Review: Lean Pockets Mesquite BBQ Chicken Pretzel Bread Sandwiches

Sorry for the week of no posts, I was out of town. But you’re not here to hear me (or see me) make excuses. You want snack reviews! So let’s look at another New! lean pocket.

I really like these Pretzel Bread lean pockets! There is just something about the bread that elevates it from a diet tasting food to a legitimate snack choice. It is also a GOOD SOURCE of PROTEIN.

The BBQ sauce in this is pretty nice, though you really can’t taste much of the red onions. Be careful when cooking, though, as I burnt the roof of my mouth. I guess the pocket contents were hotter than I thought! It still tasted good, though. 

Be sure to check these out if you get a chance. Happy snacking!

Review: Snyder of Berlin Sweet n’ Sassy BBQ Potato Chips

It’s official: I have WAY more reviews of BBQ related snacks than anything else at the time of this writing. I guess that means I really, REALLY like BBQ. Or barbecue. Or bar-b-q. Whatever.

I have been a fan of Snyder chips for years, but I have always had their regular barbecue chips. When I saw this sweet and sassy variety at the Sheetz near Wheeling, WV I snatched it up. Sweet I understand. There is a picture of a spoon pouring copious amounts of sugar into the chip, so I knew these would be sweet (hopefully not as sweet as Grippos *shudder*). But what makes a potato chip sassy? Is it a pert, insolent chip with a hand on one hip, shaking it’s finger at you and giving you an attitude? Or is it just being saucy? I had to find out.

I was a little put off by the pink bag, but it did the job of getting my attention. Let’s take a gander at the chips themselves:

Nothing special at first glance. I tasted the chip, and was met with the very familiar taste of Snyder’s BBQ chips. It is sweeter than their standard BBQ chips, but not by much. It is also a little less hot than their standard BBQ chips, but again, not by much. In a blind BBQ chip taste test, I would be hard-pressed to tell the difference. No discernible sass from these chips, in my opinion.

Give these a shot and let me know what you think. Happy snacking!

Two for Tuesday Review: Limited Edition BBQ Bacon Burger and Chili Sauce Cheese Dog Hot Pockets

When you want a hot meal without a big deal, whataya gonna pick? *SNAP* Hot Pockets! Great jingle! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkl4Y0sxerQ

I’ve been a fan of Hot Pockets for roughly 25 years now. My favorite will always be the classic pepperoni pizza. I consumed ginormous quantities of these as a teenager. So much that, for a time, I couldn’t eat them anymore. But now I’m back on the Hot Pocket train and getting my ticket punched on a regular basis.

Did I ever tell you I’m a sucker for Limited Edition items? If not, let it be known henceforth. If you want to sell me something, just smack a NEW or LIMITED EDITION sticker on it and it will call to me with it’s siren song of hope and potential missed opportunity. I was beyond excited to see in my local freezer section not one but TWO limited edition Hot Pockets. We’ll take them in the order that I tried them.

Interesting, huh? Chili Sauce Cheese Dog Hot Pockets! My mind was swimming with the possibilities. If you can’t read the text below the name of the item, here it is:

“Chili Sauce with Pork Franks, Beef, and Chicken Pattie Crumbles and Cheese in a Bun”

Chicken Pattie Crumbles? We’ll see…

When I opened the package I was met with two realizations. First, the bread was noticeably different. See?

Second, and I am still reeling from this…

THERE WAS NO POCKET

That may not seem like a big deal to you. You may be wondering why I even bothered with the all capital letters and putting the sentence in bold type. Let me remind you, though, that this is a Hot Pocket. Key word there. Pocket. This item isn’t a Hot Pocket. It’s just a Hot. There is no Pocket. You can’t call it a Hot Pocket!

After I recovered from this shock to my senses, I let Chef Mic do what he does best and heated this up. I was nervous that the lack of pocket would cause the chili cheese dog goodness to run out, but fortune smiled on me and it stayed intact.

The disappointments continued when I tasted this item. In its defense, the chili sauce, beef and cheese were all very good. Thankfully, the chicken pattie crumbles were benign and did not make a lasting impression. The blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the pork franks. They just didn’t survive the freezing/reheating process as intended, I’m afraid. The texture was a bit off, and the pork had a somewhat odd taste to it. The best I can say is that it was edible, but I won’t miss it when it departs the frozen food section.

Now to it’s Limited Edition cousin, the BBQ Bacon Burger.

How could this go wrong? “Hamburger, cheese and bacon with sauce in a bun.” Look at the poor Bar-B-Q sauce bottle sitting forlornly in the background, out of focus and deserted while the burgers get the limelight. Is it odd that I noticed that? Maybe…

I opened the package and I was met with this burger bow tie:

I’m sure you’ve already guessed: NO POCKET AGAIN! Maybe it’s something about the texture of the bun that would be compromised by placing it in a pocket, but I just don’t get it! No pocket? Sigh…

These tasted better, thankfully. The burger, cheese and sauce were all acceptable, even good. The bacon was a little chewy, but that is understandable given the nature of freezeing/reheating. I could try these again, but overall I can understand why these are limited editions and not regular items.

Don’t worry Hot Pockets. Though I am disappointed in these items, I will still pick you “when a hungry bunch shows up for lunch” or “when it’s late at night and I want a tasty bite”

*SNAP*

Review: Arby’s Arby-Q Roast Beef Sandwich

I was in the mood for some Good Mood Food a few weeks ago. Is the food in a good mood, or does the food put you in a good mood? I’m pretty sure it is the latter, as the former would make me feel guilty eating food that had any sort of mood. Perusing the menu, I noticed the limited edition Arby-Q sandwich so I had to give it a shot.

As you can see above, it is essentially a regular roast beef sandwich with the addition of BBQ sauce. This thing is sauce-riffic! Sauce everywhere! I tried to cut the sandwich in half, but the bun collapsed, sending BBQ covered roast beef shooting forth from the edges. Luckily for me, I am a big fan of BBQ, so that just gave me the extra enjoyment of licking my BBQ fingers. So I guess it was good mood food!

The sandwich is pretty tasty, but I wouldn’t get it over the regular roast beef sandwich, and I prefer the Roastburger as well. Fair warning though, this has a LOT of BBQ sauce on it, so if you aren’t a fan, you may want to pass. However, I love BBQ sauce, soI can see myself trying to create my own Arby-Q with Famous Dave’s or Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce. Yum!

Review: Grippo’s Bar-B-Q Potato Chips

As I have previously stated, I am a big fan of barbecue potato chips. I recently came across this brand of potoato chips at a local barbecue restaurant. I had never heard of Grippo’s brand of chips before, but my friends had heard of it and explained it to me. Apparently, they are a ‘cheap’ brand of potato chips. Now, I don’t have anything against the cheaper snack manufacturers. They fill a niche, and there are times when their snacks are just as good as the ‘big boys’.

I also liked the way that the bag looks. Check out the little Grippo’s boy chef. He’s carrying a bag of Grippo’s Bar-B-Q chips, with a little Grippo’s boy chef, and so on ad inifinitum.

I was a sucker for the ‘infinity’ comic book covers when I was a kid. Thus, I was quite excited and looking forward to trying these chips. Having never heard of this brand, I did a little research. Apparently, these snacks are quite popular! There is a Facebook group “Grippos BBQ Chips are Incredible!” that, as of this writing, has 25,268 likes. This guy on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDNi7BbUxzg) absolutely loves them, and appears to even get a little emotional when eating them. My excitement grew! “A new BBQ chip!” I thought to myself. “How have I never heard of these?” I asked myself. Myself had no response.

Well, after trying them, I can agree with the Facebook group. Grippo’s Bar-B-Q chips are incredible. Incredibly BAD.

The first issue I ran into was when comparing the bag of chips I got from the restaurant with the bag my brother got. My bag was considerably lighter. I actually weighed them on a kitchen scale, and my bag was 20 grams less. That’s approximately .7 ounces for us Americans. This doesn’t seem like much, but these were 1 oz bag of chips. Where’s the quality control, Grippo’s?

Back to the review. I opened the bag, and poured the chips into a container. The chips looked…different.

See all them spices? My first thought was that “these will have a strong BBQ flavor…can’t wait to try them”. So I tried one. Man, was it SWEET. Too sweet. I know that some BBQ sauces are sweet. That’s fine. But this was McDonald’s sweet tea sweet. Hummingbird feeder sweet. Cinnamon Toast Crunch sweet.

Their sweetness was bad enough. They were also greasy. The chips actually had a softer consistency than other potato chips you might be familiar with because the grease softened the chip. Add that consistency to the super-sweet flavoring, and you have a bad combination and a bad chip.

I was incredibly disappointed in these chips. Maybe I built them up too much in my head. Maybe I expected too much. Maybe these chips are just “not for me”, since so many other people like them. If you like sugary chips, so sugary you can see the sugar crystals on the chips, then try these. Otherwise, AVOID THESE CHIPS.

Review: Ruffles Smokehouse Style BBQ Flavored Potato Chips

Ruffles is continuing to mix things up by offering more exotic flavors than the traditional plain, barbecue, and sour cream and cheddar. I recently tried the Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins flavored potato chips, and I was impressed.

But my favorite potato chip flavor is barbecue. It has been my favorite ever since I used 35 cents of my lunch money to buy a small bag of barbecue potato chips every week at lunch. I’ve enjoyed snacking for many, many years! So, I was eager to try these chips.

They have a good dusting of flavor on the chip. There is a distinct smell of barbecue (I wouldn’t say it smelled like barbecue ribs, necessarily…just barbecue).

Don’t those look good enough to eat? I thought so, and so I did. Well, they taste like barbecue potato chips. I was surprised that they tasted pretty much like the Lay’s Barbecue potato chips. Maybe they were ‘smokier’, but not exceedingly so. There was no heat to speak of either. And they certainly didn’t taste like ribs, although that is probably for the best. Still and all, I’d recommend these if you enjoy a good barbecue potato chip. Happy snacking!

Review: Ruffles Ultimate Sweet & Smokin’ BBQ Potato Chips

Not to be outdone by their cousin Doritos Jacked, Ruffles has introduced an “ultimate” variety of their potato chip. What makes it ultimate? I’m glad you asked!

These chips are a little thicker than their regular variety of Ruffles, and their ridges are much more pronounced. This makes them ideal for dipping. However, I didn’t have any dip handy, so I guess I have something to look forward to.

These are some delicious chips! There is a sweetness there, but not too sweet, and the smoky barbecue flavor is great. They even have a decent aftertaste. I brought these to a birthday party recently, and the bag was gobbled up in record time. If you are a fan of BBQ chips, I recommend you give these a taste. Happy snacking!

Review: Herr’s Fireman’s BBQ Chicken Potato Chips

Chicken is my favorite protein, and BBQ Chicken is one of my favorite types of chicken. So when I saw this bag of Herr’s chips which promised not just BBQ Chicken but Fireman’s BBQ Chicken, I had to check it out. I’m not sure why the word “Fireman’s” was added to the title, though. Is this snack really prepared exclusively by Firemen? Are Firemen really good at barbecuing chicken? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

Here is a description of this chip straight from the bag:

A roadside grill or your local firehouse, there’s no mistaking the deliciously inviting smell of a Chicken BBQ!

Who doesn’t love the right off the grill smoky flavor of succulent barbecued chicken? Herr’s Fireman’s BBQ Chicken Potato Chips capture this authentic great taste with a special blend of herbs, spices and a touch of tangy marinade.

These chips have a really good taste. Herr’s is known for their emphasis on strong and spicy flavors, and this chip has a strong but welcome BBQ taste. You can taste the chicken, but you can taste more of the BBQ than anything else. But that works for me! If you are ever in the mid-Atlantic region and get a chance, these chips offer a BBQ for your mouth, without the propane or charcoal!

What is your favorite Herr’s chip?