Thursday, December 22, 2011

Lay's USA Garden Tomato & Basil

So here's my first review of domestic US Lay's which are not really my favorite chips. I mean they are pretty good for what is available in the US but they will always be a less flavorful, over-fried potato, with TOO much seasoning. That is just how it is. But, since they are the common, easy to find chip, I still like to go out and try the different flavors... ever hopeful I'll find the diamond in the rough.

So we'll get to business, here's a bag of Lay's Garden Tomato and Basil, part of their regionally inspired flavors. These are inspired by the Mid-West and are available nationwide. Let's talk about the potato; the chips are relatively large, the texture is a bit rough, and the chip has very little potato flavor. My biggest complaint is how these are fried. It seems they are over-fried, like they are left to long in the oil or something. As for the seasoning, which there is WAY too much of; it doesn't really taste like garden tomato and basil necessarily. It's got a really nice flavor, but I wouldn't really use the word "Garden", in my mind, it tastes more like Tomato and Basil pasta sauce. Because the chip doesn't have a noticeable potato flavor, and is just a blank canvas starch, the taste is like tomato basil sauce and pasta. In my opinion it doesn't really have a fresh from the garden taste to it whatsoever, and for that reason and the other issues I talked about, it doesn't receive high marks from me. But, if you are a fan of Lay's chips and are looking for an interesting flavor then you can give these a try. Don't get me wrong, they are far from inedible; they're actually tasty, but by comparison they are over-fried, over-seasoned, and the flavor is inaccurate. A quick fix would be to ease up on the flavoring and label them "Tomato and Basil pasta sauce", but in the end the quality of the chip will always hinder the taste of Lay's. It's not a complete misfire, but not a favorite.

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