Junk Food Nation, just a very quick rant about the current NFL referee situation.  For those unfamiliar, the NFL has referees. These refs have a union of sorts.  The union is locked out from officiating games due to a contract dispute.  And the result is FOOTBALL EVERYWHERE IS BEING RUINED.

Look, I bitch about refs in NFL games all the time blowing calls, ruining games, etc…but these replacement refs they’ve brought in to officiate the pre-season  games have been GOD AWFUL.  And if this ref-ing carries into the regular season and we have people working the field that don’t KNOW the game? Well – that is going to be a complete and utter debacle. Case in point:

The ref rules it a touchback because the punt went into the end zone????  Um…..when? In your imagination?

We cannot have these replacement refs calling games in the regular season.  Ridiculous.  Get this deal done, NFL.  Good lordy.

Today’s junk food: Lay’s Stax Que Rico Adobadas! Yeah, I have no idea what that means.

Whenever you walk into a Walmart, there are a few items that are usually stacked up higher than your head RIGHT THERE at the entrance.  They are sometimes new products, but often it’s just stuff they are trying to push. I usually see big boxes of Goldfish crackers and huge jugs of lotion on sale a lot at the front.  Don’t ask me the correlation.

Well, just this past weekend I strolled in, and Walmart was pushing STAX!  You know, the Lay’s rip-off of Pringles.  But not just any Stax ….nope, these are Stax Que Rico, which according to the Lays website, combines “The mouthwatering, crispy crunch of LAY’S STAX^® potato crisps with the zest and spice of your favorite Hispanic flavors!” Hoooookay.

I was excited to see what these flavors were, grabbed two tubes, and stopped in my tracks:

I….I just can’t.

Look Junk Food Nation, you know I love you.  But I just can’t eat any more Limon chips.  I just can’t.  I don’t like them, and I don’t care if you add chile or not.  Part of the reason for doing this blog was to review even snacks I don’t like, but I feel like I have to draw the line sometimes.  I did not want to eat these.  I’ve done my Limon duty in the past; I’ve paid my dues.  Someone else will just have to review these.  I’m done with Limon snacks.

There was one flavor left that I decided to buy: Lay’s Stax Que Rico Adobadas!

The Money Shot

Lay’s Stax Que Rico Adobadas did go into my cart, and now sits on the desk next to me.  The translation of Que Rico Adobadas, according to Google Translate, is “That Rich Marinated.” Yeah, that can’t be what they wanted to say here.

How festive

The front of this can has a picture of a tomato and a jalapeno pepper, so that’s what i assume this flavor profile is going to be – some basic generalized Latin flavors.  How….festive?

About 11 calories a chip

I see all of my familiar friends…

Lay’s Stax Que Rico Adobadas contain tomato powder, garlic powder, onion powder, jalapeno pepper, and sour cream – all the necessary ingredients to make a savory chip.  At least these were made in Mexico…

Loaded with powder

Lay’s Stax Que Rico Adobadas smelled lightly of cumin when I opened the can.  I enjoy cumin, so I had generally good hopes for this chip.  Stax are like Pringles in that they are made of the potato starch that gives the chips their unique taste and feel. Rather than a sliced potato chip, Stax are chips formed by potato pressings, essentially.  The texture of Stax is slightly different than Pringles, however – they are slightly thicker, so the crunch factor is higher.

Powder blasted

Lay’s Stax Que Rico Adobadas tasted actually pretty good.  As soon as I chewed a chip, I got a burst of tomato powder that was rounded out by the other spices to give a nice savory taste.  The foremost taste, however, was definitely the tomato powder – it was tangy.  The tangy tomato flavor was accented by a light cumin and paprika taste – gave it more of a Latin flavor and added a tad of smokiness.  Finally, the chip had a slight burn, which I can only assume was the jalapeno.

These chips tasted fine, but I probably wouldn’t buy them again because there was no WOW factor for me. It was just a solid chip with no real bells or whistles.  Good for munching…but nothing to write home about.

PURCHASED AT: Walmart, baby

COST: $1.19

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Sincerely, Junk Food Guy