A (Somewhat) Meaty Meatless Monday?

Wise Loaded Burger, Grilled Cheeseburger Potato Chips - Ollie's Bargain Outlet $1.79

You know what? I don't think I've ever reviewed a Wise product before.

It's not because I didn't have access to their goods, after all, they're pretty much everywhere, I just haven't seen anything new or interesting from them. To the best of my knowledge they've shied away from the limited edition flavors-of-the-week game that other brands, like Herr's, Pringles, and Lay's, have readily embraced. (Unless I've been living under a rock or something.) Since they were only offering generic flavors, there was nothing for me to write about. Until now...

Wise jumped into the fancy flavor game by cashing in on two trends at once: food trucks, and social media-based suggestions.

According to the back panel, this flavor was inspired by an actual food truck, the Loaded Burger, from Atlanta, Georgia. For the record, this seems like a slight variation of Lay's Do Us A Flavor contest, where flavors can be suggested and may come to life in chip-form, but one of the things that I really like about this little food truck inspired bag is that they include the social media handle of the business this chip represents. Do Us A Flavor puts a face and a blurb on their bags, as well as giving the suggester a cash prize, but that's an individual person. That means it's typically a one-and-done situation. Not like they're going to be pumping out chip flavors from here on out. What Wise is doing is not only giving us a new flavor to munch on, but they're also supporting a small business by giving them advertising on the back of their bag. I mean, here I am, sitting in NJ, scrolling through their instagram and wishing I could try their actual food and support their business. I think that's pretty cool of them. I'm sure there is a seedy underbelly in there somewhere, but I rather go on thinking that it was a nice gesture by a (fairly) big brand name. 

As I said, the overall concept seems a bit recycled, and in all fairness, we've had cheeseburger flavored chips before, but I really like human touch that comes from giving small businesses a moment in the national spotlight. 

That being said, I love the bag's design. It's reminiscent of the silver texture often seen on the outside of food trucks, and the front looks like the window/counter you'd order and retrieve your food from. The colors are bright, the photos are appetizing, and the logo for the Loaded Burger is almost as big as Wise itself. (Classy move on their part.) I wish more designs were this playful and appealing.

Once opened, the chips inside are orange-tinged, and even though they look like your everyday BBQ chip, they smell like...browned beef, pickles, and kaiser rolls. To me, the scent evokes the burgers you'd get from a 24 hour diner. (FYI, New Jersey is considered to be the diner capital of the world, with over 600 diners in our state alone. Take that other states!)

I popped a chip into my mouth and it's not revolutionary, like I said, I've had burger-themed chips before, but it's still really yummy and very snackable. I can taste onion, pickles, lettuce, beef bullion, a little bit of ketchup, and (of course) potato. It's almost like eating a diner burger loaded up with fries, so this flavor definitely lives up to the Loaded Burger name. Or at least, I think it does. I won't be going to Georgia anytime soon to find out how the chip compares to the real deal, but I will be enjoying the rest of the chips and following them on instagram with a mild sense of longing.

As someone who enjoyed the Papa John's cheeseburger pizza, and previous cheeseburger-flavored potato chip offerings, I really love these chips and I'll be sad to see them fade into oblivion like other trendy flavor-of-the-week products. Try and find it while you can! I got these at Ollie's so their time is neigh!

 © Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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