Junk Food Nation, yesterday was Cinco De mayo, and for all of you people celebrating with margs and guac, I salute you. It was NOT Mexico’s Independence Day, like so many people mistakenly believe. Wait, it’s not? NO IT’S NOT. For a good rundown of what Cinco De Mayo actually IS, go here. You uninformed subset of people, you.

Anyways, with Cinco De Mayo occurring this week, my-favorite-place-to-ingest-1000-calories Chipotle released their recipe for their guacamole!!! *big news* WHOA! TRADE SECRET! And here it is:

2 ripe Hass avocados (In the restaurant, we use 48 per batch, multiple times per day)
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)
1/4 cup red onion (finely chopped)
1/2 jalapeño, including seeds (finely chopped)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Wait a minute…this looks suspiciously like MY guacamole recipe. *continues reading recipe* WHAT THE…and they mix the ingredients together just like *I* do!!!!! IP INFRINGEMENT!!!! GOVERNMENT, DO SOMETHING!

So it turns out Chipotle’s guac is no different than my own guac. Well, what the hell, man?? It’s damn good, but I thought it had angel wings or white tiger’s blood in it or something. Hmph.

I was so upset with this realization that I told a friend about it. She responded, “Oh I don’t like guacamole anyways; I don’t care.” I was FLOORED. I know that not everyone likes everything, but guacamole? Luscious, beautiful, tasty guacamole? Perfect for dipping, spreading on sandwiches, or just shoveling into my mouth – THAT guacamole? Why don’t you like it? “Oh, it’s too mushy!” But…what about mashed potatoes? THOSE are mushy. “Oh, I don’t like mashed potatoes either.” WHAT!?

Anyways, apparently not everyone likes guacamole. I LOVE it. I think it tastes good, I think it spreads perfectly as a mayo-replacement on sandwiches, and I could eat a billion chips with guac. But maybe I’m on an island? YOU TELL ME, Junk Food Nation, in the comments below – (1) do you love or hate guacamole, or indifferent? (2) If you hate it, why? (3) if you love it, do you have a special recipe you employ? I WANT IT – list it below.

*muttering to myself* “Too mushy?…THAT’S THE WHOLE DAMN POINT.”

Today’s junk food: New Snack Factory Gluten Free Salted Caramel Pretzel Crisps Minis!!

I’ve reviewed a few Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps varieties on this blog, and generally have enjoyed all of them. I feel like they have a new flavor every month. So when I first passed by these New Snack Factory Gluten Free Salted Caramel Pretzel Crisps Minis the first few times, I didn’t even bother looking. “Salted Caramel? How is THAT new?” I mused. But then the fifth time I walked by I stopped. Gluten-Free? But…these are pretzels. How could these be gluten-free?

So, I admit, with this new wrinkle, these New Snack Factory Gluten Free Salted Caramel Pretzel Crisps Minis intrigued me. I hadn’t even looked at the ingredients yet, but my interest was piqued. Would these be going to rice route, like the Rice Thins? Maybe a mix of rice and something else?

If Snack Factory can pull off a successful gluten-free pretzel, then these New Snack Factory Gluten Free Salted Caramel Pretzel Crisps Minis would be the first of many flavors, right? The doors will be wide open.

New Snack Factory Gluten Free Salted Caramel Pretzel Crisps Minis contain a mix of corn, potato, rice, and corn fiber. They do contain milk, so no good for people avoiding dairy, but otherwise the ingredients in these look pretty good. Ok, I’m pickin’ up what you’re puttin’ down, Snack Factory…

I opened this bag of New Snack Factory Gluten Free Salted Caramel Pretzel Crisps Minis and sniffed —- WOOOOOOOO a nice strong salty caramel smell. VERY potent – not as cloyingly sweet of a smell like yesterday’s cakes, but still a definitive caramel smell nonetheless. Each mini pretzel crisp was very light, and smaller than the size of a quarter. Each crisps was doused in what looked to be a mix of salt and brown sugar.

I popped a big mouthful of these New Snack Factory Gluten Free Salted Caramel Pretzel Crisps Minis in my mouth and crunched. DAMN THESE WERE GOOD. With these crisps, the blueprint was simple – salted caramel is not a new flavor, and pretzel crisps are not a new concept, right? So by going gluten-free, THAT’S the big draw here, so simple execution was going to be the key. That is to say: Did they get it right or did they get it wrong? That’s the real only question. And Snack Factory – you got it RIGHT.

The crunch on these minis was light – definitely reminded me of a rice cracker, but the added potato and corn was noticeable because it wasn’t as airy as a rice cracker is. You’d mistake this for a gluten-filled pretzel, for sure, if you didn’t know any better. Main texture difference was these were as flatly crunchy as pretzel crisps are – these were almost more chip-like.

DEFINITE caramel flavor, but while these had sweetness, they had a DECENT amount of salt to balance it out. The balance was almost exactly 50-50 – very much like a kettle popcorn. While the flavor of caramel was present and brown sugar-y, the salt was unavoidable, giving me a great version of what I think “salted caramel” should be.

Like the Snyder’s Sweet Salty Salted Caramel Pretzel Pieces, these almost had a buttery taste to them, reminding me of an Auntie Anne’s pretzel. SO TASTY. I could crush this bag in ten minutes. Great buttery salted caramel flavor, light texture, perfect balance: YUM YUM YUM. These were addicting.

Damn you, Snack Factory. I love/hate you for introducing these to the world. Now send me a crate of them.

PURCHASED AT: Walgreens, Cleveland Park, DC

COST: $2.50 on sale

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