Heyo!
One of my regular columns for The Takeout is titled Chip Country. The name comes from something I said once on Good Mythical More in reference to my home state, Pennsylvania. That’s because Pennsylvania is where chips live, baby. Utz, Herr’s, Martin’s, Gibble’s, Middleswarth, and Wise all make their home in the Keystone State. Chips are paramount to life in P.A. I even had a cousin growing up who would douse his Lay’s with Frank’s Red Hot and then eat it with a spoon for dinner. Real sicko shit.
Needless to say, I love to examine chips. From my days working at Sporked, I learned from Mythical chef Josh Scherer the importance of reading the listed ingredients on our favorite snacks. By doing so, you can deduce what chips have the best flavor and why. Fan favorite spicy sweet chili Doritos, for instance, contain soy sauce powder, which is why they have an extra bit of umami. Conversely, most ranch flavored chips fall short because they only use buttermilk powder, onion powder, and garlic, not the onslaught of herbs and spices you should really be using in a proper ranch dressing.
I recently tried some chips that are somewhat of a loaded subject. That’s because it’s an updated take on classic Takis, made by a company called Zack’s Mighty. Christ.
Takis, of course, is a Mexican brand of rolled corn chips made by a company called Barcel. Invented in 1999, they’re relatively new in American snack culture, not having been introduced until 2004. They’re a wonderful explosion of acid, heat, and flavor chemicals that’s delicious. But, what makes Takis so good is that they’re also fucking toxic. Full stop.
Eating the blue heat takis stain every part of your fingers and tongue. It’s like one of those dye-packs banks use to protect their money from theft. You know in a movie how somebody opens a briefcase and it explodes blue? That’s what blue heat takis do. Christ, it’s even turning people’s shit blue.
The flavor is aggressive as hell, and something most of us can only stomach in small doses. It should also be said that Takis are a Mexican invention. So imagine my surprise when I saw a version of rolled tortilla chip snacks being sold at Whole Foods, Wegmans, and Publix called Zack’s Mighty. Let’s call these chips what they are—Takis made for white folks.
But hold on, because shit, fuck, and god damnit, these rolled chips are delicious. I tried the chile lime and fiery nacho flavors. First of all, these corn tortilla chips are expertly constructed. They have a real homemade quality to them. Fried, obviously, but they are substantial, and I think even slightly bigger than Takis rolled chips. They’re crunchy, pack a delightfully strong corn flavor, and actually don’t get stuck in your teeth all that much. Restaurant-quality Takis, I call them.
The chile lime flavor is exceptionally dope. The combination of sea salt, citric acid, garlic powder, onion powder, vinegar, chile pepper, black pepper, and lime juice is joyous. I could easily destroy this entire bag. It’s junk food, but junk food made well. They don’t use red dye no. 40 to achieve color, but instead utilize beet powder. Also missing are the slew of additives and foodstuffs you find in Takis like hydrolyzed soy protein, sodium bicarbonate, disodium inosinate and guanylate, and sodium acetate.
Think of Zack’s Mighty fiery nacho flavor as cheddar cheese flavored Takis. They’re cheesy, spicy hot, but pack a great depth of flavor. The ingredients list green bell pepper, tomato powder, cane sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, organic cheddar cheese, and buttermilk powder among other things. That’s great flavor alchemy right there, and the kind of ingredients you want to see in your snacks.
Takis, by comparison, doesn’t use organic cheddar cheese. They don’t use sea salt. Their fuego flavor doesn’t have onion powder or garlic powder. Hell, blue heat Takis don’t even feature actual lime juice. That tangy flavor comes from acid and various chemical compounds.
Most noticeably absent from Zack’s Mighty Takis? MSG. Whole Foods famously banned MSG from its stores, so I see why somebody seized the opportunity to make a more natural version of Takis to put on their shelves. Still, I can’t help but ask some questions here: Have Takis been colonized? White washed? Or is this just a better-made version of a classic snack? I’m all for “healthier” snacks, but really, who the hell is out there craving Takis but also has a strong moral standard regarding their food products?
Objectively, Zack’s Mighty rolled tortilla chips are pretty damn good. Addictive, bright, flavorful, and well-made. Despite the major differences in ingredients and philosophy, the aesthetic remains the same as the original Takis. They both make your insides explode. One just doesn’t turn your shit blue.
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I’m hoping to cover a beloved tofu house in Koreatown this Thursday, granted I can wrangle in a group of friends to experience a good portion of the menu. Have a good week!