French Fry Diary 300: Wise BBQ Potato Chips

There are few that come close. Herr's are everyday good, and rule with the different with their honey barbeque and baby back ribs flavors. Michael Season's honey barbeque are healthy good and darned hard to get except by mail - do they have them in any local stores? But truth be told, Wise is the king of the barbeque potato chip.

Now I'm not a big fan of the Wise regular chips as I find them too thin, and are often spotty and greasy. This, happily, is not a problem that their BBQ variety has. Now this might sound stupid, but I like these chips so much that I remember when I first had them. I was… very young, and my enabling big sister had gotten a bag at one of the local neighborhood stores, Valenti's. The bag was white cellophane, about the size of a $3.99 bag today with the old trademark Wise owl on it and a price tag of thirty-nine cents. I was smitten. Wise BBQ Flavored Potato Chips are among my absolute favorites.

Some folks say that pretzels are what you dip in ice cream, that it is a natural match, so much so that they make cones out of pretzels. Now I'm not going to say they should start making potato chip ice cream cones, but darn it, chips are much better for dipping in ice cream in my opinion. And the best are the Wise BBQ chips, the hot and cold, sweet and salty contrast is terrific.

Even my old cat Badger thought so. He loved ice cream and Wise BBQ chips. Many times I would have a bowl of ice cream on the table, open a bag of chips, then get up to get something - didn't matter what - and Badger would hop up on the table and start lapping up ice cream, and then invariably stick his head in the bag of chips. When I would come back, he'd know he'd been caught and run - unfortunately the bag would be stuck on his head. He'd leave a trail of chips around the house before getting out of the bag. Man, I loved that cat, my buddy for seventeen years, but wow, he took a lot of ice cream and especially Wise BBQ chips from me.

And I know that Bobby Flay is famous for this now with his Crunchburger at his Burger Palace franchise, but I was doing this decades ago. For an extra crunch, and flavor, I put Wise BBQ potato chips on top of and under my burgers. I also use crushed Wise BBQ potato chips as a fried chicken coating much the way Planet Hollywood used to use Cap'n Crunch for their World Famous Chicken Crunch - and again, I think I was doing it before them. I also sometimes use Frosted Flakes, but that's a completely different story - and favorite fried food.

The Honey BBQ Flavored Potato Chips from Wise came out just a few years ago and quickly became a favorite of mine. They are sweet, and have just the right amount of honey. Sometimes I like a bit more, and when I do, I go for the Herr's Honey Barbeque, but far more often it's Wise. Even if you just lick the seasoning off these, it's good. Although these aren't as good on hamburgers as the regular BBQ, these are equally good for dipping, especially in ice cream. Whereas sometimes the regular BBQ get hot and you need liquid refreshment just to go on, these go down smooth and sweet.

Speaking of sweet, the Sweet Heat BBQ Flavored Potato Chips from Wise just came out, as you can see from the pic, they are brand spanking new. These chips seem innocent at first, with just more visible seasoning than the two types above. They're tasty and sweet, and just as addictive - you will have eaten at least a half-dozen before your mouth catches fire. Yeah, these are hot, but it's a good hot, similar to Lay's Tangy Carolina BBQ potato chips. And that's a good thing. These chips would be very good for dipping into ice cream, because the cold might put out the fire.

Now it should be noted that I can't really have most of Wise's various BBQ chips all that often because of the salt content and especially the MSG. Hey, Wise, isn’t it about time you start trying to make these without MSG? Please? I'll be your best friend...

French Fry Diary 720: Wise Kettle Cooked Potato Chips

I had recently reviewed Wise potato chips, noting the decline of Herr's with the rise in quality of Wise. As Herr's seems to be pushing their kettle chips hard, based on how packed Wawas are with them lately, I wanted to give Wise's opposite number a look and taste.

Wise seems to concentrate on the small batch aspect of kettle cooking on their packaging, something that as with fries, with chips, is very important. Sadly, like many of the Wise chip varieties, these were hard to find. I finally wrangled a bag of the Original. They keep the ingredients simple: potatoes, vegetable oil, and salt. Additionally these chips are gluten free, with no MSG or preservatives, and zero transfats.

When I opened the bag, I got that great Wise potato chip smell I've come to expect, but looking inside, I was kinda disappointed. These were quite small chips, many just over an inch in diameter, not at all the size or shape shown in the art on the package. To Wise's credit it is noted that the illustration is "enlarged to show detail."

The potato chips are quite crunchy, as well as thick and twisted the way kettle chips should be. These are fine for munching, but not nearly big enough for dipping. I would be lying if I didn't say I was disappointed, but still I would get these again.

French Fry Diary 702: Wise Potato Chips

There was a time, decades ago in the late sixties and early seventies, with their see-through bags and friendly owl mascot, Peppy, when Wise potato chips were not so great. I recall them being too thin and just a bit greasy. The big exception was their BBQ chips, which were and are the best of that flavor and style. I've reviewed those right here.

In recent years it seems that Wise has improved their chips. They are thicker and nowhere near as greasy as I remember. They're quite good, almost as if they've switched places with Herr's, whose quality has dropped as Wise has gotten better. These days, if given a choice, in most cases if choose Wise.

Wise chips come in a variety of flavors, including the various BBQ that you already know about, Salt & Vinegar, and Onion & Garlic, another favorite. They also have Unsalted and Lightly Salted, Ridgies, Kettle, and Deli chips. Some of those are available in Reduced Fat as well.

I have tried tracking a few of them down using the 'Find a Store' function on their website, but so far it has not been accurate. Rather than waste more gas, I have just given up. Yes, I could try calling ahead, but I have found the customer service of some grocery stores even less accurate.

Either way, Wise makes darn good potato chips, and if I could ever find Barbecue Ridgies, I would not only buy them, I'd eat 'em and review 'em too. Thumbs up to Wise.

French Fry Diary 782: Wise Finger Lick'n Ribs Potato Chips

I love Florida, and I'm glad we moved down here from South Jersey.  Florida has many awesome things going for it like Disney, sunshine, and grilling - but it's not all good.  There are also alligators, sand hill cranes, Trump supporters, and a seriously sad variety of potato chips.

I was very surprised by that last one.  Tom's is a company we didn't have in NJ, and generally Wise chips are easier to find - except for that elusive potato chip grail, the Wise BBQ Ridgies - but other than that, it's pretty pitiful.  It's so bad that sometimes on a late night snack run, you'll just skip the chips.  Yes, it's that bad. 

These chips, the Wise Finger Lick'n Ribs BBQ Flavored Potato Chips (crazily not even shown on the Wise website), were found in a Dollar Tree.  A dollar for a 4.5 ounce bag of BBQ meat chips?  What could I lose?  I could only gain a review for the blog, right?  The bag promised no preservatives, gluten, MSG, or transfat, awesome. 

Upon opening the bag there was a faint BBQ aroma, but nothing as pleasant or strong as the Wise BBQ or Honey BBQ.  The chips are good and thick, but not as darkly seasoned as the two mentioned above, if anything they appeared sparsely seasoned, maybe a dozen flecks per chip. 

There is that meat flavor, but not overwhelming or unpleasant like some meat flavored chips.  This is more barbecue than ribs, but it's good, and if I'm being honest, a bit addictive.  And that's kinda the problem, in that the more you eat, the more cumulative the ribs taste is.  Still, I would definitely get these again, good chips. 

Wise Fries from McCain

Following the new trend set by Burger King with their Satisfries, McCain, one of the world's biggest frozen French fries manufacturers, has announced Wise Fries, low fat battered fries.

These fries, in a unique new crinkle cut design , will be a healthier choice for folks who like to bake their own fries at home.

As soon as they are available, I will be posting my own review here on French Fry Diary. If you get to them first, be sure to let me know what you think!

French Fry Diary 266: Flo's 8 Café

Up on open air deck 11 of the Disney Dream is a counter service area called Flo's 8 Cafe, themed from the Disney Pixar flick Cars. This was where we all got together for lunch on day three of our cruise. There are counters relating to different characters from the movies. I got my hot dog and fries from Tow Mater's Grill. There's also Luigi's Pizza and Fillmore's Favorites.

These fries are the typical Disney park natural cuts, not that there's anything wrong with that. They are reasonably good if you get them hot. Good side dish for a lazy lunch on a hot day. Food-wise and location-wise, this wasn't really anything special, but as far as company and conversation, this was one of the best lunches on board. We just hung out and chatted, it was fun.

And I also loved the sign at Tow Mater's Grill that says: "French fries are always available upon request."

French Fry Diary 384: Burger King Sweet Potato Fries

I'm not sure if it's just for the summer or for good, but as part of Burger King new fancier fast food initiative, they have introduced, among many other new items (several barbeque sandwiches of beef, chicken and pork, and an already infamous bacon sundae), sweet potato fries.

These sweet potato fries are the same size as their regular fries, only flat, as if cut in half long-wise. Sort of like miniature steak fries and a little like Wendy's fries. I've already mentioned here about my distaste for BK's now not so new fries, but I have to say I wouldn't mind if they came in this sweet potato fry shape. That would be innovative, and probably more enticing and tasty.

They taste good. I was very impressed. I'm not a sweet potato fry guy most of the time, and I thought these were very good. Better than the regular BK fries, and it has to be said, best while hot. As they cooled they were sadly less appetizing. These sweet potato fries are a nice change of pace. I would get them again.

French Fry Diary 12: Chickie’s & Pete’s

It’s Philadelphia Wings lacrosse season, and that means one thing… well, several things, but only one thing that is relevant to this blog, and that’s Crab Fries!

Now let’s be clear. I have never ever been to any of Chickie’s & Pete’s five area locations in the Delaware Valley, but they do serve their world famous Crab Fries at the Wachovia Center where the Wings play their home games.

The famous Crab Fries are really simplicity itself despite being an addictive taste sensation. They are just pixie crinkle-cuts smothered in old bay seasoning. But then again, if you’ve ever tried to duplicate this miracle at home, you know it’s just not that simple. Perhaps it’s old bay and crack cocaine – they are that damned addictive.

They are best served hot, and taste-wise very hot, and somehow are much better while watching a sporting event. They come in big honking Big Gulp-sized cup, but still once they’re gone you still want more. While I myself am a French fry purist, one of the winning features of the Crab Fries is the two mini-tubs of white cheese that accompany them. This special cheese is reputedly so good that sometimes it’s hijacked for other park foods like hot dogs and pretzels.

Should you not be able to finish your Crab Fries in the course of a four quarter lacrosse game (or any sporting event really), the good news is they heat up real well at home whether you bake ‘em or nuke ‘em, tasty tasty.

Like I said, the best part of any Wachovia trip and a Philadelphia tradition. When you’re talking Philly sports and French fries, you’re talking Chickie’s & Pete’s.




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French Fry Diary 401: Wildfire BBQ Co.

The Wildfire BBQ Co. is built on the site of the old Stratford Friendly's on the White Horse Pike. I remember that I went to dinner for my sixth grade graduation there, and also one of my first dates as well, but it's not a Friendly's any more. The new restaurant has been there about eight months. Once I walked in I was struck by how much smaller it was than the old Friendly's but then, I just kinda fell in love with the place. I like the decor, it's very warm and cozy, a rocker biker vibe, all from the owner's home.

Our waitress Melanie was on skates and well beyond helpful and friendly. Her roller derby name is Rabbit. Coolness. She knew everything about the restaurant and the food. Before we even looked at the menu I was happy.

For our appetizer, we got the Wildfire Fries - French fries with melted cheese, smoked bacon, sliced cherry peppers (yikes!) and BBQ sauce. This had both regular fries and sweet potato fries in there, good combination. The bacon was perfect and the sauce sweet and hot. The banana peppers added a bit of a kick flavor-wise, and I was told by Melanie this was the regular BBQ sauce. Now I'm a bit worried, I ordered the hot for my meal.

The soda size (Coca-Cola products, so that's a plus) is terrific, and you'll need it to put out the fire of the Wildfire Fries. I went through several glasses of Coke fighting the heat of my buffalo sauce. Our friends got the Twice Baked Taters, very loaded, very cool. Quite a treat.

The fries are natural regular cuts, probably deep fried, well salted and quite good. The real thing here is the dipping sauces. The regular sauce I liked quite a bit. The hot was a bit hotter, but still good for me. The buffalo wing sauce is burning hot, and gets hotter over time. That's the one that was killing me. The Melt My Face BBQ sauce is like the wing sauce but made me sweat. Sooo good but sooo hot.

I really loved this place. The owner does everything onsite and all of the sauces are his formula. We have also heard that they do an awesome breakfast, so we will be back for that, and for more lunch and dinner as well.  This place rocks, highly recommended.

French Fry Diary 236: Trader Joe's Kettle Cooked Olive Oil Potato Chips

I love Trader Joe's. They have great meats, spices, breads, veggies and fruits, the healthy stuff, and of course those chocolate covered orange jells that you must get every time you go. They are no Whole Foods, but they're good.

Last time I was in there I had a bit of the munchies and grabbed some chips. Being an upscale grocer, they don't have the usual selection of Herr's, Utz or Wise, so you have to get adventurous. I grabbed a bag of Trader Joe's Kettle Cooked Olive Oil Potato Chips.

Besides having the prerequisite gourmet long name, these were also a bit on the inexpensive side for the size bag - $1.99 for seven ounces is not bad. Unfortunately, like most gourmet long name chips, they were also almost impossible to open without a scissors. Can somebody tell me what's up with that? Seems to me being able to easily open the bag would be a plus, maybe even a selling point.

Now I'm a big fan of Spanish fries, French fries cooking in olive oil, so I was expecting a similar taste here. It doesn't come through well, which was odd as the ingredients were listed as only potatoes, olive oil and salt. They are still pretty good, if a bit greasy. They are still crispier than usual chips but the ones I got were a bit small for dipping - which they would have been good for.

All in all a good diversion and a nice snack. They are not what I would reach for first, but I wouldn't turn them away.

French Fry Diary 198: Kettle Brand Backyard Barbeque Potato Chips

This was one of the bbq potato chips chosen by Slashfood some time back as an overall winner in their Who Has the Best Barbeque Potato Chips survey. As I had never tried Kettle Brand Potato Chips, let alone their 'Backyard Barbeque' variety, I had to give it a shot when I saw them at the local Whole Foods.

Just looking at the bag, there was much promise with the claims of "great taste... naturally" and "now more barbeque" so I couldn't wait to try them. For the Health Nazis out there, it will delight you to know that these also had no trans fats, preservatives or artificial flavors among other things to make those folks happy. The tear for opening the bag however worked against traditional logic in opening potato chip bags, and it should be noted, their tear tab ripped it open badly and made it unresealable. Use a scissors, kids.

The chips themselves are thick and with the twisted kettle shapes and waves best for dipping. The flavoring is a nice and subtle mix of smoke, tomato and honey - good but mot overpowering, very tasty. I would have to agree with Slashfood on this one. They're not better than what Herr's or Wise has, but still some good bbq chips here. Thumbs up.

French Fry Diary 557: O!Karto

These 'Italian Potato Chips' were part of my Christmas present from friends Dom and Cindy, a selection of rare and exotic chips.

They are not really chips, more a potato concoction like Munchos or Pringles. Made from dehydrated potato flakes, starch, and granules, they are square shaped tubes, looking like regular cut French fries at a distance. This is apparently 'Italian style.'

The fact is they are not Italian at all. These Orion O!Karto Italian Potato Chips are Korean. They come in this flavor, Italian Gratin, and Chili Chili. The cartoon mascot on the bag, Mr. Karto, says, "O!Karto is unique and amazing type of potato snack. This Italian style snack 'O!Karto' is from high quality potato and fit for everyone."

The bag says they're cooked in sunflower oil, I guess that's the fit part. Although it's worth noting the ingredients also list vegetable oil, as well as palm and soybean oil. Your guess is as good as mine - much like the best by date, which is in Korean.

The Bride expressed interest in trying them, so I made her taste one first. She commented on how sweet they were. There's that, they are sweet, but I wasn't really getting the gratin. They could have used a bit more seasoning, even though I suspect the Chili Chili might have been too seasoned.

Because of their shape, these 'chips' might be interesting for dipping, especially in milkshakes or ice cream. They're a bit thin so maybe not. Taste wise, not bad, I would definitely try these again. Thanks, Dom and Cindy!

French Fry Diary 485: Lay's Sweet Southern Heat Barbecue Potato Chips

I love potato chips almost as much as I love French fries. And my favorite kind of potato chips are BBQ flavor. So when I see a new flavor like Lay's Sweet Southern Heat Barbecue, of course I have to pick them up and try them. And now I'm in tears.

What can I say. Call me a baby, call me a wuss. Call me a Northerner who doesn't know what real barbecue is. Call me whatever you like, but I'm sorry, these m-effers are HOT. My eyes watered after the second chip, and my mouth and tongue are still on fire. These are even hotter than Ruffles Ultimate Sweet & Smokin' BBQ or Wise Sweet Heat BBQ or even the Kaboom Sauce at Cool Dog Cafe.

Other than the heat, these are pretty standard Lay's potato chips - thinner than most, a bit greasy, crispy, and seasoned heavily. Checking the ingredients for where the heat might be coming from, I immediately noticed red pepper among the usual suspects. I'm guessing that's the culprit.

If you like hot, these are fully recommended. These are definitely hot, but I don't think I'll be getting them again.

French Fry Diary 13: Hesburger

In the summer of 2007 I visited Helsinki, Finland. For someone like me who is not only a catastrophically fussy eater but also a fast food fanatic, new experiences and foreign lands can be a bit of a problem sometimes. So when I found Hesburger in the mall near our hotel in Helsinki, I knew I had to try it.

In appearance, it looks very much like a Burger King (especially in the logo and font) or Hardees, but it’s not. Hesburger is indeed its own entity. It was set up like your typical Burger King restaurant, only without outside walls and dropped right in the middle of the mall, with foot traffic on all sides. Its location was so logical I had to wonder why we didn’t have fast food places done like this here in America.

Now, surprisingly (to me at least), most folks in Finland speak English. And this is opposed to London (our stop before Helsinki) where many of the people I met mysteriously did not speak English. But this lack of a language barrier made life in Helsinki pretty easy in the communication department – until I got to Hesburger that is. The folks behind the counter were among the only non-English-speaking Finns I encountered.

Now I knew that "pomme frites" was French fries. That was easy – a trick I picked up from the Malcolm McDowell movie "Time After Time" where a time-displaced H.G. Wells ordered French fries for his first time at a McDonald’s. The hard part was ordering a hamburger plain, with nothing on it. After a lot of primitive sign language and hand signals and much repeating of “just bun and meat” together we pulled it off.

The food itself, burger and fries-wise, were more applicable to Hardees than Burger King. The burger was fried not chargrilled, but not untasty, and the fries were slightly greasy shoestrings, but a definite oasis for this fast food junkie. If you ever go to Scandinavia, definitely drop by Hesburger to feed your junk food monkey.


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French Fry Diary 08: Aboard the Disney Wonder

Cruises are notorious for the never-ending parade of food on board ship. The Disney Cruise Line is no different. What is different on board their two ships, the Magic and the Wonder, is the quality of the food. Personally I’ve only cruised on two other lines, the Disney Cruise proving to be vastly superior in comparison.

I’ve traveled on the Magic my first two times and the Wonder my second, including this most current trip. The ships are virtually identical with one major difference – the dress-up restaurant on the Magic is Lumiere’s and Triton’s on the Wonder. But both ships have variations on the favorite fried food.

Starting with the morning, the breakfast potatoes at Beach Blanket Buffet up on Deck 9 came in a few different varieties. There were hash browns of the flat tater tot style, closer to store brand than McDonalds, but nowhere near as greasy and just as tasty. Also available were potato wedges, baked and seasoned, and soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. The final type were stir-fried scalloped potatoes – my personal breakfast fave on the cruise (potato-wise at least) – made from reds and cooked perfectly in that nebulous area between crisp and baked potato goodness.

In the fries category, natural cut shoestrings came as a side with most offerings at Pluto’s Doghouse. For free fast food sides, not bad, hot and tasty, and they certainly compliment the giant hot dogs they have. My only complaint would be that the last thing I want on an open deck in the Caribbean is hot food. Still good fries though.

The prize find of the trip however, as far as the favorite fried food goes, would be at Triton’s. The French fries available at lunch seatings (and dinner if you ask nicely) are very close to the best fries on Earth (those found at Cooke’s of Dublin in Orlando, FL). Obviously fried then baked, these fries are thick cut, three-quarter inch by three-quarter inch and perfectly delicious. The only problem would be the sparse amount one gets, but as with most things Disney, you only need but ask and you shall receive. Just ask for more.


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French Fry Diary 633: Carioca's - TCM Cruise Day Three

The dinner on the third day on board the Disney Magic during the TCM Cruise 2014 brought us back to Carioca's.

For an appetizer I got something called Chicken Bastela. According to the menu, that's Moroccan Spiced shredded Chicken wrapped in Phyllo-dough and sprinkled with Powdered Sugar and Cinnamon, with a Vegetable Almond Slaw. These I liked quite a bit, yum.

For my entrée I got the Grilled Grain-fed NY Strip steak that came with Cheddar Cheese and Onion Smashed Baked Potato, Roasted Green Asparagus and a Red Wine Jus. Yeah, that's also from the menu verbatim. The steak was good, very delicious, once I got around the fat. This catastrophically picky eater was not digging the asparagus and tomato flavored mashed potatoes. So far, this has not been a terrific cruise food-wise. I'm digging the breakfasts at least.

French Fry Diary 577: Charles Chips

I've talked about Charles Chips briefly once or twice before on this blog. They used to be one of my favorite potato chips, especially their barbeque variety. I remember grabbing a snack bag for lunch a few times a week when I worked Pennsauken in the 80s and 90s. At the time I started French Fry Diary however, they were pretty hard to find - only at Cracker Barrel or a mom and pop deli in the same strip mall as Cool Dog Café - and then they vanished altogether.

They're local, out in Pennsylvania, which in my time writing about potato chips, I've learned is where many chips come from. Started in 1942, with the ingenious business model of home delivery in huge cookie tins, they've been doing this for almost three-quarters of a century. The Bride fondly remembers getting those Charles Chips cans just like milk brought by the milkman. However, sadly, just like milk delivery, the chips stopped coming directly to homes in 1974.

The Charles Chips company began to have financial troubles in the 1990s as they were sold several times to various unsuccessful owners who often fell to bankruptcy and other problems. Recipes were changed, distribution suffered, and soon Charles Chips were gone or just about impossible to find. The Scardino family bought the company in 2011 with the intent of online sales and bringing the memorable tins back. So far so good.

Reminiscing recently about milk delivery, and home chip delivery as well, The Bride and I looked Charles Chips up online. We could have gotten three bags - Original, Barbeque, Waffle (rippled) - in a tin for roughly $25 or without for $20. We had no idea what we'd do with the big cookie tin when the chips were finished, so nostalgia aside, we opted for without. And being so close to the factory (in general), there was no shipping fee.

A little less than a week later, our package with. The three nine ounce bags arrived unharmed, marked fragile, and well packed. The bags themselves seemed a bit streamlined from what I remember, but that's okay, I hoped the taste was unchanged. Notably I'd never tried the Waffle chips from Charles before, and their Barbeque was among my favorites. I hoped it was the same.

The Original chips were very simple - potatoes, cottonseed oil, and salt being the only ingredients, so they're all natural and gluten free as it says on the bag. Honestly I remember Charles Chips being a bit bigger and thicker than these. Now they have more of a Lay's feel, but with a much better taste. Honestly though I remember them being great, but these are only just okay.

Next up, I tried the Barbeque chips, and expectations were high, but cautious after my experience with the Original flavor. While these were not the barbeque potato chips from Charles that I remember, these were still quite good. These chips were notably bigger than the ones in the Original bag, and possibly thicker. The flavor was similar to Wise Honey BBQ with just a tad more sweet and honey taste. I liked these quite a bit, but as I said, not the chips I remember at all. I think there's been a recipe change in the intervening years.

The Waffle chips are decidedly thick and excellent for dipping. They are comparable to Lay's Wavy, but better. Yes, it's another Lay's comparison but this one's a good one. I liked these a lot, so it's two out of three, not bad for mail order chips. Maybe next time we will get the tin, and maybe just the Barbeque or the Waffle.

The Fat Tomato Grill

Today's "Somebody Else's Fries" comes from my big sister Bobbie. This past week she and her husband Bruce visited the Fat Tomato Grill in Berlin NJ. Here were her thoughts:

Everything is made to order. The shoestring natural cut fries were crisp, hot and they had a smoky flavor that reminded us of the potato chips we had as kids. (Wise). The fries come tossed with balsamic vinegar but I ordered them dry. They were perfect. 

The burger was also very good. The restaurant is located on a strip mall but you would never know that from the cozy welcoming interior. Looking forward to a second trip.

I guess I'll have to give this place a try.

French Fry Diary 302: Herr's Honey BBQ Potato Chips

I always kinda dug the bag for Herr's Honey BBQ Flavored Potato Chips. The brick background conjures a backyard barbeque with a very gangsta-looking honeybee who looks as if he just sprayed the wall with graffiti that reads "Honey BBQ." Yeah, I'm easily amused.

These chips have everything that the regular Herr's Barbecue Potato Chips in the gold foil have with two important differences. The Honey BBQ chips have honey, and actually it seems to be the only addition in ingredients - and they have ripples, just like the, duh, Herr's Ripples Potato Chips in the pink foil.

The honey is thick but not sticky. If the Wise Honey BBQ Potato Chips have just the flavoring of honey, the Herr's variety taste like the honey was just poured on - and that's a good thing. Very sweet and very good, although, like the regular gold foils, they can be seasoned inconsistently. Just a little is just enough.

The ripples are wide, and like the regular pink foils, these are thick chips, which make them just perfect for dips. Anyone know why Herr's other chips have become so thin in recent years? Longtime readers of French Fry Diary will know I like dipping into ice cream and these are among the best for that.

These are darn good chips, and highly recommended. Mmmm... Chips...

French Fry Diary 603: Lay's Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger Potato Chips

After yesterday's Do Us A Flavor taste test of *gasp* Lay's Cappuccino Flavored potato chips I needed something to get rid of that awful aftertaste. I thought Lay's Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger Flavored Potato Chips might be a nice refresher. After all, if my friend and fellow writer Uriah Young digs them, how bad can they be, right?

Wasabi is not an unknown component in enjoyable potato accompaniments. Oh Yoko! in Cherry Hill rocks the wasabi fries, so this could be very good. It's notable that these are one of two of the four flavors that come in an extra special variation - in this case, kettle cooked. I'm not sure why that is in this case, as opposed to the other three flavors.

The image on the front of the bag had me a bit worried as the Cappuccino chips showed exactly what was going on taste wise. I had to wonder if these chips would taste like sushi. I hope not. A glance at the ingredients betrayed no fish, raw or otherwise, but did indicate a couple different kinds of wasabi seasonings, horseradish, and mystery spices. This could be good or bad.

I learned my lesson with the Cappuccino chips, I let The Bride try one first. One bite and she threw out the rest of the chip. Her words were "I like wasabi and I like ginger, but that just doesn't work." I got kinda a sour cream cream vibe with my first taste, and then a slow burn aftertaste that did not go away quickly at all. These weren't bad, and the kettle cook gave them a good crunch at least.

I think the problem is that unlike last year when I definitely would have not only have given Chicken & Waffles and Cheesy Garlic Bread second chances, I would have finished the whole bag - this year that ain't happening so far.