Paqui Has Not Discontinued its Haunted Ghost Pepper Chips
The Haunted Ghost Pepper Chips from Paqui have been hard to find of late and they are not currently showing up on that company’s website. This started shortly after a tragic incident when a teenager died after doing the Paqui One Chip Challenge (which is a different and much hotter chip). Apparently, as all the legal implications are getting worked out, the company decided to de-emphasize the Haunted Ghost Pepper Chips as well. (Which are spicy but nowhere near the one-chip challenge level. You can read my review of those here.) I reached out to Paqui to verify if they are still making that flavor and they claim they are. I found several bags at CVS recently (a surprisingly good place to find spicy snacks), so I can confirm the chips are still in the stores for now. Hopefully, they will remain on the shelves going forward.
Tabasco and Banza Have a New Pizza
Tabasco has teamed up with Banza, the champion of the chickpea, to create a new pizza that allegedly gets hotter with each bite. Following is the description from their website:
Banza and TABASCO® Brand have teamed up to create a high protein pizza that gets hotter by the bite. This ‘za features a red sauce mixed with TABASCO® Brand Red Pepper Sauce in the middle and TABASCO® Brand Scorpion Sauce around the edge… their ~hottest~ sauce. Put your tastebuds to the test by powering through to the crust.
You can buy a two-pizza pack directly from Banza for $32.99 (free shipping) and Banza is also carried by many of the major grocers.
Frito-Lay Has Added Three New Spicy Snacks
Frito-Lay is regularly putting out snacks with a kick (even though they rarely get too hot), and they have just added three more to the shelves. The Cheetos Pretzels Flamin’ Hot are part of a mash-up between pretzels and the “Cheetle” from Cheetos which is kicked up with the Flamin’ Hot seasoning (a non-spicy cheddar cheese version is also available). Spicy Queso Funyuns add some cheese and some heat to that popular onion-flavored snack. And Ruffles Flamin’ Hot Queso is the latest spicy potato chip from that company. All three are now available at retailers nationwide, and the Spicy Queso Funyuns are supposed to be permanent additions to the shelf (the other two not so much).
Smashburger Offers Up the Scorchin’ Hot Mac & Cheese Burger
Smashburger is topping its burgers with its signature Mac & Cheese again and it is offering up a spicy version of that as well. Here is the description from the website:
Certified Angus Beef, Nasville Hot seasoned Mac n’ Cheese smashed on our grill to create a crispy baked cheese layer, American cheese, toasted bun.
You can get this as a single or a double and it is available for the dreaded limited time only. Sadly, all the Smashburgers left San Antonio a while back (I believe that was even pre-COVID), so I won’t get a chance to try this unless I make it to Houston while they are still available. But if you do have one in your area, give it a try before it is gone.
Reviews from This Week
Go-To Hot Sauce: Secret Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce is similar to a taco sauce and it really brings the heat along with good flavor. READ
Review: The Chunky Ghost Pepper Chicken Noodle Soup from Campbell’s is quite good as canned soups go and it packs some notable heat. READ