French Fry Diary 699: Ruffles All Dressed

All Dressed? Seriously, what flavor is this? It appears at first glance to be barbecue, but that couldn't be because I doubt that BBQ Ruffles even exist. I've never seen them, they're a myth.

According to the hype on the package, All Dressed is the #1 flavor in Canada. Honestly when it comes to potato products, I thought that would be poutine, but apparently it's All Dressed. It's been described as vaguely like German potato salad or ketchup, vinegar, and BBQ all mixed together. Hmmm... I don't know... Listed in the ingredients is a mystery substance called 'All Dressed Seasoning,' surely the FDA has some rule about this kind of stuff.

I have to say, when I opened the bag, the aroma wasn't pleasant. They looked just Ruffles in shape at least, but it was the flavor I was hesitant about. I tasted the vinegar right away and a bit of smokiness, and something else I couldn't quite identify. They weren't bad but they weren't barbecue either.

And I still don't know what All Dressed means...

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.

French Fry Diary 679: Greektown Gyro Potato Chips

Unlike other years that I have done this, I was able to find two of the 2015 Do Us A Flavor finalists just scant days after they were announced. Usually there is an extensive hunting process but I found the Gyro and Truffle ones at the local Walgreens, so yay to Walgreens and props to the Lay's distribution department. Now if they could just get some BBQ Ruffles to the South Jersey area (hint HINT), I would really be happy.

Do Us A Flavor 2015 Taste Test #1 - Greektown Gyro flavored potato chips, kettle cooked style, submitted by James Wagner:

As a catastrophically picky eater, I have to be up front about this. I am not even sure what a gyro is, let alone what it tastes like, so this one was difficult from the get go. I know it's Greek, and I know how to pronounce it (see, being a Nia Vardalos fan pays off), but beyond that, I am lost. One source I found online indicated it was meat, onions, tomato, French fries (!), and tzatziki sauce rolled into a pita. Fries, eh? Now you have my attention.

Now tzatziki sauce, made from yogurt and cucumbers (I think) doesn't sound all that appetizing to me, and the 'meat' part could be just about anything - beef, pork, chicken, veal, or mutton. I'm getting less excited. The kicker is the picture on the chip bag itself, not a fry to be found. I guess Lay's and James Wagner don't read Wikipedia.

The ingredients list, among other things, and besides potatoes, sour cream, gum Arabic, and the vague and mysterious "gyro seasoning." I am getting less and less excited, but enough procrastination. Oh well, let's do this.

As I've learned in previous years' Do Us A Flavor contests, it's always best to let The Bride try one of the chips first. When I opened the bag, it was a good smell, but I knew I was not going to want any of these. We kinda talked about this on the most recent episode of The GAR! Podcast - just because it smells good doesn't mean you want to eat it.

The Bride said she could taste the sour cream and she could taste the lettuce, and it did remind her of a gyro - but "a potato chip should not taste like that." I tried one tentatively, and thought it too weird and spicy with a bad aftertaste. Some folks might dig this one, but I did not like it. Greektown Gyro would not get my vote.

Tomorrow: Truffle Fries!

French Fry Diary 664: Ore-Ida Bold & Crispy BBQ Oven Chips

Folks who are regular readers of FFD know that I'm a barbeque guy, both the grilling and the flavoring. If I find a new potato chip and BBQ is available I will always lean toward that flavor, so when I heard that Ore-Ida's new Bold & Crispy line had a BBQ French fry, I was all in.

When you open the bag there is a wonderful aroma, almost that of good barbeque potato chips. The 'fries' are rather thin for this type of disc-shaped fry, rippled like Ruffles, and heavily seasoned to a bright orange. They were not yet even cooked and I had very high hopes for these 'chips.'

Okay, first things first, the directions are more like suggestions. About half of what I got were cooked perfectly, and the rest were black burnt. So keep an eye on the oven while cooking and use your best guess. The burnt chips were inedible but the others were very good, like a very thick potato chip with a soft hot inside. There's a bit of heat, but it's good heat, and hot enough to have a beverage handy.

I liked these Oven Chips quite a bit, so far the best of the Bold & Crispy bunch, highly recommended.

French Fry Diary 652: Ruffles Deep Ridged Classic Hot Wings Potato Chips

It is a rare occasion that I get to review a new flavor of Ruffles. Hell, I can't even get the flavors I like, like simple barbecue or even the ultimate. For some reason the folks at Ruffles just don't want to distribute to South Jersey. If they did, I know I'd buy them.

Anyway one new flavor did pop up in the local Wawa, not something I'd normally be interested in, but I'm in South Jersey, and beggars can't be choosers. Similar to those great Ultimate chips, these potato chips are giant Ruffles, with ridges twice as deep as usual, and also have a Classic Hot Wings flavor inspired by Buffalo Wild Wings. You might
remember I wasn't impressed with Buffalo Wild Wings, so I wasn't really looking forward to these chips.

The bad news is these are just potato chips with a barbecue taste, they also have chicken wings taste, yeah, they're meat chips. For the most part, I hate meat chips. These have that weird chicken fat taste and they are far too hot with a lingering burn. Still, the great shape is perfect for dipping. I would have much rather had a different flavor in that shape however.

French Fry Diary 619: Lay's Limon Potato Chips

I was doing a quick drive-by lunch at Wawa when I saw these. I got a hot dog, a Coke, and was actually looking for a snack bag of Ruffles when this bright lime green package proclaiming Limon, with the accent over the o, caught my eye - Lay's Limon Potato Chips.

Now I'm old enough to remember the 7-Up commercials with the weird fruit combination of lime and lemon, the half-green half-yellow limon, so I was a bit intrigued. The rest of me was like 'aw hell, another odd Lay's flavor to try.' Sadly The Bride was nowhere around to test taste them for me. Oh well, as I always say, I do this so you won't have to.

A little research goes a long way. Limon, with the accent over the o, is Spanish for lime or lemon, and they have green ones and yellow ones. The accent might also be why they're not being sued by 7-Up. These chips, while fairly new to the States (the northeastern ones at least), are primarily sold in Hispanic markets.

The chips themselves are typical thin Lay's regular potato chips, but with an overpowering but not unpleasant lemon-lime taste. I am reminded of some of the lime tortilla chips on the shelves. These aren't bad. I would definitely have them again.

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.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #154

It's not easy being an X-Man...

P.S. If you're interested in my non-potato-related opinions of the new X-Men: Days of Future Past movie, you can check out my written review here, and listen to The Bride and I talk about it on The Make Mine Magic Podcast here.

And while I'm shamelessly plugging away, you do know you can find French Fry Diary at Facebook and Pinterest too, right?

French Fry Diary 572: Simply Ruffles

I have had varying degrees of success and failure with potato products that start with the word 'simply.' That would be the only reason I was hesitant to try these new Simply Ruffles from Frito Lay.

I like Ruffles a lot, they are the go-to ripple chip for dipping, rippled and relatively thick, they rock. The trouble would be they get tend to get a little greasy if you're eating a lot at once. A healthier style would be great, and that's what Simply Ruffles is, the better alternative.

Simply Ruffles are just potatoes, expeller-pressed sunflower oil, and sea salt. 'Expeller-pressed'? That means the oil is extracted mechanically using high pressure. How that is better or worse, I don't know. These chips are also gluten free, with no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.

Good chips, healthy chips, recommended.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #131

A treat for a rainy (or snowy, depending on where you are) day.

Behold, the Island of Ruffles Crispy Fries.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #118

One of Ruffles' new advertising campaign, this one for Ultimate Sweet & Smokin' BBQ Ruffles. Awesome.

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 503: Ruffles Crispy Fries

I had only just heard about Ruffles entering the fry-shaped snack market when The Bride snagged me a sample at a 7-Eleven near her office. Usually these things are made from corn rather than potato and unless you get them flavored, they are relatively flavorless. I was hoping for more from Ruffles.

Other than being ridiculously hard to open, the first thing I noticed is that they are made from potatoes, not corn, just potatoes, salt, and vegetable oil. That's it. Notably, I got the Original, but they also have Cheese. They look like natural cut French fries, and according to the packaging, are sliced from real potatoes.

They feel like old burnt French fries, and as I said, they look like natural cuts, but they smell and taste like giant potato sticks. And for a special treat, do like they say on the bag and heat them up in the microwave (just not in the bag). Warm, they are terrific, a great fry or chip substitute for a sandwich lunch or snack.

I like them, they're good, and quite honestly, more than a little addictive. I'm glad The Bride only got a sample bag. If you can find them, pick them up, because I'm not sure how long they'll be around. These are really good, thumbs up.

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 408: Ruffles Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins Flavored

Yeah, I know that's quite a mouthful, Ruffles Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins Flavored potato chips. I've tried a lot of different bizarre flavored chips like the various rib chips, the steak chips, and even the chicken chips. There's even a hot dog flavored chip from Herr's I've been trying to track down. At least these are sorta tater related.

I had only a couple chips. I'm not a big fan of sour cream or Romano cheese and those flavors jumped right out immediately. There is also bacon and cheddar in there, but the former two flavors are overpowering. These chips were definitely not my cup of tea, and so not my bag of chips.

I had initially picked them up for The Bride, but she only thought they were okay. If you're into this kind of thing, go for it, but Ruffles Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins were just not for me.

French Fry Diary 385: Ruffles Ultimate Sweet & Smokin' BBQ

I love Ruffles, they make a great dipping chip. But then I saw this. Ruffles. Ultimate. Really? When I first saw those words on the shelf at my local Wawa, I was entranced. I had to know what Ruffles Ultimate was. And even better - Ruffles Ultimate with sweet and smokin' barbecue flavor, what a bonus.

So of course I snagged a bag. The packaging held some clue. Apparently Ultimate Ruffles are all about 'hardcore flavors' to crush a 'hardcore hunger.' Apparently the Ultimate style chips come in the regular Original and there's also a Kickin' Jalapeño Ranch flavor. I don't think I'll be trying those. These, however, promised on the bag that my hunger was about to get blown up by a spicy, sweet and smoky taste bomb. Boom. Well, then.

I have to say, once opening the bag and trying them, these are indeed no ordinary potato chips. Heck, these are no ordinary Ruffles. The ridges are huge, bigger than any I've seen on any other ridged potato chip. They are more like Herr's pink foil Ripples but much bigger, and cut much differently than regular Ruffles. These chips would be and are amazing as dipping chips, especially with my favorite, ice cream as the cold contrasts with the heat of the chip.

Yes, be warned, these are very hot chips. No playing around here, these are hot, but it's a good heat. Have something cold and refreshing nearby to wash these babies down with. The seasoning is very heavy, almost making the chips a bright solid orange, and they are indeed both sweet and smoky.

These Ruffles are very close to ultimate. Bravo. Much like Herr's with their Lattice Cut Potato Chips, Ruffles has found a way to make a better dipping chip. Thumbs up.

French Fry Diary 366: Ruffles Smokehouse Style BBQ

Just a few days after I was lamenting the fact that no one local carries BBQ flavored Ruffles, I find these, almost a substitute, Ruffles Smokehouse Style BBQ Flavored Potato Chips. Wow, how's that for a mouthful. Why do chip products always have such long names?

Anyway, I couldn't wait to get this bag home and try them. Just look at those juicy dry rubbed ribs on the bag... mmmm... Once open the aroma matches the picture. The chips, standard Ruffles, but darkened by spices, are almost brown. If anything they are too spicy. A glance at the ingredients reveals the usual suspects, plus MSG. Not good.

A handful of these are good and hot, with, as I said, perhaps too much seasoning. Any more than that however is like kissing a smoker, or licking an ashtray. Thumbs down on these, but still looking for Ruffles BBQ...

French Fry Diary 346: Lay's Kettle Cooked Mesquite BBQ Flavored Potato Chips

I had just purchased ice cream at the local Wawa and was perusing the snack aisle looking for something to dip with it. Yeah, I know. I do that, get over it. I was wondering why, for like the hundredth time, they don't have BBQ Ruffles in my area, when I saw this bag of Lay's Kettle Cooked Mesquite BBQ Flavored Potato Chips and decided to go with them. There were a dozen other choices, but I wanted barbeque.

Now usually ridges are best for dipping, but kettle cooking makes a thick hard break easily chip that is also good for dipping. The only problem with this particular chip is, as you can see from the picture, kinda on the small side. Still they work, not as well as I would have liked, but they work.

For those looking for the health info, there's good news. These chips are free of MSG, transfats, or bizarrely enough, anything related to pigs. They are also a good source of Vitamin C, yeah, right, but I guess that shouldn't be a surprise based on their orange color.

The flavor is a good sweet barbeque flavor, but without a burn or an aftertaste. That's a win-win situation in my book. Not the best BBQ chips I have ever had but pretty darn good ones. And they were terrific dipped in the ice cream.

French Fry Diary 295: Maxx's Burgers, Shakes, & Ice Cream

I had gotten a few recommendations for Maxx's Burgers, Shakes, & Ice Cream - and since they were fairly local in Moorestown, I wanted to try it. We had tried to find this place once before, but the tiny map on their website confused us enough to give up and go to Elevation Burger. We made a mistake.

We tried again a few weeks later, using the map and looking for cross streets and driving very slow. Despite poor signage (their sign is red on white on red and shares space with a brighter All State sign), we found it. It's little, but worth it.

The first thing that hit me was the soda fountain that offered RC Cola, Diet-Rite, 7-Up and Stewart's soda products. Wow. They also had "Mexican Coke" in bottles, Coca-Cola made with sugar cane - too cool.

Everything us made from scratch and to order. Nothing was started until we ordered. We got our sodas and moved back to the depths of the place to wait for our food. It's built inside a house, so it has many rooms, and is bigger than it looks. There's a guitar and a cymbal on the wall so I suspect that this place might have once been themed after Andy Warhol's Max's Kansas City, but who knows, I saw nothing to definitely indicate that. I was happy, as I haven't had RC in a while, and I had forgotten how good it was, mmmmm...

I got my usual, a burger, and because Maxx's is the original home of Andy's Fries, I ordered them - hand cuts sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and truffle oil. Gourmet style. Maybe...

Let's do the good news first. The burgers are phenomenal, really out of this world good. The burgers are homemade killer good, and come on soft sesame seed buns. Heaven. The Mom-in-Law got the Cruncher, which was close to my heart as it was covered with Ruffles. However, it is notable that they mixed up our fry orders, that's why there are Ruffles with my Andy's Fries.

Speaking of potato products - that's the bad news. The menu tells of hand cut fries, but what I got was frozen grocer shoestrings, deep fried. They were indeed sprinkled with Parmesan and truffle oil, but still, it wasn't the same.

I won't complain too loudly or long, because the burgers were so good. Really, outside of a fancy restaurant or a backyard grill, this was the best burger I've had in a long time, and the rest of the family concurred.

We will definitely be back for the burgers, and the dollar hot dogs are very tempting especially as they have been recommended by a FourSquare friend. We had no room for dessert either after those hearty burgers, so we'll also be back for shakes, sundaes or ice cream. Maybe not for the fries however.

1983 Ruffles TV Commercial

Ruffles have that something extra - ridges, from 1983.