REVIEW: Lay’s Do Us a Flavor Bacon Grilled Cheese Potato Chips

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It’s been far too long since we’ve experienced a Lay’s Do Us a Flavor contest. It’s been so long that I don’t even remember when the last one was or what the flavors were without having to Google it.

This year’s crop of flavors includes Valentina & Lime, Korean-Style Fried Chicken, and Bacon Grilled Cheese. Unfortunately, unlike previous years, there’s no definite oddball loser among them that allows the food scientists at PepsiCo to flex their flavor alchemy at the cost of poor sales. So, no Cappuccino potato chips to freak out our taste buds.

Instead, all three of 2025’s Do Us a Flavor finalists have a legitimate chance of winning. However, all the past contests have shown us that the safest flavor wins. So here’s a review of the winner because I believe it’s the safest — Bacon Grilled Cheese.

(NOTE: I haven’t tried any other finalists because, for some reason, when I picked this up at Target, none of them were in stock.)

They’re not the most aromatic chips I’ve had. I notice the smokiness and the cheese, but they’re surprisingly light, even when I shove my face into the bag. Although, I could blame vog allergies for that.

Fortunately, the flavor is noticeably stronger than its scent. Between the cheddar cheese and the bacon, it tastes like there’s a bit more smokiness. If you’ve had the bacon or BLT-flavored Lay’s that come back occasionally, you’ll recognize that these chips have a similar smokiness. The cheese mostly reminds me of cheddar, but the ingredients also list blue cheese, sour cream, and buttermilk, which explains the chip’s pleasant tanginess. With its combination of tastes, I imagine Lay’s could repackage and rename this product without any changes as “Smoked Cheddar” in the future.

Lay’s Do Us a Flavor Bacon Grilled Cheese is a fine finalist, which is surprising because I believe Lay’s Bacon Potato Chips are mediocre. The addition of cheese to the smokiness makes a tremendous difference. However, while these chips are good, they don’t excite my taste buds as much as cheddar & sour cream or sour cream & onion. I wouldn’t be sad if I never got to try these again.

With that said, this chip is good enough and safe enough that it’ll probably win. However, if you love it and it doesn’t win, don’t fret. Like many previous Do Us a Flavor losers that aren’t Cappuccino, Lay’s has brought them back for a limited time.

Purchased Price: $4.00 (on sale)
Size: 7 3/4 oz bag
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 16 chips – 28 grams) 160 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: McDonald’s McCrispy Strips with Creamy Chili Sauce

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Like Spider-Man movies, McDonald’s has rebooted its chicken strips multiple times. First, there were the Chicken Selects (Tobey Maguire). Then, there were the Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Tenders (Andrew Garfield). And now, the fast food chain has once again dipped its toes into the extended dippable poultry universe with its McCrispy Strips (Tom Holland).

McDonald’s uses 100% white meat chicken coated with a crispy golden brown breading that features a new black pepper flavor for the new menu item. Along for the ride is the new Creamy Chili Dip, a savory, sweet, and tangy sauce that McDonald’s says “unlocks the full Strips experience.” The chicken is available in 3- and 4-piece orders, and both options come with two sauces of your choice. But, spoiler alert, I REALLY recommend getting the Creamy Chili Dip, which I’ll get to in a moment.

The first thing that caught my eye about the McCrispy Strips was how McLong they were. They seemed more impressive than the previous McDonald’s offerings. Also impressive was how tender and juicy the meat was. However, I wish the “crispy golden brown breading” was crispier. There’s some texture, especially on the edges, but for the most part, I find the Chicken McNuggets to have a crispier exterior. That’s disappointing for something that seems more premium than chicken nuggets. As for its flavor, it has a light pepperiness that makes these okay enough to eat sans sauce, but you NEED to eat them with the Creamy Chili Dip.

I’ve had Raising Cane’s once, and all I remember is how much I liked the Cane’s Sauce more than the chicken fingers. And I can say the same thing about these McCrispy Strips. While the chicken doesn’t blow away my taste buds, the Creamy Chili Dip does, and I hope it never leaves. Its tangy and peppery flavor brings to mind what I remember Cane’s Sauce tasting like, and it perfectly complements the McCrispy Strips’ flavor. However, there were times when I thought the chicken strip with the sauce got a bit too salty. But overall (I can’t believe I’m about to type this), I might love this Creamy Chili Dip as much as my beloved Hot Mustard Sauce. And I look forward to trying it with Chicken McNuggets.

McDonald’s says the McCrispy Strips are a permanent item, but it’s hard to tell if it will cement them into the menu like the Big Mac or Chicken McNuggets. History shows that McDonald’s has an on-and-off relationship with chicken strips. Only time will tell if they stay. If they end up disappearing, I won’t be too sad. But if the Creamy Chili Dip goes, I may McCry.

Purchased Price: $5.99*
Size: 3-piece order
Rating: 8 out of 10 (with Creamy Chili Dip)
Nutrition Facts: (w/o sauce) 350 calories, 17 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 95 milligrams of cholesterol, 1100 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 30 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

REVIEW: Totino’s Pizza Ramen Noodles

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I am no stranger to a good food mashup. After all, who doesn’t love a taco pizza or a pizza burger or any number of other things crossed with, topped with, or covering a pizza? But I’m just going to come right out and say it: Totino’s Buffalo Style Chicken Pizza Ramen Noodles is not a good food mashup, and I kind of wish I was a stranger to it.

I eat a good bit of instant ramen. I also eat a decent amount of frozen pizza, often of the buffalo chicken variety. So when I saw that Totino’s was coming out with a buffalo chicken pizza ramen, it’s fair to say my little heart skipped a beat. I wish I had better news to report.

Unfortunately, I don’t really think this counts as “ramen” per se. The noodles are shorter, thinner, and wider than any other instant ramen I’ve tasted. They were more reminiscent of one of the instant pasta varieties that come in a similar cup, like the ones made by Knorr or Pasta Roni. I might even go as far as to compare them to Kraft Easy Mac before I jump to calling this ramen.

The noodles aren’t the only thing keeping me from pinning a Ramen ribbon to this orangey-red concoction. The sauce (and yes, it’s sauce. This is NOT broth by any stretch) is thick and a little oily, with a vinegary aftertaste courtesy of the hot sauce flavoring. If you decide to try this for yourself, learn from my mistakes and stir it really, really well before microwaving. I stirred it initially as the instructions told me, but I wasn’t as thorough as I perhaps should have been. As a result, I had a thick, sticky paste-like substance at the bottom of my cup that required a lot of extra stirring to dissolve fully into the not-broth mixture. To be fair, I had been expecting a more “traditional” ramen-style outcome and not a thicker, saucier, sludge-type thing.

Upon peeling back the lid, the hot sauce scent is overpowering. It’s not quite nostril-stinging, but it’s closer than I’d like. It smells spicy but doesn’t taste that spicy, making it doubly disappointing. It’s not as fiery as Totino’s Faze Clan Pizza Rolls (or the older Totino’s proper variety) of the same flavor, which I do happen to enjoy. I think maybe the hot sauce mixed directly in with the cheese cancels out the heat, leaving behind a vinegary tang and a kinda vaguely spicy-adjacent hot sauce flavor, but without a trace of chicken. The ingredients say there’s chicken stock in there, but if you were to tell me you’d dumped a few shakes of hot sauce into some off-brand instant mac and cheese, I’d believe you. The pasta is also much softer than I like my ramen, despite only letting it sit for about 15 seconds rather than the recommended 2-3 minutes post-microwave. (What? I was hungry!)

All in all, stick to the pizza rolls, Totino’s, and leave the ramen to the pros.

Purchased Price: $1.88
Size: 2.19 oz container
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 3 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 240 calories, 6 grams of total fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 1430 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 2 grams of total sugar, and 7 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Signature Select Limited Edition Lemon Potato Chips

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While Lay’s isn’t giving us any weird sweet flavors with this year’s Do Us a Flavor contest, there is an oddball seasonal flavor on shelves right now if you happen to live near any Safeway/Albertsons stores or any of their sister grocery chains that are too numerous to list. Signature Select Limited Edition Lemon Potato Chips is part of a massive rollout of lemon-flavored products that are too numerous to list and have been around since spring began.

The idea of lemon-flavored potato chips seems odd to me, but also not so strange at the same time. During my dinner recipe searches, I’ve encountered lemon-flavored dishes that include potatoes, so combining the two isn’t so foreign. But this is the first time I’ve actually tasted lemon and potato anything because I’m too lazy to cook those dishes I found. Also, these chips don’t seem so odd because citrus-flavored tortilla chips are common.

When I first tried them, the lemon was so mild that I was disappointed. With more chips, the sweet and sour citrus flavor somewhat built up, but it sadly never reached a point where I wanted to pucker. The masochist in me had hoped the lemon would be bold enough to force some kind of facial expression that shows uneasiness. Instead, it had a mild citrus flavor that teetered between weird and okay. However, my wife ate two chips, grimaced, handed the bag back to me, and told me they had an odd aftertaste. Apparently, I liked them more than her.

While I didn’t find the flavor offensive, I disliked the cheap quality of the potato chips which seemed thinner than what Lay’s offers and not as crispy. But I guess that’s what you get with store brands sometimes.

Did Signature Select’s Limited Edition Lemon Potato Chips convince me that Big Chip should do a lemon flavor? I’m not sure. But if it happens, I’m always down to try two things that usually don’t go together again. If you have the same spirit and a Safeway/Albertsons or sister store nearby, perhaps allow your taste buds to experience a little adventure.

Purchased Price: $3.49 (on sale)
Size: 8 oz bag
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup – 30 grams) 180 calories, 12 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Starbucks Frappuccino Lite Coffee Drinks

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Don’t let the flavors of Starbucks’ new Frappuccino Lite Coffee Drinks excite you. Creamy Vanilla Gelato, Double Chocolate Gelato, and Sea Salt Caramel Gelato sound enticing, don’t they? Adding “gelato” will probably force your eyes to do a double take if you pass them on the store shelf. But all it does is create a facade that these coffee drinks have something special about their flavors. I’m here to tell you that they don’t.

What they do have is around half the calories of their non-lite Frappuccino counterparts. All three varieties have 100 calories per bottle and no added sugars. Here’s how the press release describes the gelato-inspired flavors:

  • The Sea Salt Caramel Gelato offers a creamy texture with a luscious caramel taste, complemented by subtle notes of sea salt.
  • The Creamy Vanilla Gelato features a smooth and silky texture with a robust vanilla flavor.
  • The Double Chocolate Gelato boasts a deep, velvety chocolate flavor with a smooth and creamy texture.

Sounds great, right? Well, I hate to break it to you, but these pretty much taste like the Vanilla, Mocha, and Caramel varieties of the regular bottled Starbucks Frappuccinos, except not as sweet or flavorful. As someone familiar with those glass-bottled Frappuccino drinks since they were my gateway drug to other coffee drinks, my taste buds know those flavors well, and I have to say that these have 75 percent of the flavor and sweetness of those. Also, the artificial sweeteners used aren’t noticeable. So I’m happy to say these coffee drinks do “lite” well.

If I have one issue, it’s the same minor one I have with the original Frappuccino coffee drinks, and that’s not having the caffeine content printed anywhere on the bottle. I had to go to the PepsiCo beverage website to look it up. Anyhoo, Double Chocolate has 40 milligrams, Sea Salt Caramel has 60 milligrams, and Vanilla has 55 milligrams.

Honestly, I rarely pick up a bottled Starbucks Frappuccino nowadays because I crave more caffeine than they offer. But I’m sure I’d pick up a Frappuccino Lite over a regular version if I’m desperate for a fix. They taste almost as good as the non-lite versions, and they accomplish that with half the calories and one-third of the sugar.

Purchased Price: $3.29 each
Size: 9.5 fl oz bottles
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10 (all)
Nutrition Facts: Double Chocolate – 100 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, 7 grams of protein, and 40 milligrams of caffeine. Sea Salt Caramel – 100 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, 7 grams of protein, and 60 milligrams of caffeine. Vanilla – 100 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 95 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, 6 grams of protein, and 55 milligrams of caffeine.

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