Wolf Brand Chili recently showed up on the shelves of my local Safeway. I had never seen this brand of chili anywhere I’ve ever shopped, although the label indicates that it’s been around since 1895. I’ve been a Dennison’s man all my life, but I bought a can of Wolf Brand Chili with Beans to see what it was like. Upon pouring the contents of the can into a bowl, my first reaction was one of disappointment at the lack of meat and beans and the abundance of sauce. Don’t be fooled by the picture on the can. Your bowl of chili will look nothing like it. There was a moderate amount of meat, and even less beans, covered by so much sauce that the meat and beans were barely visible. Really, did I buy a can of chili with beans or a can of sauce? Aside from this rather significant issue, the chili tasted okay. I compared it side-by-side with a can of Dennison’s and found the Wolf Brand Chili had a deeper, spicier flavor that I preferred. But, the Dennison’s appeared to have more meat and definitely had more beans. Canned chili isn’t very good when compared to homemade chili or even chili made with Carroll Shelby’s Chili Kit. But, sometimes chili from a can is the way to go. And when it is, I’m sticking with Dennison’s.
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Tortilla chip makers have been forever trying to produce chips that are as good as they ones you get in some Mexican food restaurants. You know - the chips that you can’t stop eating because they are so utterly delicious. The ones you eat so many of that when your meal finally comes, you aren’t very hungry. I don’t think any store-bought chips reach this level of tastiness, but I’m hoping someday they do. Tostitos gives it their best shot with their new Cantina Thin & Crispy chips. I suspect that Tostitos’ goal for the chips was for them to be similar to the chips served at Chevy’s, and they come pretty close. The chips are thin, but not so thin that they fall apart easily. They also have a very nice crispiness and feel great in the mouth. But, there’s one very important thing missing: flavor. I found the chips to be bland and boring, with very little corn flavor. I suppose that if you are using the chips to eat salsa or some other type of dip, the flavor of the chip isn’t as important. But, I think every chip should taste good when eaten by itself, without any accompaniment. Perhaps the lack of flavor is because the chips are so thin. I can’t explain why the chips are so lacking in flavor, but I know that I won’t be buying them in the future.
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