Inka Chips Jalapeno Tostones Plantain Chips: These thick plantain chips have a unique texture – crispy on the outside but starchy inside, like a more substantial potato chip. The jalapeno seasoning is super tasty, well seasoned (with a decent kick of cumin), and just spicy enough. The serving size is criminally small (6 pieces). But I would definitely buy it again as a treat. Purchased at Sprout Market. 4.0/5.0
recommended sprout spicy inkachips jalapeno tostones plantain chips 4.0Trader Joe's Spicy Porkless Plant-Based Snack Rinds: I haven't had many versions of vegetarian "rinds," but Trader Joe's uses a base of rice and peas while still capturing the wrinkled, puffed texture of pork scratchings (though they lack the oily texture you typically get from meat-based snacks). They're flavored like a sweet barbecue with a kick just spicy enough to make the "spicy" labelling accurate. A good alternative to those who like scratchings but can't eat meat (or choose not to). 3.5/5.0
recommended traderjoes spicy porkless snack rinds 3.5 plant-based4505 Spicy Green Chili & Lime Pork Cracklins: Cracklings are one of the few meat-based snacks you can find in the snack aisle in western grocery stores (compared to the variety of seafood-flavored options you have in Asia), and cracklings seem to represent the most moorish cravings, with their typically high salt and fat content. This bag from San Francisco-based BBQ shop 4505 features pork skin covered with a spiced green chili powder and a bright finish of lime. I found them to be a little bit on the salty side and much crunchier (a... (read more) 3.5/5.0
cracklings ballardmarket 4505 spicy green chili lime pork cracklins 3.5Trader Joe’s Spicy mango lemonade: I wasn’t quite expecting this spicy mango lemonade to be as spicy as it is, thinking it would be more fruity with a small chili-spiked aftertaste, but this is definitely not a drink to gulp down as you might normally with a thirst-quenching glass of lemonade. The heat is pretty upfront, stemming from a mix of jalapeño and cayenne, but if you like spicy drinks, I can see how this can be a refreshing take. You can definitely taste the mango too. Kudos to Trader Joe’s for not diluting the ta... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks traderjoes spicy mango lemonade 3.0Capi Spicy Ginger Beer: According to my records, I have reviewed 39 different ginger sodas on this site, so whenever I come across one I haven't seen before, I'm especially excited. I made a trip to National Azabu, a grocery store in Tokyo featuring many international items, and they had a brand from Australia called Capi that was new to me. Their spicy ginger beer has a yellow-tan color, with ginger sediments you shake to distribute before opening. While I did find the spiciness level to be decent, the soda had... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks gingerbeer soda nationalazabu australian capi spicy ginger beer 3.0Seijo Ishii Extra Spicy Ginger Ale: Ginger ale is my favorite soda, and I love ginger drinks that are particularly spicy, so I was excited to try this version claiming to be extra spicy. The bottle was a bit thicker than normal, which made me hopeful that it would contain especially carbonated soda. Overall, I found the ginger flavor to definitely be above average, probably in the top 40% of ginger ales I've had, but comparatively, it was just a bit spicier than Reed's Ginger Beer, which isn't as spicy as I would hope. On t... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended drinks gingerale japanese seijoishii extra spicy ginger ale 3.5