Sweet & Salty Clusters...of lies!

Chocolate covered potato chips are sweet and salty, with the added bonus of a crispy texture, what's not to love? 

Well, unlike most consumers, I have been spoiled. Aunt Charlottes, a confectionary located in Merchantville, NJ, makes the best chocolate covered potato chips of all time. 

It's true! I have tried big-brand chocolate potato chip products, and even made some attempts at my own, but none of them compare to Aunt Charlotte's. 

The chocolate used for their chips is incredibly smooth and sweet, more like European style chocolate than when we're used to in the states, and the flavor blows brands like Hershey's out of the water. (Which is basically chocolate flavored wax at this point.) Their good-quality chocolate has a lovely mouth-feel, and somehow, even after dipping, the chip stays crisp and crunchy. It is the best of the best....that said, how do these "clusters" compare? 

Cre-E-epy Crawlers! Rather, CREEPY Crisps

Creepy Crisps - Gift

Sticking with savory snacking for a sec, I have these Limited Edition Creepy Crisps from The Good Crisp Company. 

I had never heard of this brand before, but at a glance, these seem to be...healthy Pringles? The little blurb on the can says that as a parent, they wanted to have a snack for their children that they felt good about, and that this year they "added a spooky twist." Safe to say, my assumptions were correct.

What's the spooky twist? Judging by the package, the chips inside are black-colored, but normal, original, potato-flavor. Will they actually look as black as they do on the tube? Will they still taste okay? Will they cause the same colorful gastrointestinal aftermath as other black products, like the Black Cherry Fanta slush or the Burger King HA1loween burger? We shall see! 

It Should be A Match Made in Heaven - Reese's with Potato Chips

 

Reese's with Potato Chips

First we had Reese's filled with Reese's Pieces, a brilliant textural innovation I absolutely adore. (I even prefer them to the original!) Then we got a rerelease of the peanut butter lovers and chocolate lovers versions, dark chocolate, and thins. Unlike Oreo Thins, which turned a cookie into an addicting potato-chip-like snacking experience, Reese's thins left me wanting more. Then we got the announcement that there would be a pretzel filled Reese's cup, and a potato chip one. Both flavors sound amazing in theory, but how is the execution?

Aldi's Journey to Japan - Take 2 - Ponzu Ginger

Journey to Japan Ponzu Ginger Chips -Aldi

Aldi likes to release "around the world" products, with a particular recurring focus on India, Germany, Italy, and Japan. These were the flavor companion to the Wasabi flavored chips I reviewed a little while ago, and the newest addition to the "Journey to Japan" line.

If you haven't already read my wasabi review, spoiler alert, they're good, but not great. I am on a mid to high tolerance range for wasabi/horseradish, it takes a lot for me to feel the burn, and I wanted those chips to pack a punch. They didn't. Here's hoping that this flavor is a bit more unique and flavorful.

Wasabi Potato Chips are How I Roll

Journey to Japan Wasabi Chips -Aldi

Remember the Wasabi and Ginger Kettle chips from the Lay's Do Us a Flavor Contest? (I think they were from the second ever contest.) They were delicious, with a sushi-like profile thanks to the wasabi and ginger with a hit of soy sauce. I was sad to see them go, but I feel like their execution needed a bit of work. They were good, but not perfect. Still, it's a flavor profile that doesn't have any equivalent in the American potato chip market. Until now. 

Give Us a Mystery! - Herr's Mystery Mix - 9/7/2021 UPDATE

Herr's Mystery Flavor - 7-Eleven

Three classic flavors in one chip, eh? The contest ended on August 31st, 2021, let's see what my guesses were and if I was right!

So the chip itself is a reddish orange, ridged, with little flecks of green. When I think of Herr's classic flavors, I think BBQ (gold bag), Sour Cream and Onion (green bag), and original (blue bag), but that seems way too easy. How could they have a giveaway contest if that were the case? 

The website lists the following as flavor options that could be part of the trio of this mix: sour cream and onion, BBQ, salt & vinegar, cheddar and sour cream, honey BBQ, red hot, fire, ketchup, old bay, dill pickle, cracked pepper and sea salt, jalapeno, boardwalk salt and vinegar, mesquite BBQ, and Cheddar Horseradish.

Time to binge on some chips and make some guesses. 

Triple Sweat, I Mean Threat - 3 Lay's Summer Flavors

Lay's Summer Potato Chips (3-Flavors) 

If any of you have been walking down the junk food aisle lately, you'll know Lay's has been quite busy. It released these three flavors for summer, and it just released three more wacky junk food mash-up flavors, Cheetos, Funyuns, and Cool Ranch Doritos, but in potato-chip form. I've been on the lookout for the latter three, but haven't had any luck yet, so I settled for the original summer release trio. We have Summer BLT, Wavy Jerk Chicken, and Chile Mango.  

I figured I better hurry up and review these, since it's August and all. But it's still summer so I'm not too late! 

Aldi's at it again! - Queso Fundido Wavy Chips

Queso Fundido Wavy Chips - Aldi

"Oops, I did it again" (#freebritney). I bought junkfood I was really excited to eat, but then I wouldn't let myself eat it until I could sit down and review it, which I never did, so it piled up...and now the top of my fridge is nothing but novelty flavored potato chips.  

So, here is the first of many potato chip reviews coming your way.

A Moscow Mule you Can Chew - Aldi Moscow Mule Chips

Crinkle Cut Moscow Mule Chips - Aldi

Moscow Mules are a Christmas-thing, right? I feel like I always see the copper mugs around the holidays, but I'm not 100% sure. I've never had one, no particular reason why or anything, I'm just not a big drinker. Boozy beverages taste kind of off or medicinal to me. (Which, fun fact, is why I have only ever been drunk once in my life. I just don't like the taste of anything to drink more than one of them.) I'm always open to trying new things, like the beer my friends bring to parties or fancy cocktails, so why not try it in chip form? 

A few months ago Aldi released these, and a bloody Mary version, as part of a boozy brunch/happy hour line of snacks. The bloody Mary flavor made sense to me, since it contains such savory elements, but with a Moscow Mule, I wasn't so sure.

Chip Party 2 - Electric Boogaloo

Chip Party 2 Electric Boogaloo - Aldi

More chips from Aldi! Admittedly they had even more flavors at the store last week. They had these two Mexican-themed flavors, and two "Brunch" kind of flavors which were Moscow Mule and Bloody Mary. Now Bloody Mary could work, but Moscow Mule? In Chip-form? They weren't really my taste, so I passed them up, but there two were way more my speed. 

 

Check out the video review, or keep reading for the written post and close up photos! 

Lay's BLT Chips - Walmart

Lay's BLT Chips - Walmart

The new Do Us A Flavor finalists have been announced and all three options have left me cold. I normally try to keep a pretty open mind, but all three flavors feel a little too safe, and honestly...boring. Unless one of the new flavors happen to fall right into my lap, I doubt I'll be reviewing them, but when I was at Walmart the other day I spotted this smaller, snack-sized, baggie of the Limited Time flavor BLT chips in the checkout lane. These sound more interesting than the finalists, and they're a convenient snacking size, so why not check them out?

Pigs N' Taters Chocolate Bar by Hammond's

Pigs N' Taters Bar - Target

There were a bunch of Hammond's bars in the Christmas section at Target and they just so happened to have a sale on buying three bars, and since I only had 2 stockings to fill this year, I treated myself to a little something sweet. And savory.

That's right! Not just a bacon and chocolate bar, but a bacon, chocolate and POTATO CHIP bar! And with a name like "Pigs N' Taters," how could I resist?

Snackbusters: 4 Aldi Chip Reviews in one post!

If there's something weird
And it don't look good
Who you gonna call
Snackbusters!

This really has absolutely nothing to do with the upcoming Ghostbusters movie. I was going through my food stash and decided to review a bunch of Aldi snacks in one fell swoop and with all the hype, and rage, surrounding the new movie, the original Ghostbusters theme got stuck in my head. So, Snackbusters was born! I doubt this will be a recurring thing on the blog, but I gotta get some of this food stuff outta here and this is the best way to go about it. We've got a little bit of everybody here, Specially Selected, G-Free, and Clancy's. Let's get started!