Happy Friday!

My new favorite Bitmoji, for obvious reasons...

French Fry Diary 691: I Hate Answers.Com

For quite some time I have planned a post over at my other blog, Welcome to Hell, about Answers.Com, and why I hate them so much. But the opportunity presented itself here at French Fry Diary first, so here you go.

The culprit that brought me here is the 'article' (and I use the term loosely) called "10 Food Things Only People That Grew Up in the Midwest Understand," and no, I'm not giving out any URLs in this blog post, because I don't want anyone going to Answers.Com. I hate them that much. Do not go there.

Here's my problem. They present 'articles' that are usually countdowns or top tens that are really series of twenty or so clicks and pages long. I do understand why they do this. It's so you see twenty or so different ads, and might, just might, accidentally click on one of those ads as you monotonously click through to see the rest of the article. I hate it. For instance, getting back on the topic, this article has in excess of twenty-five pages to click through to see all of the '10 Food Things.'

Among the 'Food Things' listed are mayonnaise on French fries, more European than Midwestern, but really, when has simple fact-checking ever stopped Answers.Com? They claim it adds a little different flavor than traditional ketchup. Really? What a revelation!

They also say that Midwesterners know that onions belong in fried potatoes. Well, yeah, onions and potatoes are friends. The much-missed Little Shanty taught me that. Man, do I miss those fries… Of course Answers.Com insists it's only a breakfast thing, they don't know how to live. They also mention fried cheese curds, distant cousin of the French fry and the onion ring.

So if you want to spend twenty minutes to a half-hour clicking through some mindless ads and 'facts' that aren't checked, just to learn that soda is called pop in the Midwest, go for it, but me, I'm out. I am officially boycotting Answers.Com, and no amount of pictures of the favorite fried food will lure me back.

French Fry Diary 668: Chipos

There are holes in the Internet through which sometimes things slip through and vanish, except in our memories. I speak of things that not even Google can find. One we have previously talked about here at French Fry Diary is Tasti-Fries. I think I've found another - Chipos.

My recent affection for Herr's Lattice Cut potato chips brought this memory of my 1970s youth to light, as their very design is similar. Known as Chipos New Fashioned Potato Chips, they were, as described on the box, "fashioned from dried potato granules" and "flash fried." They had a criss-cross waffle pattern and texture and were relatively the same circular size.

If memory serves, this early seventies snack predated both the similar Munchos and the later Pringles, at least in my area, and memory. They came in a red and yellow box with a foil bag inside, just like Bugles do today. The back of the box detailed how they were made I recall, and I'm pretty sure they were made by Betty Crocker. Or was it General Mills? Or are they the same company?

Check out the video below for a TV commercial for Chipos, definitely from Betty Crocker.



They made a big deal of them having less grease than regular potato chips. Hmmm... So why aren't they still making them? The other thing I remember about them is that Chipos were delicious.

Hiatus

Just a quick apology for my absence, as first health issues and then lingering internet problems have kept me from keeping this blog up to its usual schedule. Hopefully we'll be back on track soon. Thanks for your patience.

French Fry Diary 494: Starbucks Potato Chips

When I first started writing this blog there were certain things I expected, and certain things I did not expect. One such thing I would never expect is to be reviewing potato chips from Starbucks. A coffee chain making potato chips? Sounds absurd, doesn't it? But it's true.

Folks who regularly read this blog know I'm not a coffee drinker, yet I do visit Starbucks quite often. It's a writer's conceit. Starbucks is the stereotypical place where writers write, where they meet, and, for some, where they go to be seen writing. Yeah, we writers are a sick breed.

Anyway, when I saw these new potato chips at the Starbucks where I attend a weekly writers group, I couldn't help but pick up a bag - especially when I saw they were my favorite chip flavor. Barbecue, specifically Smoky Sweet Barbecue, in a kettle variety.

Here's the thing though. Starbucks doesn't seem to want to acknowledge, at least online, that they would ever do such a thing as make or sell potato chips. There's no record of them online, or at least on their website. A lot of other folks, who are not Starbucks, are talking about and taking pictures of them however. Apparently the branding was/is known as Darling Spuds in the UK, and they come in quite a few varieties. However that name is nowhere to be found on my bag.

When I opened the bag, they had a good aroma. Unlike a lot of kettle chips I have tried recently, these chips were pretty big, and twisted well for dipping. The touch of sweet compliments the heavier smoky barbecue seasoning. Not bad. Starbucks should confess, they're nothing to be ashamed of.