French Fry Diary 744: Boulder Canyon Barbecue Potato Chips

Now I have reviewed Boulder Canyon potato chips here before, about five years back, and they looked quite different.  The packaging referred to natural rather than authentic and didn't make so much of the oil, as opposed to this current packaging which has 'Coconut Oil' taking up nearly a quarter of the bag front. 

These chips are again in the tradition of long-named potato snacks, properly titled Boulder Canyon Coconut Oil Kettle Cooked Potato Chips, Mesquite Barbecue Flavor - wow, that's a mouthful.  Hopefully it will be a good mouthful once I open the interesting new bag.

Previously Boulder Canyon made much of their healthy ingredients.  Their saying on the front, 'Live Better. Eat Boulder.' kinda still puts across the point in a clever way, and the chips are still gluten free, kosher, vegan, low sodium, with no GMO, MSG, transfats, or cholesterol, and are cooked in 100% coconut oil.  The problem with the chips I tried before was a lack of both salt and taste.  Hopefully now, especially with BBQ flavor, these'll be better. 

There's a nice mesquite aroma when the bag is opened, that's about where it ends.  The flavor is only okay with a sweetness so particular I had to check the ingredients for sugar. The chips are still a bit bland once you get past the BBQ. Disappointing.

French Fry Diary 709: Lay's Barbecue Potato Chips

This is regarding the newer and improved Barbecue Flavored Potato Chips, you know, the ones that are "bursting with more BBQ flavor." And I also have to say up front, in the spirit of full disclosure, that Lay's sent me a coupon in the mail to get these new chips for free.

In the past, I have always found Lay's chips to be too thin and a little bit greasy. Add to that, that I don't recall anything about their BBQ chips, especially when that's my fave chip flavor - that just doesn't bode well before I even open the package. Speaking of which, the only difference between these and the old ones I can see at first is the banner across the top of the bag saying it has more BBQ flavor.

Upon opening the bag there was a nice smokey aroma and the chips, while still thin, were heavily and evenly covered with the barbecue seasoning. The taste was heavy with tomato and molasses and a good afterburn kick. If they were thicker, they might be good for dipping in ice cream or a milkshake, something cold as a contrast, but alas they're too thin.

The new Lay's Barbecue Potato Chips aren't bad, and unlike the previous kind, quite memorable. I'd pick them up again.

French Fry Diary 696: Lay's Korean Barbecue Potato Chips

So. Lay's Flavor Swap. What the hell, right?

It's one thing to look for new flavors, or to have contests to find new flavors, but why would a company plan to retire a potato chip flavor? That's the gist of this contest, one stays, and one goes.

Of the four pairings going to war - cheddar & sour cream vs. smoked Gouda & chive, flamin' hot vs. fiery roasted habanero, and sea salt & cracked pepper vs. olive oil & herbs - only honey barbecue vs. Korean barbecue concerns me. Now I'm biased but why take a major potato chip flavor like honey barbecue off the table? It's almost like a New Coke trick.

Now the voting is over, but the results have yet to be posted, so who knows what will happen? In a world where I can't find physical proof that BBQ Ruffles exist (they're that hard to find), why eliminate flavors?

The Korean Barbecue flavored potato chips aren't bad, thin, with not much heat, except for a light sting in the aftertaste. Too thin to dip properly, and with sort of a meat chip vibe, not that that's a bad thing, these aren't bad, they're actually quite good - but I wouldn't trade them for Honey Barbecue, ever.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #208

These baby grilled potatoes came from my big sister Bobbie this past Fourth of July. Mmmm… nice. Thanks, Bobbie!

French Fry Diary 641: Trader Joe's South African Style Potato Chips

A recent trip to Trader Joe's I discovered something new in the snack section, a mysterious black bag of potato chips I had never seen before. Officially titled Trader Joe's Potato Chips with South African Style Seasoning, the package promised 'classic potato chips with an exotic smoked flavor.' Well, I'm down with that, into the cart and home they went.

A glance at the ingredients and the back of the bag hype revealed they weren't all that far off from standard barbecue chips. They had paprika, chili powder, garlic, sea salt for a little extra something different, and then things got interesting as they also had seasonings like basil and parsley. This seasoning mix is usually used in fish or poultry when grilled, called in Afikaans, the braai, as barbecues are a social custom in South Africa, much like it is here. How exotic it actually is, I guess we'll find out in the tasting.


Upon opening the bag a not unpleasant aroma rushed out, not unlike barbecue flavor potato chips with maybe some (surprise) basil and parsley thrown in. The actual taste is quite different. I expected a barbecue chip but that doesn't quite come across. It's a big thin crisp chip but the flavor is overpowered by the basil, parsley, and paprika, with just a slight after burn. These are excellent dipping chips for cold dips like ice cream.

These are good chips with a big unique taste, and certainly more palatable than many of the Do Us A Flavor contestants the last two years. Interesting, tasty, and even a bit addictive, these South African potato chips are definitely worth trying.

French Fry Diary 624: Wholesome Goodness Potato Chips

Wholesome Goodness, whose slogan is "love foods that love you back," has been showing up in local Rite Aids and Wawas recently. Besides potato chips they also sell healthy cereals, sauces, granola, broths, and juices. They say their mission is "to replace food that has become highly processed, loaded with sodium and fat, and made with ingredients you can't pronounce." Let's see how their potato chips are.

As usual I opted for the Barbecue Flavored variety of Wholesome Goodness Kettle-Cooked Potato Chips. They have no transfats, no MSG, no cholesterol, and even though they are cooked in vegetable oil (containing one or more of the following: canola, corn, or sunflower). They are also kosher, all natural, and have no preservatives.

True to their word however the hardest ingredients to pronounce are paprika and torula yeast. They seem to have a problem with many ingredients, and are quite proud to go so far as to ban one hundred and twenty-six ingredients used by other companies.

Upon opening the bag I was struck by a wonderful smokey barbecue aroma. The taste of the chips themselves did not disappoint either. The barbecue flavor is subtle and understated, it's nice with no burn. They have the twisted shapes promised by kettle cooking that is so perfect for dipping. These chips were really good.

French Fry Diary 610: Peddler's Pantry Potato Chips

I was surprised to see these new Peddler's Pantry Potato Chips at my local Wawa, but also equally surprised to find they were locally produced by Wawa itself. I had no idea, no wonder I couldn't find a website on the interwebs.

All four varieties claim to be extra crunchy and kettle cooked. The flavors of these ninety-nine cent (Facebook gave that price, mine were thirty cents more each) two-ounce snack bags are Original with Sea Salt, Hickory Smoked Barbecue, the more exotic Smoke Dried Chipotle, and the intriguingly named Asian Fusion. At least half of them are sort of out of the box. I got one of each.

Now I love Wawa, but my expectations were low. Most store brands just don't hold up and usually quite inferior, but once again Wawa surprises. These chips are extra thick, with a substantial crunch, and the kettle cook twists and bubbling make them excellent for dipping. And the originals are the first chip in quite some time that claimed to have sea salt, but actually tasted like it.

The Hickory Smoked Barbecue are more smokey than sweet and have a bit of a burn to them, nowhere near the burn on the Smoke Dried Chipotle. These two were not favorites. The mystery flavor, Asian Fusion, doesn't really list anything more exotic than garlic, onion, and citrus. It's the garlic that jumps out and these are more or less garlic BBQ chips.

Of these four new artisan potato chips flavors from Wawa, I have to say the Sea Salt Originals are the best, and the ones I'll get again. Any way you slice it, these were a pleasant surprise.

French Fry Diary 609: McDonald's Shakin' Flavor Fries

I finally got a chance to go over to the local McDonald's and try their new Shakin' Flavor Fries. The first thing I noticed was that there was no difference in price for a regular size fries and a regular size Shakin' Flavor version. That's a definite plus.

Shaker fries are a big deal in Asia and the South Pacific, usually with exotic flavors like seaweed. The flavors available at American McDonald's are Garlic Parmesan, Zesty Ranch and Spicy Buffalo. Guess which one I chose? I went with the buffalo as it was the closest to barbecue. I wish they had just a regular barbecue, or a cheddar like Burger King had when they did their Shake 'Em Up Fries.

The special shaking bag comes with directions that are fairly simple, and trust me, when you've done it once, you won't need to consult the directions again. It's easy. Put some fries in the bag, put some seasoning in, close the bag, shake it up, baby, and you're done, easy-peasy.

The shaking process gives the fries a pretty thorough coating. The Spicy Buffalo has a solid bite to it. I wasn't expecting that kind of heat based on how pedestrian Mickey D's nugget dipping sauces are, for instance. There's more burn to this than actual buffalo flavor. The fries of course are just as good as always.

As I mentioned above I wish there were more than just the three flavor seasonings available, but let's see if they last first. The trend these days with fast food is to only offer the good stuff on a temporary basis.

French Fry Diary 595: V Cut Spicy Barbecue Potato Chips

These V Cut Spicy Barbecue Flavor Potato Chips from Jack 'n Jill are another of the chips from the wonderful Christmas package I got from friends Dom and Cindy.

I was a little afraid of these chips because while they're from Jack 'n Jill, they're manufactured in the Philippines, and I had a couple friends from there warn me off of the V Cuts. And then there was also the peel off ingredients sticker, and it's not the first time it's happened. I know it's most likely because of a misprint or typo, but still it makes me think maybe they forgot something or are trying to hide something.

The chips themselves aren't that bad, but then again they aren't that good either. They gave very tight ripples like Ruffles but are on a thin chip. They also have the same grainy taste as other Jack 'n Jill chips. The barbecue flavoring is most definitely spicy, and there's a burning aftertaste for a while, and not in a good way.

I appreciate the gift, and usually I love barbecue potato chips, but I wouldn't try these again.

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 586: Archer Farms Potato Chips

Just to be clear, Archer Farms is really neither a potato chip maker nor distributor as we usually think of them. Archer Farms is Target, and you'll only be able to get these chips at Target - it's their store brand. The last time I was in Target, looking for Kettle Brand Sweet & Salty chips, because the website said mistakenly they were there, I ended up walking out with these.

I was attracted to the lattice cut first and then had to double down when I saw they had Sweet & Spicy Barbecue flavor lattice cut. Sold. I've been waiting for Herr's or Cape Cod to do barbecue for a while, but it seems Target did it first. It just seems like a natural next step to me, but then I love the barbecue flavor and the lattice cut.

As excited as I was to try them, I mucked up opening the bag. I ended up just cutting it open with a scissors. Of course had I taken a moment, I would have figured out how to properly pull the tab on the front to open the ziplock reclosable bag. It's easy once you know about it, but if you don't examine the bag closely before attempting to open, well, they might as well have come from Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.

The potato chips are thick and twisty as a kettle chip should be, and that along with the lattice cut make them just perfect for dipping. The barbecue flavor has all the traditional ingredients but with a bit more kick than usual. The molasses in there gives it just a tinge of sweetness. I dig these a lot, thumbs up.

French Fry Diary 578: Landscape of Flavors, Lunch

Breakfast at Landscape of Flavors may have been a disaster, but lunch was another story altogether. While waiting for our bags and bus, etc., I had time to kill in the common areas of the Art of Animation resort, including Landscape of Flavors, and at lunch, well, one gets hungry.

I got a really good pulled pork sandwich, which I enjoyed, and I'm not a fan. The sandwich came with these fabulous homemade potato chips. Some were seasoned lightly with a smokey barbecue, and they were excellent both hot and later when cold. Great crunch and thickness.

These chips win the resort, for me at least. I would come back for these in a second. Thumbs up.

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 520: The Bro's Flank Steak and Potatoes

The Bride and I spent Labor Day weekend with her sister and my brother-in-law and the nephew down in Maryland. Our busy schedules always seem to keep us from visiting, chilling with family, and watching movies in their great home theater. For purposes of this blog though, on the last evening we were there, the bro made his famous flank steak and potatoes.

This was a simple but delicious meal cooked out on his gas grill, a treasure I was jealous of. The Russian dressing marinated flank steak, that was to die for, was accompanied by a similarly marinated concoction of red potatoes, onions, and green and red peppers, also grilled.

The meal was perfection, clearly making up for a fair dinner the night before and the mediocre breakfast that morning. Clearly I will be spending more time down in Maryland, with the family, the bro's terrific grill and awesome home theater, and more of his flank steak and potatoes.

French Fry Diary 517: Ruffles Max Steak Potato Chips

This is the newest in a disturbing trend of meat-flavored potato chips. Some are quite good like the recent Lay's Chicken & Waffles chips, and some are just disasters, and I hate to say it, most of those are steak-based. These chips, fully named Ruffles Max Maximum Taste Flame Grilled Steak Flavored potato chips, hopefully will be different.

My first question is - what's the difference between Ruffles Max, and Ruffles Ultimate? It just seems a bit redundant to me. The bag suggests drinking Pepsi Max with the chips, so maybe that's what the distinction is - marketing.

Looking at the ingredients, other than the mysterious 'flame grilled steak flavoring,' these might be along the lines of a barbecue potato chip. I hope so. With stuff approximating onion, garlic, smoke, brown sugar, etc., it's a good bet.

But I wouldn't take that bet, especially after opening the bag and getting a whiff of the aroma that came out. To say it was unpleasant would be insufficient. To quote The Bride after she got the scent, "It smells like feet." And there you go. Being a good husband, I made her try one first.

Her reaction was scattered. "I suppose it tastes like steak. I don't think it tastes like feet," then to me she said, "you're not going to like them." She went on to say she wished it tasted like well done steak.

I tried one. Surprisingly The Bride was kinda right. They tasted like well done steak, specifically well done steak cooked on an outdoor grill. That is exactly what these chips tasted like. I liked these a lot, and I was very surprised. Yep, I liked them. It's a shame these are only available in a Limited Edition. Get them while you can.

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.

French Fry Diary 490: The Chips of West Virginia

Usually it's my friend Marni who finds the odd and out of the way potato chips for me to write about on this blog. This time, she put her boyfriend/partner/common law husband, Bob, to work for me. He was hiking in West Virginia and picked up two different bags of WV-based barbecue flavored potato chips. Surprisingly both of these regional brands I had tried before, but not these flavors.

First up were the Smokehouse BBQ potato chips from Miss Vickie's. Believe it or not, I had encountered this brand before, pretty far from West Virginia at the Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney, Orlando FL. Granted, it was a different kind of barbecue potato chip at the time, but still.

The Smokehouse chips are kettle cooked and claim to be all natural. They have the weird funky shapes that mark kettle cooking yet are quite small. While built for dipping, they might indeed be too small to do so.

And although the smokey flavor is hyped on the back of the bag, the sweetness of the seasoning is overpoweringly delightful from the brown sugar and molasses in the ingredients. These chips rock, I liked them quite a lot.

Next up were the barbeque potato chips from WV's Mister Bee. A bag of the sour cream & onion were included in the Anchor O'Reilly's Food Finds bag o' rare chips that The Bride got me for Christmas. They were not my cup of tea. I hope these might be more to my liking...

But alas, that hope would be for naught. These chips, just like the other Mister Bee's, are overseasoned and grainy, and the barbeque flavor is unpleasant and overpowering. I coukd only eat a couple of them. They had so much seasoning, at least a handful of the dusting was at the bottom of the bag. These did not make me happy.

Happily I don't think they cost Bob much, or at I hope they didn't. Either way, thanks, Marni and Bob!

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.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #92

How to open the impossible-to-open Safeway Potato Chips bag.

Scissors.

French Fry Diary 444: Martin's Bar-B-Q Waffle Potato Chips

I picked these up at the Sheetz we visited the other day. I had never seen this brand before, and I'm a sucker for barbecue potato chips so I tried Martin's Bar-B-Q Waffle Potato Chips.

Martin's is actually fairly local to where we were out in the wilds of Pennsylvania. It's a small family business that's been making snacks, mostly chips, since the 1940s.

The chips themselves have smaller ridges than most chips of this type. They have a pleasant sweet and smoky flavor, with just the right amount of burn.

These were very good chips. I wish we had gotten more than just one small bag.