All of my favorite pizza-flavored snacks have been discontinued. First it was my beloved Doritos...
It was a bag of half pizza and half ranch chips from their Collisions line. It was discontinued sometime around 2010. I mentioned how much I missed them in a post, and a reader recommended pizza-filled Snyder's Pretzels, which were amazing. They were even better than the Doritos, but they also got the axe. I've been on the hunt for a new pizza-y replacement ever since, and this is my current fixation.
The packaging photos look kind of ugly, because the bag is nearly empty. I couldn't stop myself from cracking into it and this isn't the first time. This is my fourth bag. Safe to say, I like these. A lot.
Inside this mix we have 4 components: Garlic Bread and Pizza Sauce Chex cereal bits, Cheese puffs, and Pizza Crust Bagel chips.
Pizza Crust Bagel Chip - The weakest component of the four. A standard bagel chip that is lightly dusted with an orange-colored pizza seasoning. The seasoning is sparse, and inconsistent. If you find a more heavily seasoned area, it has a sweet tomato flavoring with hints of herbs like oregano. What this lacks in flavor, it makes up it texture. The crispy crunch of these dry bagel chips acts as a nice compliment when eaten by the handful with other pieces, but if you were to eat it on it's own, you'd be very disappointed. There weren't too many of these in the bag.
Cheese Puffs - Light, airy, just like itty bitty Cheeto's cheese curls with a slightly staler texture. (Probably from being near all the Garlic Bread pieces which have an almost creamy coating.) I've always preferred crunchy Cheetos, so this is just okay for me. It's mainly cheesy, in that artificial orange cheese curl kind of way, and a little sweet. Not very pizza-y. But, like the bagel chip, I like the variation of texture it provides.
Pizza Sauce Chex - Here is where things pick up. (IMO the cereal bits are the best part of any "mix.") The Pizza Sauce Chex are dry and light with a tomato-based seasoning that reminds me of canned pizza sauce. Sweeter than you'd expect, tangy, cheesy, and a little oregano-y. It's giving "cafeteria pizza" or Chef Boyardee in the best way.
Garlic Bread Chex - The real star of the show. This is like a savory, garlicy, version of Puppy Chow. Upon first taste, it was sweeter than I expected, but it quickly grew on me and I found these to be the components I sought out the most. They have this heavily coated texture to them that really feels like white chocolate or some kind of confectionary coating on the tongue, but it tastes like garlic butter. Think lower end take-out garlic knots, or the garlic butter dipping sauce that comes with Papa John's. It's sweet, and artificial, but I really like it. It's addicting and keeps me coming back for more.
Normally I'm a hunter. I pick out the pieces I like and eat them one at a time, but this mix shines when it's eaten by the handful. The mixture of textures and the combination of flavors gives me the junky pizza vibes I've been craving.
If given the chance, I would trade the existence of this Chex Mix for those Snyder's Pretzels in a heartbeat. Until then, this is my new number one. 4/5
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