9/15/09 | Snack Worx Corn Chips
[ Currently Eating: Bagels ]
And now for something completely different.
I’ve been noticing that the ratio of post length to reward factor (i.e. comments) for Cheap Eats is seriously whacked. The more time I spend going on and on about absolutely nothing important, the less fun comments and hate mail constructive criticism wrapped in internet anonymity I receive.
I never set out to be the squeaky mousewheel that gets the gets the grease.
But after this long and winding road which has run five years, you’ll find I like to complain every so often.
I consider complaining my “just rewards”. An inalienable right that tends to alienate readers. Compensation for providing dense thickets of stream of consciousness sentences surrounding a few blurbs about a company’s products, or a 3 Dollar or Less Recipe.
My complaint this time around is that it gets tiring to review Cheap Food all the time. Sometimes I want to review caviar or, god forbid, foie gras. Just to switch it up a bit. It’s difficult to get companies to send this kind of stuff, however, to a website called “Cheap Eats”.
Not that I would ever accept such products for review since that would be an ethical conflict of interest. (*Ahem*, speaking loudly into the mic provided by FBI)
It’s actually quite amazing how much flame broiled email constructive criticism wrapped in internet anonymity I’ve gotten for writing about even normally priced foods. My idea was that I could review expensive or medium-priced products, because of course I’d take the cost into account in the overall score.
It hasn’t really turned out that way. I’ve sort of gotten pushed into the corner of cheap food, 24-7. Instant Ramen and Cheese Wiz beating me up in the ring, and it’s round 13. I suppose some of that is my fault, since I’ve said since the beginning that the blog will be about Cheap Food, minus all considerations of health, taste and general hygiene. So that’s what people expect.
I thought perhaps I’d try and branch out to other cheap products with the Cheaplander website, to make things more interesting. That hasn’t really panned out – mostly because I just don’t have the time and energy that others have to really pour into another site. But it’s also because the number of blogs vying for attention these days makes it hard to get an audience. (Incidentally, I’m seriously weighing whether to keep Cheaplander going. It’s that “work to reward” factor again.)
And I constantly find myself driven back to Cheap Eats, my little haven of nonsensical food reviews and recipes. Even trapped in the Cheap corner, I really do enjoy writing up a wacky “product review”, even if only a few people read it.
But enough about me, you came here for a review. Here it is:
These Snack Worx “Original” Corn Chips look like Fritos™.
They taste like Fritos™.
They taste, in fact, less oily and fatty tasting than normal Fritos™.
This is, in general, a good thing.
However, they taste just as salty as normal Fritos™.
That is, in general a bad thing.
The kicker is that 12 ounces for $1 is pretty darn cheap.
That is, in general, the best thing.
Therefore, I recommend this product if you are seeking a Fritos™ type of experience but do not have much cash on hand.
I am done, stick a farking fork or chopstick in me.
Price: $1.00 for 12 oz.
Found At: Fresh & Easy
Cheap Eats Score: 7/10
[Editor's Note: Normal people may read this blog and wonder how it is possible that I do not currently inhabit an insane asylum. Let me tell you, chief - hospital rooms have really great WiFi connection these days...]
September 15th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Bryan,
I have deactivated my cloaking device to step in here and post a comment because you sounded so forlorn, so lonely, and just a touch whiny. And I’m really soft-hearted and compassionate like that.
In all honesty, I love both Cheap Eats and Cheaplander and look forward to new posts every week, but being just this side of illiterate, i rarely, if ever, post a comment. I prefer lurking in the background and letting other people do it. Hopefully, people who would actually buy and eat this stuff. Not that I’m a health freak or anything, but I try to keep my diet clean. Hamburger Helper is where I draw the line, cause it’s easy and cheap and I can relate to that.
Now I’m thinking of picking up some Frito’s at lunch, Dammit!
September 15th, 2009 at 9:47 am
I never comment, but I love this blog. Lots of good ideas here. I’m all kinds of broke, so cheap food is awesome.
September 15th, 2009 at 11:57 am
@ripp_t, @amy – thanks, and it’s great to hear from you. This might be hard to believe, but I actually toned down the whiny part! =) I usually need to edit out about 25% of every post because it ends up sounding like a crazy psychologist’s session. I guess about 1/2 the time, I’m just writing it this way just because it fits the groove I’m going for. The whole self-pity thing makes some people laugh (and others cringe). Part of the personality of the writing is supposed to sound like that. But today, I WAS a little bummed out – so thanks for the de-lurks.
September 15th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Oh no you don’t! I just happened upon this HILAROUS site and I’ll be damned if you think you’re going to stop the reviews. I’ve even gone so far as to post a link to your site via the FacePlace. So you, good sir, will continue to do the good work so I have something fun to read in between the dirty dishes and dirty clothes. And if you don’t, so help me…
(In short, I love the site, so please keep at it!)
September 15th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Your website is my guilty pleasure and you may whine or complain or vent all you like… because you are still funny. Please keep doing what you do… you provide good information about a specific product niche and I actually use some of productively.
But – if you want to review a foie gras or caviar (which I like to eat with doritos by the way), then I’m game for hearing it.
God bless you and keep up the excellent work!
September 15th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
My life would not be complete without Cheap Eats. I forbid you to give up.
September 15th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Please don’t ever stop! I love Cheap Eats and it’s one of the few sites I visit regularly and the only blog I visit at all! Keep it up!
September 15th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
look forward to cheapeats and cheaplander.
September 16th, 2009 at 6:12 am
delurking! don’t stop the posts, eh? my other half and i both read and enjoy your writing.
September 16th, 2009 at 8:12 am
Yeah, yeah love you love your show.
Anyway, what are the ingredients for these chips? Aren’t Fritos just (genetically modified) corn, vegetable oil, and salt?
I wish a Fresh and Easy would open in Seattle.
September 16th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
I try to comment regularly on my fav blogs, but most of the time I don’t have more to add than – nice post, i like. Figure the writers of the post kinda just blow off these comments, it doesn’t really add much.
Anyways, you need to get this blog into the hands of college kids. I love Cheap Eats and only wish I found it in my early poor college times. Not exactly the same starving student I once was but still love to eat cheap =)
September 16th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
I know how you feel… sometimes, you just wonder why you put in the time and effort. But the reality of the situation is that you *do* have readers, whether they comment or not. So, back to the grind, my friend! The show must go on!
September 16th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
…. and, might I add, if I can crank out my site 5 days a week, you can suck it up for one
September 17th, 2009 at 12:08 am
I may have to try these next time I have a Frito craving (normally as a component of my old little league favorite “pepper bellies”–i.e. corn chips, chili and cheese). PLEASE don’t stop this blog..I love the sarcasm, whining, advice and opinions. Oh, and I agree with Kathi–If you are so inclined, review some foie gras or caviar one day. Trader Joes used to have a 2.99 jar of caviar (not half-bad for 2.99) but I don’t eat it with Dorito’s–I used bagel chips.
September 17th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
See, the thing is, I only comment on blogs if I want to have an argument. I comment about politics. I comment about TV. But I have never eaten any of the things you review, so I can’t really argue about that.
But I read every post
And if you stopped making them, I’d have to spend more time arguing, which would raise my blood pressure, harsh my mellow and I’d probably die of a heart attack THAT BIT SOONER.
Cheap Eats: saving my life, one bag of corn chips at a time.
September 18th, 2009 at 3:16 am
These would go great with chili and nacho cheese, but that would make it saltier. Mmm…salt.
September 18th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
I’ve been reading this blog forever and love Love LOVE it. We may not comment but there are a *lot* of us out here reading, man!
September 19th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
I have had Cheap Eats in my RSS reader for over 3 years now. Never commented, but I’d sorely miss it if you stopped writing.
September 21st, 2009 at 8:28 am
@everyone – Wow, thank you everyone for the comments! I would say I’m surprised, but I’m partly not because of the whole squeaky wheel blog phenomena which I’ve experienced before. The other part is that I KNOW people read this blog on the sly – that’s the type of reader I am too, which explains a lot. But every so often in a down moment I’ll spill my guts anyway in a “feeling sorry for myself” post. I guess it’s part of this blog’s, uh, charm. But I’ll try keep the whining down to a tolerable level. Thanks again for reading…
September 21st, 2009 at 9:19 pm
I read your blog weekly (sometimes less than that so I can save up all the entries to read at once, I like a big chunk when I read). So don’t be one of those emo kids and stop writing. This is one of my favorite blogs. I love food and I love cheap!
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:04 am
Also decloaking. Love Cheap Eats. Keep it up. There are too many hoighty-toighty foodie blogs out there. Not enough Ramen and Cheez Whiz in my opinion…. Keep in mind I am an overweight, wanna-be runner, who knits and reads in my spare time!
A whine will get you comment love everytime. Hang in there CheapEater!
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:55 am
I love this site! I almost never comment, but read a lot. Please don’t stop writing.
I’ll have to go check out cheaplander.
p.s. I don’t personally eat a lot of the foods that you post about, but enjoy reading about them anyway. It would be different if you were posting that you were feeding your 300 lb toddler nothing but corn chips, but it’s clear that you are not doing anything like that. Ignore the haters. Most of your readers are probably loving everything you write!