French Fry Diary 480: Zapp's Voodoo Chips

Former oil man Ron Zappe started his potato chip company in the 1980s when his old business was going bad. Headquartered in Louisiana, Zapp's specializes in local flavor style chips like Spicy Creole Crawtator, Cajun Dill Gator-tator, and of course, the dreaded Voodoo chips.

I had tried the regular Zapp's New Orleans Kettle Style potato chips before, but had wanted to try the Voodoo chips at some point. I guess my hunger was answered, twice. The bag o' rare chips had a bag, and my friend Marni also snagged one for me. Double the supply, these better be good.

The black bag, decorated with multi-pinned voodoo dolls, didn't help. When I opened the bag, the aroma was not good. The taste however was not bad, and definitely had a kick. Seeing how the chips had a definitely seasoned color, and almost barbecue potato chip look, I took a peek at the ingredients.

Other than the usual potato chip stuff in potato chips, there was a little bit of paprika, onion, garlic, and smoke among others. Basically these are glorified BBQ chips, not that there's anything wrong with that, 'cause these aren't bad. Their kettle cooking make for an excellent crunch and dipping shape.

Zapp's Voodoo chips are quite good. I'm glad I have double the chips. Thanks to The Bride, and to Marni!

French Fry Diary 594: Zapp's Cheddar & Smoked Bacon Potato Chips

Friend and frequent FFD contributor Marni found these limited edition potato chips for me. I've reviewed Zapp's before and have usually liked their stuff. This time we have, in the tradition of potato chips with long names, Zapp's New Orleans Kettle Style Cheddar & Smoked Bacon Flavored Potato Chips. And as if that's not enough, they're also Limited Edition and Made with Real Cheese.

Not as thick or twisty as some kettle chips, at least these bacon chips have a bacon taste rather than just a smoky taste. Unlike the Kettle Brand Maple Bacon chips I reviewed recently, they are not left tasting just like barbecue chips. There is a slight cheddar aftertaste. It appears that bacon is one flavor that is sometimes difficult to capture in a potato chip.

These are not quite what I expected, or what they were advertised as, but still pretty good. Thanks, Marni!

French Fry Diary 413: Zapp's Potato Chips

I had been coming to the Market Café at our local Wegmans for regular Write-Ins with the South Jersey Writers Meetup. As the meetings are around dinner time, folks usually get snacks. I had determined to also do so on my next trip and kill two birds with one stone - get some fries at the Market Café and review them for the blog. The fries had been taunting me on previous visits, but tonight there were nowhere to be seen. I went for the next best thing.

After getting the prerequisite Mexican Coke (all the sugar, all the caffeine, all the good stuff), I went over to look at the potato chip selection. The only thing different that jumped out were a variety of Zapp's chips. If you check out their website, you'll see they make much of their Cajun flavor and crunch. I settled on a small bag of their regular flavor New Orleans Kettle Style.

They were a bit crunchier than most kettle chips yet not as thick I noticed. I did not however notice anything different or extra about the taste or flavor. This isn't a bad thing, as I enjoyed the chips, but based on the hype, I expected something more. They would be terrific for dipping.

Perhaps I might try one of the other types available at Wegmans next time like Jalapeno or Salt and Vinegar. Sadly, the flavors that had me excited on the website were not to be seen at Wegmans. I would have loved to given Spicy Cajun Crawtaters, or Baby Back Ribs, or Voodoo, or, and you know me, especially the Mesquite Bar-B-Que. Ah well, maybe next time.

French Fry Diary 505: The Bottom of the Bag o' Chips

I'm finally there, finally at the bottom of the bag o' rare potato chips from Anchor Food Finds that The Bride got me for Christmas. Here are the last three bags.

Dirty Sweet Potato Chips - Yeah, these again, from the folks who just want to have the chips with the absolute longest name. Dirty, like Zapp's, is owned by Utz. I did not like these at all. Taste, smell, all bad, and no, they hasn't even come close to expiring.

Utz "The Crab Chip" - Speaking of Utz, other than the Herr's silver foil (however now with new packaging more reflective of Old Bay marketing), these are usually the only Maryland Old Bay seasoning chips we see up here in the Philadelphia area.

As opposed to the above mentioned Herr's, "The Crab Chip" has Chesapeake Bay Crab Seasoning instead of Old Bay. It doesn't have as much of a bite, so it's not as hot, but it does have a bit of an aftertaste. Not bad, I would get these again.

Blair's Death Rain Buffalo Wing Chips -These are truly in the rare category. Not only are they buffalo wing flavored, but they're made by a company that specializes in hot sauce, owned by another company called Extreme Food. That's why these are last. I'm afraid of these potato chips. But then again, who wouldn't be afraid of something called Death Rain chips?

All that said, they are not bad, but there is quite a bit of heat. It should be noted that these were the 'Medium' heat chips, so it could get quite a bit hotter. I'm not a big buffalo sauce guy, preferring barbeque instead so maybe that also put me off, but I have to say these kettle chips aren't bad. I could be talked into trying other Death Rain chips.

And that's it, the end of the bag o' chips. Not a bad holiday gift from The Bride. I wouldn't mind getting it again next year. Hint hint.