Review - Late Night Last Call Jalapeno Popper Doritos
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I usually try to avoid giving reviews of the most well-known names and brands of snack foods, but I'll give in on occasion (such as when I taste-tested the dubiously-monikered Pringles Extreme Flavors Kickin' Cheddar Potato Chips. Why give the big dogs all the exposure, especially when most people in America can effortlessly venture down to their local convenience store and pick up a bag and try 'em out for themselves? Plus the lesser known brands of snacks and sauces need more exposure (or from the consumer's perspective, more warning if it's a less than desirable product so that they can save their hard-earned greenbacks).
Today's review is on a brand-new flavoring of chip giant Doritos: Last Call Jalapeno Poppers. How do they differ from the umpteen different kinds of Doritos flooding the market?
Well, it first helps to know what's out there. But to keep track of current flavorings of Doritos without a scorecard is almost impossible. Here's your cheat sheet. As of 2009, the current U.S. market has the following varieties: Nacho Cheese; Cool Ranch; multiple variations of "Doritos Collisions", which are Hot Wings/Blue Cheese, Zesty Taco/Chipotle Ranch, Blazin' Buffalo/Ranch, Chicken Sizzler/Zesty Salsa, and Pizza Cravers/Ranch; Taco; Pizza Cravers; Spicy Sweet Chili; Fiery Habanero (a highly underrated spicy snack that deserved more attention - it's no longer available in my geographic area); Salsa; Salsa Verde; Black Pepper Jack; Ranchero; Spicy Nacho; and the "original" flavor of Doritos, the plain Toasted Corn. And that doesn't even include "natural", light or baked variants. There may also be other flavors in your local region.
To add to the madness are two additional entries to Doritos' taste stable, which are labeled with the "Late Night" sub-branding: Tacos at Midnight and Last Call Jalapeno Poppers. I recently acquired a bag of the Last Call Jalapeno Poppers and hunkered down to see if it had anything unique to offer.
Ingredients:
Whole corn, Vegetable Oil, (Contains One or More of the Following: Corn, Soybean, and/or Sunflower Oil), Corn Maltodextrin, Salt, Whey Powder, Natural Flavors, Cream Powder, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, enzymes), Jalapeno Pepper Powder, Sodium Diacetate, Corn Starch, Butter (Cream, Salt). Artificial Flavors, Canola Oil, Corn Syrup Solids, Modified Corn Starch, Artificial Color (Including Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Yellow 5 Lake, Red 50, Blue 1), Colby Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Swiss Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Onion Powder, Monterey Jack Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Sodium Caseinate, Annatto Extract (Color), Paprika Extract (Color), and Yeast. Contains Milk Ingredients.
Aroma:
Smells like sprinkle cheese, corn meal, and maybe a bit of onion meal.
Appearance and Texture:
These look very much like other cheese-dominated Doritos you've encountered. These have a nice orange seasoning enhanced with a black or green speck here and there.
Flavor:
I think the main problem with Last Call Jalapeno Poppers - and most other offerings Doritos has produced over the years - is that there's not that much difference between the specialty flavors. I'm guessing in a blind taste test, 9 out of 10 folks could probably tell apart, say Spicy Sweet Chili and Taco or the Salsa Verde and Blazin' Buffalo/Ranch. But honestly, one would have to admit that most flavors are just variations on the classic Nacho Cheese. You chomp into one and think, "yup, that's Nacho Cheese with a bit of sour cream taste." Bite into another, "yup, that's Nacho Cheese with a bit of habanero taste." Plow into a third kind, "yup, that's Nacho Cheese with extra cheese flavoring."
Last Call Jalapeno Poppers follows the same path. It's similar to Nacho Cheese, with just a small dose of jalapeno taste, a minuscule bit of cream cheese flavoring and maybe a slightly sharper overall cheese tang. But mix these in a bowl with regular Nacho Cheese Doritos, and you probably wouldn't even notice these were in there. I was mildly let down, even proceeding the eating of several chips. These taste very little like real cheese-filled jalapeno poppers, even if the Doritos flavor occasionally hints at individual ingredients of the hot, fresh-baked appetizer dish after which these are named.
Does that make them insipid or hum-drum? Not in the slightest. I can easily imagine devouring 1/3 of this bag with no effort - it's nearly as addictive as the best of Doritos past and current flavors. At its core is that greasy, cheesy tortilla chip we all know and love.
Heat:
It surprisingly has a touch of fire, although it's a scream-free burn. It may push the limits of those with highly sensitive mouths, but for seasoned chileheads it' a walk in the park. On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the hottest, these would rank a 1 or a 1.5.
Label:
Doritos is attempting to capture the spirit of the night owls who love to grab food at diners at the wee hours of the morning. Both these and the Late Night Tacos at Midnight have dark bags with neon sign-like graphics.
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