Chips

The question: can a mass-market potato chip capture the much-beloved earthy, caramelized sweetness of roasted garlic without verging on cloying, burnt, or worse? As I ripped into a bag of Lay's latest offering — Wavy Lay's Roasted Garlic and Sea Salt Chips — I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but as soon as a crisp chip crunched between my teeth I knew we had a winner on our hands. Just to be sure I wasn't biased — I'm an unabashed garlic fan, often doubling up on the fragrant allium in recipes — I set out a bowl to share with my office mates to see if they'd agree.  

Find out the results.

Pringles . . . in stick form? With the relaunch of Pringles Stix ($3) in Pizza, Cheese, and Honey Butter flavors, many in our office scoffed at the unfamiliar shape and wondered how the Pringles Stix fared compared to the company's famed flaky chips. However, the experience and flavors of the sticks weren't what we anticipated. Keep reading to see our tasting notes and rating.

Pringles Pizza Stix

Our tasters sang praises for this pizza flavor. Described as packing plenty of pizza-like flavors, one taster even ventured to say, "I want to go back in time so my mom can pack these in my lunch box." Another likened the sticks to Italian cheesy bread topped with plenty of basil and oregano.

Tasters' average rating:

See the other flavors.

Mention Kettle Brand potato chips around our office — or better yet, deliver a box to our desks — and our ears perk up and mouths begin to water just like Pavlov's famous dogs. True to form, an ineffable itch to tear open a bag overcame us on first sight of the Kettle Brand-emblazoned package, hoping that we had on our hands another Zesty Ranch, Spicy Thai, or Cheddar Beer. While their latest flavors — Maple Bacon and Sweet & Salty — won't be on store shelves till early Summer, keep reading for a first look at their latest flavors, and to find out if they're worth adding to your cart.

From left to right: Kettle Brand Sweet & Salty and Kettle Brand Maple Bacon

Kettle Brand Sweet & Salty Potato Chips

If simplicity is your style, you're in luck: Kettle Brand's Sweet & Salty offering keeps to its titular promise with crisp chips that taste just as advertised — sweet and salty, and not much else. Akin to kettle corn, these snappy snacks pleased those looking for a simple yet satisfying bite, though the majority of our trusty crew of tasters felt they were a little too one-note, even calling them bland, too sweet, and just plain "not tasty enough."

Keep reading to find out how maple bacon translates to chip form, and for our overall thoughts.

Cheetos fans feel passionately for their favorite variety, whether it's the original Crunchy, Puffs, or Flamin' Hot Limon. But the new Cheetos Mix-Ups, in both Xtra Cheezy Mix and Cheezy Salsa Mix ($4) let Cheetos lovers get a variety of flavors and shapes, all in one bag. We popped both bags open, munched, and evaluated the two newest members of the Cheetos family.

Xtra Cheezy Mix
In each bag, there are four shapes and flavors: crunchy cheddar Cheetos, nacho cheese waffle puffs, double cheddar puffs, and mini parmesan puffs. Tasters noticed that despite the advertising, each of the shapes tasted had the exact same flavor as the original Cheetos. Many enjoyed the textural variety of the different shapes but didn't feel like this bag had enough to make them want to buy this variety over the original Cheetos or Cheetos Puffs. However, the extra cheesy bag still managed to score high.

Keep reading to see the rating and the other bag.

In addition to Pi Day, March 14 also happens to be National Potato Chip Day. While it's easy and satisfying to eat them right out of the bag, it's even more fun to come up with creative ways to add some crunch factor to your food. There's no doubt about it that potato chips are dangerously addictive on their own, but incorporated into other dishes, like sandwiches or even baked goods, they reach an entirely new level of awesome. So grab your favorite bag of chips and get creative!

• Add them to your burgers or sandwiches as a contrast to all of the soft textures. Bobby Flay refers to these burgers as "crunchified."
• Crumble them up and toss them in salads for an unexpected and unusual flavor combination.
• Use them in your next Spanish tortilla in place of sliced potatoes.
• Sprinkle them on top of ice cream for a sweet and salty treat.
• Swap out pretzel sticks for chocolate-dipped potato chips.
• Bake with them! Potato chip cookies are all the rage these days.

What do you love to add potato chips to?

From left to right: Lay's Chicken & Waffles, Sriracha, and Cheesy Garlic Bread chips

We hold a lot of taste tests in our office, sampling everything from exceptional bottles of red wine to gingerbread Peeps, but yesterday's sampling of Lay's newfangled fan-generated flavors was easily our most eagerly anticipated taste test to date. In the span of a short morning, not one but 10 of my office mates stopped by my desk to inspect the wares, ready to see if the novel — and quite frankly, a bit out there — flavors like Chicken & Waffles, Sriracha, and Cheesy Garlic Bread could translate well as crisp and crunchy chips.

Lay's Chicken & Waffles Flavored Potato Chips

Easily the most wacky flavor of the bunch, these Southern-brunch-staple-inspired chips drew the largest crowd of tasters, likely due to their undeniable novelty factor. Here's the thing: while we'd love to say these were an unmitigated success, it quickly became clear why Chicken & Waffles had yet to be immortalized in salty snack form. More waffle than chicken — many tasters complained of an overpowering fake-maple-syrup flavor — most would relegate these to a late-night drunk munchies snack only. That said, they won over a few with their intriguing blend of sweet, salty, and savory (think maple and chicken bouillon). All in all, they're worth trying at least once simply to say that you did it.

Tasters' average rating:

Keep reading to find out how the Sriracha and Cheesy Garlic Bread flavors fared.

Few pairings work better than crisp corn chips and fiery salsa; unfortunately, this classic Mexican-restaurant starter rarely translates well to supermarket offerings. Tostitos aims to change this with its latest line of restaurant-style chips and salsa, so naturally we felt compelled to see if they could stack up to this oft-insurmountable task.

Tostitos Cantina Chipotle Restaurant-Style Salsa

Fans of smoky heat were smitten with this option, praising its prominent chipotle punch and perfect level of heat that tingles taste buds without lighting one's mouth on fire, making it all too easy to come back for seconds. One taster even noted that it lived up to its promise, as it reminded her of her favorite cantina's salsa. That said, it was a touch too smoky for some, so if you're not a chipotle super fan, skip the jar.

Tasters' average rating:

Tostitos Cantina Roasted Garlic Thick & Chunky Salsa

This roasted garlic-laced salsa left some tasters uninspired, citing a slightly too-sweet flavor and watery texture as its undoing, though most found it better than standard supermarket salsa. Those who enjoyed it touted its just-right level of punchy garlic, tanginess, and balanced saltiness. All in all, try this one for yourself: essentially, it came down to a matter of personal preference.

Tasters' average rating:

Keep reading to learn how their tortilla chips fared.