Lucky us, we get to review new food products that are sent to us! Here are a few awesome new ones that we recently received:

Utz Pub Fries/Cheddar Cheese Flavor--Leave it to the folks at Utz to take a product that someone else is making and make it better. I remember the Andy Capp’s “Fries” as a kid and these are like an upscale version. There is a strong onion undertone but the burst of real cheese flavor makes up for it.

Utz Pub Fries/Red Hot Flavor–These are super crunchy and the heat is almost instant. The heat also pleasantly lingers. While there is no cheese in this one, there is a tomato-y flavor that blends nicely with the heat. These are awesome

Dean’s Honey Mustard Pretzel Dip–The fine folks at Dean’s have always made a killer chip dip. Well now they are here with a new product, Pretzel Dip. The honey mustard is delicious and somehow not too frou-frou. The first ingredient is mustard and honey is not far down the list, making this a naturally good snack as well. And there is just 1.5 grams of fat per serving. Not that you’re watching your weight or anything.

Dean’s Cheddar Cheese Pretzel Dip–This one is also excellent, with a subtle yet nice cheese flavor in a creamy dip. It’s made with real cheese, and isn’t runny or chalky like other cheese dips, making it perfect for pretzels.

Mr and Mrs T Bloody Mary Mix (improved formula)–If you’ve ever had Mr and Mrs T Bloody Mary Mix, you know it’s distinctive, snappy and slightly sweet. Now, just in time for tailgating season, they have re-introduced the mixer with more tomato juice and sea salt to reduce sodium. This was always a good mix, but you can’t go wrong by adding more real juice to something, and that’s what they have done here. And why wouldn’t you want to make sure what you mix with lots of vodka is healthier?

It was a beautiful day at my house recently back when I received a package from Frito-Lay of snacks to try and review right here. I had already found their Doritos Burn Flavor chips locally and I’m craving them again as we speak. Anyway, I offered to review some other Frito-Lay snacks that I hadn’t tried. And here they are, in no particular order:

Funyun’s Flamin’ Hot Onion Flavored Rings–Another extension of the Frito-Lay “Flamin’ Hot” franchise, complete with the red glow that works its way onto your fingers as you eat them. I love Funyun’s, and I love spicy food, so this was a slam dunk for me. I could probably eat 10 bags of these right now.

Chee-tos Giant cheese puffs–If Eric Cartman were a real person, he would eat these. We’re talking balls that measure one inch (some more) around, that for some folks would require two bites. The novelty alone was worth trying them for, but it’s not like you’ll want to sit around and munch on these. They taste fine, but when you eat the smaller variety, you get more cheese flavor all around.

Chee-tos Mighty Zingers Sharp Cheddar & Salsa Picante–Unlike the Giant puffs, these are the “fried” variety of Chee-tos. The “sharp cheddar” flavor are indeed nicely cheesy with just a bit more sharp bite than regular Chee-tos. And the salsa picante ones, which are the same color as the Flamin’ Hot snacks, have a hint of cheese but a more prominent salsa flavor–and an authentic one at that, in which you can taste both tomato and a hint of onion and hot peppers. Together these two flavors in one bag go together like peanut butter and jelly. No joke!

Lay’s brand Kettle Cooked Jalapeno Flavor Chips–Well, I’ll admit I’m not a huge fan of kettle cooked (i.e. extra crispy) potato chips. But hey, if I had a choice, I’d still rather eat a chip than a stalk of broccoli. So I dug in to these, and while they have a super crunch and a nice jalapeno spice, there is too much onion powder in these chips that overpowers them. Not only that, after eating a nice handful, I had onion breath and dry mouth for the rest of the day.

Doritos Late Night Tacos at Midnight Tortilla Chips–If you, like me, are old enough to remember when Doritos first came out, this one will take you back. Back then (I think maybe in the ’70′s?), they had plain corn, taco flavor and nacho cheese. And my favorite by far was the taco flavor, which they stopped making after a while, brought back and then stopped making again. Now it’s back disguised as this “Late Night” version, which is every bit as good as the original Taco flavor and then some. In fact, you can almost close your eyes here and feel like you’re eating a fast food taco. And we all know how great those taste after a few beers, so the “Late Night” tag on these is an arrow through the hearts and taste buds of those who troll the convenience store aisles late at night. Seriously though, these chips are just awesome, even in the middle of the day.

I hope you had as much fun reading this as I did eating and writing. But I don’t know how that’s possible, so go try some!

When I first heard about Doritos’ Burn flavor chips, I thought it was a promotional stunt or something to sell more Pepsi, which was the focus of the radio commercial I heard.  But being a snack food junkie and a lover of all things spicy, I kept looking for this stuff in stores.  Finally, I found it, at a Walgreens here in Madison, Wisconsin no less.  And let me tell you, the First and Second Degree Burn flavors are positively awesome, and spicier than any snack food I’ve ever tasted.  Frito-Lay tells me Third Degree Burn was only available for a short time, and sadly I didn’t get to try it.  But here are the ones I did try….

First Degree Burn (Blazing Jalapeno)–These chips are hot and also have a strong jalapeno flavor.  And the heat, which I’d rate as an 8 out of 10, is subtle and somewhat pleasant, like a spicy food drug.

Second Degree Burn (Flaming Buffalo)--This chip has a tangier flavor, just like, well, Buffalo wing sauce.  And like first degree, the heat sneaks up on you, but this one is more like an unexpected kick to the groin, a 9 out of 10 on the heat index.  What’s more, they get hotter and hotter the more you eat.  But if you like spicy food, that’s one of the best parts.

Late Night Cheeseburger–Not spicy at all, but part of the new Late Night lines from Doritos.  These taste like a McDonald’s cheeseburger, but you taste onions first and foremost, and, like with all Doritos, the ones coated in cheese powder are the best tasting ones.  That’s especially true here, because otherwise the onion overwhelms the cheese.