11/15/05 | Grill-A-Corn Calbee Chips
[ Currently Eating: Green Chile Verde Burrito(s) ]
As far as interesting names go, these Grill-A-Corn Chips get at least a little bit of props. Someone in marketing took a long time coming up with that name… or maybe not.
Maybe it was an intern working a late night shift in product development and dreaming of the upcoming weekend BBQ, and suddenly a light bulb turns on in his head and he goes: “Eureka… it’s Grill-O-Corn!” Yeah. Well, the name DOES seem to evoke summertime backyard BBQs where you’d have a bunch of corn on the cobs out on the grill.
But these taste exactly nothing like that. What they DO resemble are Flaming Cheetos in almost every respect. That’s probably because I’ve been getting the “Hot and Spicy” variety (the normal variety is pretty much the same without the spice). These look, feel, and taste almost exactly like Cheetos which is maybe why they needed to come up with such a different name like Grill-A-Corn.
The corn taste of these little crunchy doodles (I forget, are Cheetos baked or does that not even matter because of the crazy stuff that goes into them) is quite nice. I could be wrong but it sure seems like these Grill-O-Corn pieces are more substantial than normal Cheetos.
Neither of the varieties includes any of that powerful “cheese” powder that’s on Cheetos though. Which might be a bummer for those expecting it to be all over their hands.
The actual taste of the reddish powder that’s on these Grill-A-Corn babies is pretty good. There’s a slightly sweet and tangy taste to them to the spice. Salt flavor is manageable and not too overpowering. The actually kick of heat is not impressive though, and goes away after a eating a few. The bag I got is around the size of those standard 99 cents bags of chips that inflation has shrunk to a depressing size. Maybe a little bigger.
One thing that’s nice is that the bag is a pretty high quality thicker one which means that your chips won’t go stale after opened. Not that they’ll last that long anyhow… I can easily eat the Grill-A-Corn bag in one sitting. At $1.09 this is a little pricey, but it’s a nice change from your usual lineup of chips.
Price: $1.09
Bought at: Chinese Market
Cheap Eats Score: 6/10
November 16th, 2005 at 12:11 am
Orange fingers are the best part of eating Cheetos. Speaking of which, I saw that they are selling “special” winter Twisted Cheetos that make your tongue turn green. Of course, it’s just like the Yoda Twisted Cheetos I had earlier this year. I’ve never seen these, but the bag has an 80s retro look to it. Oh man, I can’t believe I put “80s” and “retro” in the same sentence.
November 16th, 2005 at 12:55 am
marvo - ah yes, the “return” of the 80s. I have heard (though not seen too much of) fashion taking a trip back through the 80s recently. As long as I don’t have to go out and buy pastel shirts again. I had way too many pink shirts in Junior High… I might actually still have a few. Though I must say it brings back a ton of memories to watch those “I Love The 80s” shows on VH-1…
I get orange fingers from doritos too… it’s unavoidable. Unless you do like my friend in college and smash up the bag of Doritos and eat it with a big spoon…
November 16th, 2005 at 3:08 pm
A pink Izod and a navy Members Only. Throw in some flowery Jams and pair of checkered Vans for good measure. I had em ALL baby (=
Those grill-o-corners look like fat Cheetos to me, but I like the powder . Specially after a whole regular size bag and not wiping yer hands the whole time - this can only be done when you dont have to touch the remote, mouse, dog, light switch, or basically anything else. I have found though that if you play it right and kinda palm a beer can you can successfully drink it and not lose too much powder.
Oh - and I can honestly say I’ve never heard of anyone smashing a bag o dorios and spooning them. I suppose you could add some ranch dressing and other junk and make a dorito salad of sorts…
November 16th, 2005 at 11:03 pm
shawn - oh yes… Izod alligators. Nowadays instead of a pink Izod it’s a pink Ipod, hehe! I had checkered Vans… I have Vans nowadays too, but they’re solid colored. Bandanas were in as well.
Actually, Doritos do make a halfway decent taco salad. Add kidney beans, onions, shredded jack cheese, cooked drained ground beef, italian dressing. Yum!
November 19th, 2005 at 5:03 pm
I used to eat these all the time when I was stationed in Japan. They are supposed to tast like grilled corn on the cob with soy sauce, which is the traditional Japanese way to grill corn. Never had the spicey version though, gotta go find some!
November 19th, 2005 at 10:29 pm
marc - now I gotta pick up a bag of the non-spicy version, to remind me what they taste like! I did see someone else on another site say that they taste like grilled corn…
April 29th, 2007 at 10:10 am
Found these once at a korean market and loved them, but went back, never to find these again. Been all around town looking for them, but it’s like they never existed. anyone know of a good place online to order these?