven. These? Not so much.

To start off, the flavor is weak. It tastes like a very mild barbecue chip, instead of an intense flavor like other Pringles. It takes a moment of getting the palate adjusted before you can actually make out some of the individual flavors, such as the grilled meat, the ketchup, and the onions, as opposed to the 7-layer dip flavor where you can instantaneously taste all seven layers.

All in all, I wouldn't buy these, but I'd eat them if they were around. On the fence.

Bonus: Chinese Plum Candy of Doom!

I'm much like a goat, as I've mentioned before, and I'll pretty much eat anything (see Chinese Cherry Blood Clot Candy). I did not finish this candy. God knows I tried, I tried so hard, but I couldn't do it.

The candy itself isn't so bad, it's just a sugary hard candy. The bad part is the salted plum in the middle. As soon I tasted that, I literally started gagging, and let me tell you, there are not a lot of foods that make me gag.  The only foods I can think of that trigger my stomach to go in reverse are cottage cheese, Jones Brussels Sprouts soda, and now this. Fail. So, so hard.

Cadbury: Turkish Delight and Cherry Ripe

Brand: Cadbury
Style: Turkish Delight and Cherry Ripe
Origin: Australia
Type: Chocolate
Flavor: Like eating chocolate covered soap
Verdict: Failed

It's always exciting to open my email at work and find something snack-related. Today, I thought I really hit the jackpot! My coworker returned from Australia with a huge bag of weird candy! I snagged a couple different kinds to try, so today you get a two-for-one review! And a lot of exclamation points! Woot!

I love it when things go from bad to worse, so I'm going to start off with the Cherry Ripe. This little guy sounded like it would be the terrible one of the two, but it actually wasn't too bad. The package describes it as, "Ripe juicy cherries and coconut in 'Old Gold' rich dark chocolate." I would describe it as, "Kool-Aid flavored, chocolate-covered blood clot." I tried to take a picture, but my fancy camera's at home and my cameraphone just didn't do it justice. All in all, this actually didn't taste like much other than Kool-Aid, and I can drink that stuff by the gallon, so this is okay by me. If I ever go to Australia, I won't be hunting it down, but I'd rather eat this than Vegemite!

However, if faced with a choice between Vegemite and my other Australian 'treat', the Turkish Delight, I might choose death instead. The Turklish Delight slogan is apparently, "The bar that is different," and I'll have to agree. Different doesn't necessarily equate good in this case, though. This thing tastes like licking the inside of a poorly sanitized bathroom in a train station. In fact, it was so terrible that I only was able to take one bite before throwing the rest away. Trust me, that's quite a feat, because I'll eat just about anything. I've been referred to as a goat on more than one occasion.

In conclusion, from what I've had so far from Australia, their snacks suck. It makes me never want to go there. I propose a challenge to you all (all 2 people that read this, ha ha): Someone send me something Australian and delicious! Please! I have friends there I'd love to visit, but I need to be convinced!

Purchased: Sydney, Australia

Brand: Herr's
Style: Old Bay
Origin: USA
Type: Potato chips
Flavor: MSG and overwhelming celery salt
Verdict: Failed




I'm on the road today, having left my ever-green mountains of the Pacific Northwest and ventured across the spacious skies and over the amber waves of grain all the way to the Big Apple! It's snack central up in here, so I'll be posting as much as I can with all of these exciting new (at least to me) treats!

I've heard of the nearly-mythical Herr's brand of snacks for years, but had yet to try any of their potato chips. I've eyeballed the website and almost bought myself a variety pack about ten times now, but never could talk myself into hitting purchase. Fortunately, they sell Herr's here in New York, and being ever-adventurous, I went for the weirdest flavor on the shelf: Old Bay. The crabs on the bag were definitely the selling point for me, as I have no idea what Old Bay is. I don't eat seafood, but I'm assuming it's some kind of shellfish seasoning? It reminds me of Johnny's seasoning, although Johnny's is traditionally reserved for french fries, mashed potatoes, and other starchy goodies (and Tim's Cascade Johnny's Seasoning chips!), so I'm not exactly sure why there are crabs on the Old Bay bag.

The thing is, though, Johnny's has A. stopped using MSG, and B. has a much better balance of spices. I keep eating these wretched things, hoping for them to grow on me, or some how magically taste good, but they're really, really gross. I've had about five now and I already feel like I'm going to break out from the amount of MSG in them, and the lingering taste of celery salt and a mild spice at the back of my tongue is making me feel like I just ate at some all you can eat truck stop. It just tastes like cheap, crappy junk food. It's hard for me to explain it any other way; I think these just need to be experienced to understand the horror.

Purchased: Associated Foods, NYC

Walkers: Cajun Squirrel

Brand: Walker's
Style: Cajun Squirrel
Origin: England
Type: Potato chip (or crisp, if you're in jolly ol' England)
Flavor: Greasy, spicy meat. Did I mention greasy? And meaty?
Verdict: Failed, but at least it makes a good story

A friend of mine recently traveled overseas, and I gave her my usual request that I give everyone when they ask me what I want brought back: “The weirdest chips you can find. Make sure there’s no actual meat, but meat-flavored is cool.” I’m a vegetarian for ethical reasons, but still miss the taste of meat. Generally, everyone forgets and I end up with a souvenir shot glass or magnet, but this time, my girl pulled through and brought me Walker’s Cajun Squirrel Crisps. Upon having the bag presented to me, I had to take a moment of silence to compose myself before the emotional logorrhea of gratitude started pouring out of my mouth. I almost cried.

The chips themselves are part of a promotional contest that Walker’s is putting on, with other flavors including Fish and Chips and Builder’s Breakfast, amongst others. I had to restrain myself from asking why she didn’t bring me all of them to sample. We gleefully opened the bag and were hit with a powerful wave of a definitively Cajun scent: spicy, peppery, and meaty. I popped one of the oddly-orange-colored crisps into my mouth and was assaulted with the flavor of what can only be described as greasy, spicy meat, with an emphasis on the greasy. My father told me a tale of his youth where his friend’s mother served him raccoon for dinner one night, and based on that description, I’d say these chips are right in line with the essence of animals usually reserved for roadkill. Everyone that I made try them got sick, self included, so I can’t say I’d recommend them for the weak of stomach, but for those with a stomach of steel and a palette to match, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience that can’t be missed.

Purchased: England