Before January passes by, Faturated Sats wants to wish all you loyal readers a HAPPY New Year and share big news both food related and in the world of The Fat. I think we'd all agree that it's important to start the year (especially this one) with a clean plate, er, um... I mean slate, and so I'm gonna lay it all out there for you now.
In Fat Mike news, another kid showed up in October of 2016. YAY! He serves as the primary excuse for my absence and lack of posts to finish up 2016. Aside from the New Edition (not a misspelling, click the link) Fat Mike also started a new job soon after, which I'm SUPER pumped about, and THEN The Fat got a lesson in how to survive the holidays with 2 kids. Whew... But you know what they say, "excuses are like a$$holes, everybody's got one." Just because I was crazy busy doesn't mean that I wasn't eating stuff!! Now that balance has been restored to the force, I'm back to sharing updates about new eats.
So before we get to heavy into 2017, let's breeze through a 2016 wrap up. Unlike most posts, we'll cover a lot of ground and share little tidbits of some exciting food that entered Fat Mike's face. This will be the first installment, with a second soon to follow.
Wasabi Kit Kats
That's not a misprint. As a very thoughtful and welcome gesture, these were given to me after a colleague returned from a trip to Japan. I couldn't believe my eyes. Everyone around me cringed when they saw them, but Fat Mike wasn't concerned. I love wasabi, and I love Kit Kats. How could that go wrong?
Skeptics, be damned!! This little candy was surprising, satisfying, delicious, and (believe it, or not) addictive.
The wasabi is mixed into what tastes like white chocolate and creates a smooth, bright flavor. Anyone who's had wasabi with their sushi knows that there's a kick to that special green paste, but the spice from the wasabi only lingers on the back of your palette after the chocolate and wafer have served their purpose and drifted away. The subtlety of the wasabi is what makes the whole experience so magical. It's like putting a leash on a dragon and then walking it through a dog park. People would be like, "Is that natural? I've seen that before, but something's different." The wasabi Kit Kat is a marvelous take on a classic snack and if you want to spend $18 on Amazon or eBay, you can bring this nifty little bite to your door.
In brightest day, in blackest night,
No snack shall escape my sight.
Let those who doubt this wafer's might,
Let those who doubt this wafer's might,
Beware the power, Green Kit Kat's light!!!
— Hal Jordan (I think may have said this once)
Okoge Rice Crackers
This hidden gem came from the same overseas snack pack as the Kit Kats. Normally, a rice cracker wouldn't be worthy of garnishing the virtual pages of Faturated Sats, but this crispy vessel was totally badass. Unlike the bland, gummy rice cracker counterpart that is found here in 'Merika, this Muji cracker is crisp, hearty and touched with a bit of soy to create a luscious, salty, smokey flavor that's baked all the way in. If you go to the Muji website the only description is, "Savoury rice crackers baked using unique method for natural flavour." Nuff Said.At first glance, I thought it was going to be a grainy cracker, so I decided to try it the day that I brought some homemade tuna salad for lunch. Being the innovator that I am, I brazenly broke off a piece and scooped it through my container of tuna. When the mixture of the soy flavor hit my tongue I couldn't get enough. This cracker was unexpected and wonderful. It complimented the tuna perfectly and ended up rounding out what would've been an otherwise boring lunch. BIG find.
Impressive. Most impressive.
— Darth Vader
To finish up, I turn the focus to the folks at Lay's who just keep upping their game. In addition to the "Do Us A Flavor" contest in 2016, Lay's decided to roll out the "Passport to Flavor" where snackers could collect "miles" by eating limited edition chips to potentially win a trip to one of the exotic destinations that inspired the unique flavors. I'm never one to chase after prizes, so I don't know the specifics, but it yielded some interesting eats to take advantage of. Admittedly, this could have stood alone as another chapter in Fat Mike's obsession with Lay's products, but in the midst of my child rearing and holiday madness I consumed one of the flavors without taking pics or retaining any thoughts. #eatforeatssake, #daddyfatsgottaeat In my defense, the overlooked flavor was wavy style and anyone who's into Fat Sats knows my feeling about that. Excuses, excuses. Anyway, you'll have to do without. Since these are no longer in-market, I'll try to keep each rundown brief:
Brazilian Picanha
Was anybody reading when Fat Mike found out Wise was getting into the food truck flavor game? These are like those. (click here to look back) Believe it or not, I think I liked the Wise chips better. These were just boring, smoked and "been there done that". I'm sure someone won a lovely trip to Brazil to taste what REAL Picanha tastes like, and I hope it wasn't this. There was a little bit of spice, but it didn't really entice you to go back for more. Sure, I ate the whole bag, but that's just because I can't NOT do that. Overall, not the greatest achievement Lay's has put out there.
Indian Tikka Masala
THESE, on the other hand, were AMAZING. I really wish that I'd gotten to you guys about this one when it was on the shelves. HOLY S#@t were these good. I couldn't put them down. Lay's captured flavor of a Tikka Masala perfectly. The cumin, the black pepper, the garlic, and even a hint of clove somewhere in there, but it may have been that good that my taste buds were filling in the gaps. Such a great achievement. If I were a more dedicated snacker I would petition that this flavor is manufactured full time and on every grocery shelf year round. Amazing. I think I consumed this bag in an afternoon.
Chinese Szechuan Chicken
This was a tough one. I liked it, but there was not as resounding an enthusiasm as with the Masala counterpart. My wife thought that the Chinese was disgusting and would have nothing to do with them, but it's not often we see eye-to-eye on snacking. I just want to share a viewpoint from a more layman snacker. This Szechuan chip had a tangy thing going on that took a little getting used to. Not like the tang of a diesel Salt & Vinegar chip, but something that was muddied by the other, spicy ingredients.That may be why it struck my eating partner as so undesirable? There is such a thing as too many ingredients and I think this chip may have suffered from a lack of editing. I couldn't really nail down what it was supposed to be and how it tasted like chicken or the typical Szechuan style of seasoning. I love the idea of this flavor, and if it were a matter of consuming that specific chip to win a trip to China, then I'd put the effort in. However, that would be the sole motivation. Perhaps next time we're diving into asian flavors we could consider a General Tso, or even the simple, yet divine egg roll? Back to the drawing board Frito Lay team. See you with some new suggestions for 2017.
ALL CAUGHT UP?? Not quite... stay tuned for part two!!
