Late Night Tacos at Midnight and Late Night Last Call Jalapeno Popper Doritos

Tacos at Midnight Doritos

Jalapeno Popper Doritos

I think that Doritos has me pegged. Just by the mere power of suggestion, I yearned to try their new Late Night Doritos. I’d read about them a couple of places and saw this review on The Impulsive Buy. While sitting out by the fire on a crisp spring night, Brit and I got to talking about Doritos and I realized that I needed to make a run to the grocery store. Luckily, they had both kinds in stock–Late Night Tacos at Midnight and Late Night Last Call Jalapeno Popper. I even got the last bag of the Jalapeno Poppers variety.

The first thing I notice is that Doritos is going for some kind of flashy retro-’80s neon-ish style with the design. It reminds me of an old arcade game cabinet design. Just the idea of making Doritos that taste like other junk food is kind of mesmerizing. I think back (longingly) to their experimental X11 Doritos that had the taste of McDonald’s cheeseburgers and realize that this was a stepping stone into their domination of late night snacking options. After taking a couple of photos, I ripped open both bags for a try.

The Late Night Taco Doritos tasted just like the Ortega taco seasoning packets that my mom used to sprinkle on ground beef when she made tacos back in the day. Or the seasoning that sometimes gets put on cheddar cheese when you buy taco cheese that’s pre-shredded in a bag. A little spicy, a little smoky, a little tangy. For some reason, supremely addictive.

The Jalapeno Poppers Doritos tasted just like deep fried jalapeno poppers that are filled with a mild creamy cheese. There was the spice from the jalapenos, but also a mellow buttery cheesy taste to them. There’s some really spooky innovation going on in the flavor labs in this country. That or either the power of suggestion in the name is enough to set my taste buds off kilter.

The Jalapeno Poppers were good, don’t misunderstand, but the Taco Doritos were kind of amazing. Brit forced me to explain it this way–on a scale where one is regular Nacho Cheese Doritos and ten is Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos. On that scale, I’d have to say somewhere in the 9 or 10 range. They’re really that good.

Tags: doritos, jalapeno, tacos