Monday Munchies - Takis Fuego

As I've mentioned on numerous occasions, I hail from Tucson Arizona.  It's where I was born, it's where I was raised, it's where my heart will always belong to.

As such my comfort foods run decidedly "south of the border."  Tacos are my hotdogs, enchiladas are my hamburgers and tamales are my favorite thing in the entire world.  I prefer homemade tortillas to homemade cornbread and saladitos to Jolly Ranchers.

So when I first heard about Takis, I was greatly intrigued.




Y'see, I've got a friend, let's call him Curt Connors, who, until recently was employed as a teacher in Baltimore City.  He told me that Takis were the rage at his school and the kids couldn't get enough of them.  Since I'm the guy he came to about snack food he wondered if they were on my radar.

They weren't.

Takis are one of those snacks that don't offer up flavor profiles or even a paragraph mission statement.  Barcel is the company that imports Takis from Mexico and distributes them.  And the Fuego flavor is described, on the bag, as "hot chili pepper & lime flavored corn snack. "

Now, I'm guessing that Takis take their name because their sort of like mini taquitos, only sans the cheese and meat.  So, they're like the fried tortilla.

Takis are one of those artificially flavored and colored snack chips where the color and flavor leaves a residue on your finger immediately.  Not that that's a bad thing, it's just a fact.  Another fact; because it's rolled, like it's namesake, it seems extra crunchy.  I like crunchy.

On the flavor side, it's not aiming for the inferno hotness of the "Flaming" Frito Lay varieties, yet it still packs an impressive kick.  It takes like chili pepper and lime, or at least a close approximation of that combination.

I can't say that they're the best snack I've ever had, but I wouldn't mind having them again.  By the same token, I'm not going out of my way to seek them out (and I'd have to as they seem to be found solely in stores that cater to Charm City's blossoming Latino community.)

If you live in a city with a Latino community and you should find yourself in a store that caters to that segment of the population and you're curious to try something new, I'd recommend Takis.  They come in a variety of flavors and they're completely acceptable.