Lay's IHOP Rooty Tooty Fresh N' Fruity

 

Product circa: 2024

The taste of strawberry candy first, and it's a little tangy.  Remarkably close to something like a pie filling.  Buttery maple comes in next, like a cheap pancake syrup.  Bacon fat is an ingredient here, which is commendable, but it's hard to detect; it takes a few bites before your tongue gets used to the buttery fruit in order to notice a light smokiness.  

The first few chips are very off-putting, but I'm embarrassed to say that after you eat a few, these become pretty tolerable.  Definitely up there as one of the most bizarre chips I've ever eaten, up there with Lay's Cappuccino and Lay's Chicken and Waffle.

Frosted Maple Bacon Pop-Tarts

Product circa: mid-2016

We're a bit past the bacon craze, aren't we?  Don't mistake what I'm saying for disappointment, however.

You bite, and the first seconds afterwards all you can taste is brown sugar, reminiscent of Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts, one of their most prolific varieties.  It's not nearly as sweet as you expect, probably to remind you that this aims to be a slightly savory product.

A few bites in, however, you'll notice something a bit more; I'd call it a "porky" flavor, not unlike fried pork rinds.  But disappointingly, there's no smoke, which is what would really make this product distinctive.  Upon leering at the ingredients list, I find that these Pop-Tarts have MSG added to them, probably for the meaty/umami flavor to make you think of bacon more.

In all, not bad at all, and a welcome change.

Pop-Tarts Frosted Maple Bacon:- Good
Original Pop-Tarts Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon(for comparison):- Great

Lay's Classic BLT

 Note: This is Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

Lay's has recently come out with a line of new flavors (which I don't think will last), among them is Classic BLT.  As we know, BLT stands for the bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwich.

I set my hopes too high.  In practice, these chips taste like a vague combination of the Lay's Sour Cream and Cheddar chips along with a hefty shake of bacon flavor.  Despite the fact that the ingredients list has tomato and lettuce flavors in it, they're barely detectable.  I imagine that their "sour cream" powder/flavor might be in there because of how BLTs are often served with mayonnaise.

I'll tell you why this is not ok.

I'm finally given a chance to rave about what perhaps might be in my top 3 favorite ephemeral noms of all time: Doritos(a Lay's company) Late Night All Nighter Cheeseburger, released around 2010.  The complexity of this snack rivaled single malt Scotch.  With a single bite, I could taste beef(smoky and char-grilled), mustard, lettuce, cheese, onions, and more.  It was like a symphony of flavors, and all given to me via a snack chip.  If Doritos can nail a fresh lettuce flavor among myriad other stronger ones, then why can't Lay's?

Speaking of Lay's, I've had the pleasure to try their Lays Ketchup chips, which are shining example of a nice spicy tomato flavor note.  And yet they can't relay a bit of that into their Classic BLT?  Why do their Classic BLT chips only taste like bacon?

We here at Ephemeral Noms not only judge a product on its objective flavor, but also on how accurately it achieves to be what it purports.  These chips are quite good, though they do not taste anything like a BLT.  If they had boasted to be "Loaded Potato Skins" chips, they may have gotten a higher rating.

Lays Classic BLT: (Good)

Lays Classic(for comparison): (Good)

Acquired: supermarket