Tag Archives: potato chips

Zapp’s Chips

God damn these are some fucking great kettle cooked potato chips. I always like to try regional or local snacks whenever we travel. I was eyeballing these fuckers from the moment we landed in New Orleans.

We tried three flavors: Spicy Cajun Crawtaters, Voodoo, and Hotter N’ Hot Jalapeño. Our favorite was the Crawtators.

They had a good level of spice without getting overly aggressive. The Voodoo flavor was pungent and interesting. Good to dabble into as well. The jalapeño chips were good too, just not as unique as the other two flavors.

Trader Joe’s Snacks

In addition to its jerky products, Trader Joe’s makes some great and wallet-friendly snacks. I’ve chosen to highlight three of them here in one review.

First is the Giant Peruvian Inca Corn.

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These are under $2 a bag, and are essentially giant corn nuts that are lightly salted.

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They’re light, and fulfilling. Very easy to just keep popping one after another, all night long.

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Next is the Baked Jalapeño Cheese Crunchies.

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These come regular style too, orange colored, but the jalapeño gives it a mildly spicy kick that’s just a bit nicer overall. These are also under $2 per bag.

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The flavor is light, not overly cheesy. There’s utterly no grease, since these are baked instead of fried. Great snack.

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Finally, these Roasted Plantain Chips are amazing.

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The light dusting of salt on them cuts their natural sweetness. They’re thick cut too, so you feel like you’re eating a kettle cooked potato chip, only much healthier.

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These are only about $1 or $1.20 a bag, so get a bunch of them to stock up. Trust me; you’ll go through them like crazy, and they’re way better and cheaper than the plastic tubs that sell for about $8 for a similar amount at Whole Foods.

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Irish Nachos

Happy St. Pat’s Day! This is a dish I first saw at a local Irish bar on Long Island, and it was actually the inspiration behind my Hillbilly Nachos dish. I was blown away by this shit, so I had to share it here. It’s really simple. Use this shit:

1) extra thick cut potato chips
2) crispy browned corned beef
3) Russian dressing
4) shredded swiss or cheddar
5) sautéed or griddled onions
6) minced chives
7) bacon crumbles
8) sour cream
9) jalapenos
10) coleslaw, sauerkraut or shredded cabbage

Create your layers and add each ingredient to taste. Be cautious with your cheese, sour cream and Russian dressing ratios; you don’t want to overdo it. I like just a drizzle of Russian dressing across the top, not gobs of it.