Review: Lay’s New York Reuben Potato Chips & Maniac on the Metro Escalator
JFG Nation, yesterday when I was coming home from work, the JFGal and I were traveling up a subway escalator up to the ground level. For those unfamiliar with the DC Metro (subway), it is a system WAAAAY underground (not like the NYC subway), so the escalators can go down three-four stories. A single escalator ride can take a while. I was standing on a step higher than the JFGal, and I was sort of turned to the side, chatting with her.
Behind her, down maybe 11-12 escalator steps, also riding up kin the same direction was a dude who standing on a step higher than his rolling suitcase. He was facing backwards, down the steps, fiddling with the extended handle of his suitcase. As I squinted a little bit, I realized that he was trying to unzip a small backpack that was resting on TOP of his suitcase.
Maybe 30-40 seconds go by, when suddenly, I hear from behind the JFGal the dude shouting, “Oh god OH GOD! LOOK OUT OH GOD LOOK OUT!!” I look past the JFGal to see the man’s suitcase TUMBLING DOWN THE ESCALATOR towards a bunch of people, the first of which is a woman who is desperately trying to decide which way to go to let this big suitcase tumble past her! She dekes the wrong was and BAM the suitcase crashes into her shins.
It was one of the most absurd things I’d seen in a while. First of all, what a rookie move by the dude. When getting on an escalator, ALWAYS put the luggage in front of you to AVOID this happening. Second, if you’re pulling something super heavy and you NEED to just get on the escalator with it behind you, you hang onto that sh*t like it’s full of precious diamonds, lest 45 lbs of pure weight go crashing behind you. Third, do you NEED to get into your backpack right then and there when it might me you have to let go of a gigantic suitcase? You can’t wait the three minutes until we get to the top? And fourth, the yelling, THE YELLING. While I appreciate the effort to warn people, maybe yell something like, “I’M AN IDIOT WHO NEEDS TO HANG ONTO HIS STUFF” as the bag tumbles.
Has this ever happened to you? And would you agree this guy was a moron? Let me know in the comments below.
Today’s junk food: Lay’s New York Reuben Potato Chips!!
Lay’s New York Reuben Potato Chips: The Money Shot
FINALLY FRITO LAY. AND SCREW YOU, WALMART. Hide these Lay’s New York Reuben Potato Chips from ME, will you??? Well HA! My friends at Walgreens came through for me, and I was able to pick up these mini-bags of these right next to the register.
Of call the flavors, I was probably excited for these the most. I know that I believed that Southern Chicken and Biscuits would be the most palatable flavor, but I’m hoping that this Reuben flavor is this year’s Wasabi Ginger. I want boldness. I want FLAVOR.
Per Wiki: “The Reuben sandwich is a hot sandwich composed of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing, grilled between slices of rye bread.” I’ve eaten a LOT of Reubens in my lifetime. I know what they taste like. Hit me with it, Frito Lay.
Ok, this guy grew UP in New York, but currently works in a restaurant in PA where Reubens are served? I give up, Lay’s.
WHERE’S THE CARAWAY SEED?
When I first opened this bag of Lay’s New York Reuben Potato Chips and sniffed, my mind immediately went WHOOOOOA. The smell: meaty corned beef and rye, a slight bit of tang. I am not kidding. It SMELLED like rye bread. It smelled like the tang of sauerkraut. It smelled like a Reuben!
And as soon as I ate a few of these Lay’s New York Reuben Potato Chips, I knew this was my winner. When I was able to taste the chip, the added tangy cheesiness of the chip put it over the top. It tasted exactly like a nice mix of Swiss and Russian dressing that I’m familiar with. The sweet sour taste on the back end of the chip reminded me of sauerkraut, or maybe a little bit of pickle.
Eaten all together, I was able to get all that PLUS the rye and meat flavor. It was uncanny. Maybe a LITTTTLE bit more meatiness would made this a perfect chip, but as it stood, I though this was the best flavor of the four Do Us A Flavor flavors, for sure. Meat, rye, tang, creaminess, Russian dressing. I loved them, and couldn’t stop eating them.
SO, my final ranking of this year’s flavors:
1. New York Reuben
2. West Coast Truffle Fries
3. Southern Chicken and Biscuits
3a. Greektown Gyro.
I do give Frito Lay some credit – on the whole, all four of these flavors were decent, and certainly better than the cappuccino or mango salsa BS from last year. Next year – SWEET HONEY BUTTER. Get on it, Lay’s.
PURCHASED AT: Walgreens, Cleveland Park, DC
COST: $1.25 per bag (small bag)
Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. I also have Google+!! Let’s hang out.
Sincerely,
Junk Food Guy
Discuss - 20 Comments
My job used to have me working right underneath the escalator. Trust me I’ve seen my fair share of bad escalator behavior. People trying to carry strollers up (not on my watch), the woman who was afraid of escalators and panicked, and then trying to go up the escalator when it was going down, and there was the time I had 3 nights in a row when somebody fell (with 1 emergency call in that). It has become my first rule of working with the public: PEOPLE ARE INHERENTLY STUPID.
I’ve noticed one other thing about all these Lay’s flavors…why do we need to be so complicated? Why NOT something simple like Honey Butter?
We just did a tasting of these in my office and have come to the conclusion that unlike last year, these chips tasted like the things they were supposed to taste like.
I tasted every part of the reuben, including the grease. I tasted every part of a gyro, including the grease. I tasted every part of the biscuits & gravy, including the butter and the grease. Truffle fries – all about the grease.
Chemistry is fucking bananas.
@Shorneys”: GREEEEEAAAASE (Lightning)
This ticks me off even more that my Walgreen’s doesn’t have this one still.
Was the guy on the esccalator Sheldon Richardson – he makes great decisoins!
@MarcP: HAHA re Richardson
So I went to my local grocery store today. I knew they had all four flavors but I was waiting hoping to find all four in little bags. As soon as I turned out of the produce section I see a table set up with a tasting of all the chips!! What the hell? So perfect for customers but totally bad for business! I would have eventually bought all four just so I could try them. With the table set up, I got to taste all four!! I knew that if the Reuben tasted anything like rye, they would be my winner also! I left with a bag of Reuben and left the losers behind! Thank you Hyvee for saving me about $15!!!
@Sarah: Damn – sounds like your grocery store did it right. Glad you were able to test them all out!
Your accounts of the interesting happenings in the Metro sound like they could be the basis of television sitcom: People of all personalities and walks of life, crowded together in close quarters, sleep-derived, and all with deadlines to meet and places to be and barely enough caffeine to get them there with their sanity intact …..
Think The Office, but rather, The Metro.
@DeannaR: SOMEONE GET A PRODUCER ON THE PHONE
I thought the Reuben chips tasted like Juicy Fruit!! No me gusta!
Couldn’t find biscuits and gravy, so right now truffle fry is my favorite, gyro second and Reuben dead last! Can’t wait to get my hands on the b and g! One of my favorites!
Which Metro stop was it? Some of those would be more deadly than others.
My kids and I were torn on our favorite new Lays flavor. My son and I ranked the Reuben as number one, my daughter had Truffle Fries closely followed by Gyro. Gyro was the only flavor I couldn’t eat more than a couple of.
I tried the truffle fries and biscuits and gravy. So far truffle fries is the best one. I don’t want to try the other 2 flavors because I don’t like gyros or reubens.
From DuBois, PA? That’s a midsize rural town in western PA! Not to mention a long drive to Pittsburgh.
It’s about a 2 hour drive. What’s your point?
I can’t believe how well they nailed this flavor. Science is freakin amazing.
@Technosquid: “Science is freakin amazing” AGREE!!!!
I’ve had 3 out of four (no biscuit one yet).
I felt Reuben nailed the flavor best so far. Others were ok but not quite special enough. Truffle fries reminded me of a sour cream without oomph.
If you want to try little bags, I got a promo mail that Subways are carrying all four.
My subway went quick with them ( one lone biscuits bag I failed to grab and a few Reuben ones) on the display. Don’t know how long they have them or will be out.
@Game: It’s a smart move by Subway! Also, agree – Reuben was the best
This was the #3 flavor I sampled –and for once I find myself agreeing with JFG.
This chip is just astounding. I’m a big fan of reubens, (also dig the sister sandwich, the ‘rachel’) and before opening this bag, I simply would not have believed that any company would presume that they could get that rich mixture of tastes onto a potato chip.
But they did it. It’s just extraordinary. The swiss is there, the beef, the sauerkraut and even yea a tiny finish of the dressing Seriously addicting. Eye-poppingly good.
Did I nom it my #1 chip? I won’t say. Review #4 –southern gravy–has the answer.
Canadians got robbed by this deal. Seriously, ‘baked bean’ flavored Lay’s? Bwahaa aha aha ahah. Lame.
We got enough food flavors in America to last Lay’s 100 years of more flavor contests. The Canucks are gonna wind down to ‘Salmon’ Lay’s and then stall. Eat your hearts out, neighbors!