Today we've got 4 chip flavors to try, Classic, Mild, Fire, and Diablo. Years ago my favorite sauce was the Taco Bell Hot Sauce. And while I love spicy, for some reason the Fire Sauce didn't have the flavor I was looking for. And then came Diablo. Diablo is as spicy and they come, and it's my new favorite.
Finding those 4 flavors was quite the adventure. And in the process I ended up with a lot of chips.
I first found the Mild chips while at Costco. A giant Costco size bag of course. I grabbed it immediately and was wondering if there were possibly more. My search led me to the Taco Bell Chip Finder, which told me that there were 4 flavors to try. I kept looking at different grocery stores, 7/11s, and more, but didn't have a lot of luck.
On a trip to Colorado, my sister-in-law Megan told me that she's seen a few flavors at a nearby Target. Sure enough, in their food court they had small bags of both Mild and Fire. That gave me 2 out of 4, but that's not enough.
Diablo was a 7/11 exclusive, but despite looking all over neighborhood and a few in Colorado, I was striking out. And I wasn't having any luck at all finding the Classic chips. Well, thank goodness for the internet.
A site called Social Snacking had all the flavors I was looking for. A couple wrinkles though. The Classic Chips are only sold with bags of Mild and Fire. And the Diablo chips are only sold in a 12-pack. Well... You already know how that turned out. Let's try them!
Starting with the Classic Chips.
They certainly look like the chips from the restaurant. I went ahead and picked up a bag from the restaurant too, just to compare.
How they describe themselves on the back of the bag.
Next it was time for the Mild chips. They certainly matched the color very well to the bag.
Fire chips. With or without the ! at the end?
Ooh. Those Diablo chips certainly look intriguing. Dark black and dusted with spice.
Now that we've got everything set up, let's taste them all!
Going from least spicy to most spicy, we'll start off with the Classic chips.
Then moving on to the Mild and Fire chips.
Both kids even gave the Diablo chips the tiniest of nibbles before retreating back to the safety of the Classic chips.
Complimenting the chips, we'd also try them all with their respective sauces too.
Putting Diablo sauce on Diablo chips. Spicy!
Alright, let's break it down.
Classic Chips - Taco Bell did a good job of making these taste like the ones from the restaurant. There were a couple differences though. The ones in the restaurant are thinner/lighter. I'm guessing that's a packaging decision though. Lighter chips would likely not have survived the shelves. And second, the Classic Chips were much saltier than the ones from the restaurant. Everyone who tried them preferred the Classic Chips to the ones you could get at Taco Bell. And unsurprisingly, these were Ian and Alli's favorite.
Mild Chips - They were able to get a very savory flavor into these chips without making them spicy at all. Great flavor on these.
Fire Chips - Just like the sauce, they've got a little kick. They're okay, but not my favorite.
Diablo Chips - These are the ones I was most excited about. I love spicy foods and these chips do have some heat to them. I get that same warm feeling in my face when I eat these as I do when I have a lot of the Diablo sauce on a taco. But there is a different flavor in there that I'm not loving. For some reason I'm getting a strong Cumin flavor, despite it not being on the ingredients list. Perhaps it's under the "spices" ingredients.
With everyone voting, the results are in.
My favorite, along with many others are the Mild Chips. It surprised me because I really thought I'd like Diablo best. But no, with their delicious flavor, the Mild chips really stood out.
Have you tried any of the Taco Bell chips? What's your favorite? Will you pick some up if you see them at the grocery store?
Oh my...what a hunting quest for the chips...that was some determination! At least Ian and Alli were brave to take a nibble of the Diablo chips (think they were "bracing" themselves for that first nibble!) Never tried Taco Bell chips (have to admit I haven't been in any fast food place in many, many years; but I have eaten tortilla chips during that time, just not Taco Bell's) Based on all the descriptions, the Mild chips sound the best (I like a "little" flavor, and "too spicy" things don't agree with me) If I see the chips in the store I'll think of this taste test, but not sure I'd actually buy them. Like that closing colorful picture, a "pizza of multi-flavored tortilla chips"! EOM
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