We Tried Every Roy Choi ‘Good & Gather’ Snack—Here’s What We Loved
Not only did we interview Roy Choi about his recent snack line launch with Target’s Good & Gather in-house brand, but we also received an early taste of the goods.
Since we are nothing without our readers, we owed it to the people to sample every single snack and offer our feedback on what’s worth your time, dollars, and tastebuds. Without further ado, we present our reviews of Roy Choi’s Good & Gather snacks in three distinct categories of deliciousness.
Upper Echelon
Chili Lime Cake Pops
A very slight mix of sweet and savory, the Chili Lime Cake Pops are lightly dusted with red chili powder on the outer icing, but the cakey inside bears no spicy surprises. Instead, you get lime and creaminess that ends in lime on the palate, with a little spicy chili tang that just tickles the tastebuds without outstaying its welcome. Though not as easy to inhale as their Cinnamon Dulce cousins, this flavor is actually a bit more craveable due to the quality flavor pairing and a tingly, spiced, limey aftertaste.
Pineapple Chili Meat Stick
This is a gourmet meat stick, point blank. The texture has some meaty chew to it but is also smoothly rich and soft. At first, you taste the sweet pineapple, very much in the forefront, followed by the chili spice that lingers on. Better tasting and more craveable than a lot of the current meat sticks in the jerky aisle, someone should let Roy make a whole meat stick line spinoff. No games are being played here.
Sweet & Savory Sesame Crunch Trail Mix
They need to give Roy his own line of snack mixes (okay, a snack line is an incredible start; we’re manifesting here), with this Sweet & Savory Trail Mix as proof of concept. The trail mix lineup alone is worth the price of admission: sesame sticks, covered peanuts, dried mango bits, cashews, and almonds. It’s a pretty premium mélange of snackery. Combined with the killer seasoning, which isn’t too aggressive but is addictive enough, it’ll make you want to buy more bags because this is a limited-edition run and who knows what the future holds. Hopefully more Roy Choi snack mixes, please.
Food Truck Gummy Candy
Coming in Watermelon, Mango, and Lime, flavors common in tropical and Latin cuisines and a nod to Roy’s humble LA Kogi Truck origins, his Food Truck Gummy Candy is a pretty perfect execution of a new gummy candy. Shaped just like a food truck, the squishy, firm candies taste just like the agua frescas or paletas also sold at many LA food carts and trucks themselves. Naturally flavored, the watermelon candy itself is one of the most accurate gummy representations we’ve sampled. Kudos to Roy.
Spicy Chili Mango Gummy Candy
Sticky to the touch and coated in red chili pepper flakes and sugar, what at first confounds the uninitiated tastebuds becomes addictive when it comes to Spicy Chili Mango Gummy Candy. A first taste that seems savory gives way to sweet, sugary mango tang and a citrusy finish courtesy of lime juice powder. Apparently, flavorfully dynamic gourmet gummies are what result when Roy Choi is given the keys to the Good & Gather test kitchen. Well played.
Solid Snacking
Cinnamon Dulce Cake Pops
Before sinking your teeth into the soft, cakey bliss that awaits in the Cinnamon Dulce Cake Pops, you first notice the sandpaper-like texture of the sugar and cinnamon that decorates the outer icing. The icing is creamy and rich, with a cinnamon cream flavor echoed in the moist interior. This is the type of cake pop where you want to eat the icing that dripped a little extra down the stick, even though you know you’re grown and that shouldn’t be done in front of anyone, especially not with a cake pop!
Smoky Umami Fried Pork Rinds
As far as pork rinds go, these are some of the best we’ve encountered. Light and fluffy in texture, the craters in these rinds hold a mix of spices (paprika, onion powder, chili pepper) and smokiness that melt as you munch. You’ll need a reliable beverage on hand to account for the umami overload.
Savory Miso Popcorn
Equally heavy in the flavor-bomb category is Roy’s other popcorn SKU, the Savory Miso variety. Flavored a lot like your favorite soup at your local Japanese spot, including that oniony aspect, these kernels are coated in seasoning that also features red miso powder. Some bites even have an unctuous sweetness. Since this flavor isn’t relentlessly spicy, it’s actually more craveable than the Wassapi Ranch popcorn, but both are winners in the originality and tastiness categories.
Tasty Still But Not A Must
Spicy Ramen Yuca Chips
A great transition after you’ve devoured the Pineapple Chili Meat Stick, these light but curly and crunchy, rootsy chips feature a Spicy Ramen seasoning that keeps the hum of that last spicy snack right in the back of your mouth. Though a beverage may be required to properly enjoy these yuca chips, their soupy seasoning does an admirable job of mimicking the flavor profile of spicy ramen broth. Though certainly worth a try for spicy snack fiends, among the rest of Roy’s line, the Spicy Ramen Yuca Chips don’t rate as high.
Wassapi Ranch Popcorn
A mix of ranch and wasabi seasoning, Roy Choi’s Wassapi Ranch Popcorn is a great addition to any pantry or low-key summer soirée. The medium-sized puffs are covered with dry wasabi powder that packs a punchy spice, while the herbaceous ranch flavor tempers the fire of the horseradish-like seasoning. A true umami bomb, Roy possibly should have created a beverage or mint to go along with the aggressive deliciousness of this Wassapi Ranch Popcorn.
