Sometimes Foodie: Wavy Mango Salsa Chips (Lay's Do Us A Flavor)

Wavy Mango Salsa Chips (Lay's Do Us A Flavor) - Wawa

I think most of you have already seen my first impressions video, but if not, I'll be dissecting each of the four Lay's Do Us a Flavor finalists in blog-post-form.

I know that this news is a little bit old, and that most of the flavors have been discussed on other food blogs, but I'd still like to share my personal opinion on these new flavors. To kick things off, the chips I was least excited for, Manga Salsa.

I voiced my concerns about this flavor way back when they were first announced, and I honestly didn't plan on buying these at all, but when I saw that mini bags were available at Wawa I decided to take a leap of faith and get all four flavors to review.

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Seriously, these mini bags were a brilliant (and super obvious) idea. Why didn't they do this from the beginning? Now I can try all four flavors without having to commit to a full bag! (I still have some Chicken and Waffle chips sitting in my pantry.)

These bags are slightly larger than the individual-sized ones you can buy in vending machines, this has about 3 servings in it, and the design is a bright fuchsia color. When you look at the pattern on the bag it is very similar to the ones released last year, but there is one difference. This year you could vary the chip-style. While two of the four finalists still use the standard, fried, potato chip, the wasabi and ginger ones are kettle cooked and these mango ones are wavy.

While the wavy aspect does sound intriguing, the mango-salsa-part does not. I enjoy mango salsa from time to time, but I'm very picky about it. The mixture of sweet and spicy flavors is what I find appealing about this garnish/dish but, more often than not, I find mango salsas to be sickeningly sweet without any heat at all. My biggest concern with this chip was that it would end up tasting like straight-up mangoes, and...

it absolutely does. If you watch the video you can see my "no" face as I eat my first chip. As I stated before, these crisps taste like mango, cilantro (although it isn't listed as an ingredient), and salty potato chips. I am munching on them again as I type this review, since I hate being wasteful ~~I'mcheap~~, but this is a flavor I just can't get behind. These chips start out overly sweet and fruity, almost like an apple chip, but the herb and salty flavors start to emerge and the whole thing smells like some kind of fancy bath and body works candle. (OMG I was totally making that up, but they really do have one...) Due to the tiny little bits of jalapeno in the bowl featured on the packaging I was really hoping there'd be a hint of heat, but I can't sense anything spicy at all.

I've had a few people try these chips, my boyfriend, my bosses, and my mother (my sister is allergic to cilantro and even though it isn't listed as an ingredient she can't risk it), and none of them have enjoyed it. Their descriptions for this flavor ranged from a body lotion to fruity potatoes. So far I haven't run into anyone who has truly enjoyed this flavor.

Out of all four options, I think this is the one to avoid entirely, but if you really really love mango it might be worth a shot. (At the very least grab a tiny bag and try it with your friends. Gross reactions are always fun, right?)