Regional potato chips

Hey Ya'll -

Let's hear it for the regional potato chip brands - i.e., anything other than Lay's. Out here in the Pacific Northwest we have a great little brand of chips called Tim's. They have some incredible varieties, like Parmesan and Garlic or Cracked Black Pepper.

-Yumbo

We found these four-star chips in Yankton, South Dakota:



Ate them hot from the fry kettle at[url='http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=673']Fitzgerald Potato Chips[/url]

There WERE a lot of Pennsylvania Dutch Country chips in my childhood---Groff's being a kettle-cooked favorite, but nowadays statewide you can usually only find:

Utz---get Grandma Utz' Handcooked Chips. They are crisp and salty!

Middleswarth---these are my favorites, but admittedly varying in quality (from so-so to the best I've ever had). The regular chips are light and buttery, the barbecue are essentially the same chips with a slight spice (nothing like what Southerners would call barbecue).

Off the subject, Tom Sturgis makes the best regional pretzels. The "little ones" (rolled) are especially yummy.

Charles Chips--delivered to your door in a big brown tin.

Zapp's in New Orleans with such specialities as "Crawtators" See this link http://www.zapps.com/

UTZ is my fave. Big in the DC/B-More area. Available is the Mid-Atlantic and as far south as some locales in NC. The Crab Chips with Old Bay seasoning are the real deal.

I remember Tim's when I was living in Seattle. I miss them so much here on the east coast. I used to love their cajun chips and jalapeno chips

quote:

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Originally posted by wanderingjew

I remember Tim's when I was living in Seattle. I miss them so much here on the east coast. I used to love their cajun chips and jalapeno chips

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I visited their website and it looks like you can get them by phone, but you'd have to order them in bulk. Apparently they've been bought out by Birdseye Foods. http://www.timschips.com

I fondly remember Jay's from Chicago. Around Central NY we have Wise and Terrells. Of course, Terrells has Dinosaur BBQ flavored chips (this must be getting old...sorry). Plain chips have always been my favorite, but I do like the crunchy kettle cooked variety.

My neighbors got Charles chips delivered to their house, loved'em, (mom and dad didn't approve of big tins of chips lying around our house).

I personally have been frying my own chips. I got a vegetable/salad slicer that cuts potatoes in thin slices. I heat up peanut oil to 400 and let them cook until I like how brown they get. After that I either salt them or add some type of seasoning that seems right at the time. I can have hot chips in about ten minutes. They are slightly thicker that store bought chips and due to my personal ownership, they are better. Great with evening libation

Paul E. Smith

Speaking of homemade (or in this case, house-made) chips that happen to go well with libations, I think there are none better than those on the bar at Harry Caray's in Chicago:

Michael, you only think that because you have not had any of Paul E. Smiths seasoned hot chips.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Coleman's Irish Pub in Syracuse, serves what they call irish fries, which are potato slices, about 1/8" thick and fried. They sort of a cross between a potato chip and french fries, nice crispy on the outside.

Nibble with Gibble's. These started in the Central Pa/MD area but are available in a wider area now. I gave up Utz's for these

Wow! Didn't know Gibble's was still in business, you can no longer find them in Northeast PA! They were always VERY good.

Dearfolk,
My favorites among all the local potato chips I've ever had are Sterzing's Tri-Some from Burlington, Iowa. Another most agreeable brand is "Dirty" Potato Chips, which I believe are out of Memphis.
There must be 75 or 100 small chip makers scattered across Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. Most of these distribute for the likes of a 35 mile radius. There's even a website on these that someone can crab around and find and report back here.
Happy crunching, folks.

We're partial to Route 11 Chips out of Middletown, VA, just north of where Rte. 66 and Rte 81 intersect. They have a lot of flavors, but my personal favorite is Mama Zuma's Revenge--they are HOT!! My family's other faves are Dill Pickle and Sour Cream and Onion. You can watch them make the small batches of chips on Fridays and Saturdays. You can buy them prepackaged in gourmet-type stores, but I suggest going to the source and having them bag them for you there.

Kitchen Cooked Potato Chips from central Illinois are the fruit of the potato chip gods!
The initial taste is best described as 'slightly lard-y' (but in a good way!)
This taste coats your mouth and creates a morphine-like addiction that will have you
finishing the whole bag. Jay's brand has tried to mimic this recently to only reasonable results. They have a variety of flavors but plain 'ol salted are the best! It looks like these
babies are available online now: http://www.kitchencooked.net/

Think globally, eat locally.

Grandma Utz, Gibbles, Kay & Ray's, Good's- both the blue and red, Diffenbach's, Herr's has one cooked in lard that is very good- in a brown bag- "old fashioned" or something- Oddly enough I don't have a bag of chips in front of me to check. Herr's also has a kettle chip cooked in peanut oil that's pretty good. Since it's peanut oil, it qualifies as health food

This is probably going to sound like heresy to a lot of you, but here in Boston we're close enough to the Cape Cod factory to get those really fresh. I know its considered a national brand now, but was local for many years before being bought out by some national snack food company (Eagle, maybe). At least around here, the quality of the chips stayed the same. A couple of years ago, the national company decided to end the Cape Cod brand and close the original plant in Barnstable. The founding owner, who had retired, bought the company back and has kept it going since. To me, their best kind is the dark russet chips in the brown bag. I toured the factory, which is actually pretty small, a few years ago, and they were making the russets that day; everyone gets a couple of bags of whatever they were making at the end of the tour. They were still warm and perfect to me. All potatos they use are from New England growers. Another pretty good local brand is Vincent's from Salem, MA; their no salt chips are very good.

im with stanpnepa i like Middleswarth potato chips, a co worker actually once a month sends them to a sister out west cause they can't get them there.

I've just found the most amazing flavored potato chips I've ever eaten from a company called Snack Alliance (www.snackalliance.com) who seem to be big into private labelling and are the manufacturers behind a few well-known regionalish brands.

In any event, the chips are from their ripple-cut line, and they're coated with chile powder and lime juice. There's no dairy components to get in the way - they're smoky/tangy/salty/greasy/crunchy. The only possible way they could be better is if they were sprayed with controlled substances. I picked up bags of their Roast Chicken and Spicy Cajun flavors today....the roast chicken are a long time favorite, and the Cajun will have to do until I find the Chile-Limon again.

Eric

Anheuser Busch discontinued their snacks division..i.e. Eagle Snacks... a long time ago-I terribly miss the GREAT snack mix they used to put out-a perfect mix of pretzels,honey peanuts and BACON crackers...just right for munching with a Bud...

Oh man, am I glad this topic popped up. I desperately need an answer to this question: What in the world happened to State Line potato chips?

State Line was the best potato chip in the world, bar none. They were made in Wilbraham MA, and were available all over southern New England. I went back home last year, after an absence of some years, and they had disappeared completely. I asked my moms, other folks, even spa owners, no one could say anything but "oh yeah, I remember them, not sure what happened..." The humanity!

Why were they the best, you ask? There are two kinds of chips, forget the odious kettle chips for now. There are the greasy, well-fried kind, like Wise and Humpty Dumpty. These chips are smallish and deep golden brown and taste of grease. All right for some. Then there are the elegant, non-greasy, fried-just-right kind. They are largish, thickish, fried to a graceful ivory-brown, and possess a sublime, potatoe-y, greaseless flavor and crunch. Wachusett brand chips from central MA are an exemplar of this style as well.

Out here in CA, its basically Lays, or some kind of fancy kettle-like chip. Feh. State Line and Wachusett are to Lays as pate is to liverwurst. It was a sad days for snacking the day State Line closed their doors. Can anyone tell me what happened? It would at least offer some closure for my grief. Thanking you, your humble servant, essvee.

Out here in Northern VA the best, most freshly cooked chips are not potato! We have very large Hispanic and Asian populations and many of the small shops serve the chips of their own countries. Plantain and shrimp chips, respectively. Positively addicting!

Maybe M. Stern has some insight into the mysterious disappearance of said State Line chips?

BEING FROM THE DETROIT AREA, I HAD THE PLEASURE OF SAMPLING FLAVORED CHIPS WHILE VACATIONING IN NORTHERN CANADA. THE CHIPS WERE MADE BY HOSTESS AND CAME IN FLAVORS LIKE, "HOT DOG,""KETCHUP," AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITES OF "DILL" AND "SALT AND VINEGAR."

Just discovered Golden Flake "The South's Original Potato Chip". They're incredible.

quote:

Originally posted by essvee

Maybe M. Stern has some insight into the mysterious disappearance of said State Line chips?

Looks like a company in Canada is now using the name.
http://www.taquitos.net/snacks.php?snack_code=1307

middlesworth barbque are the best, dont forget wise plain

I still see them in the stores here in the boston area. Wachusett chips too...

Those Zapp's Craw-Tators are hard to beat...

I have recently become addicted to Cape Cod Russet chips. They are EXTREMELY crunchy, so eating them in an office setting is not recommended. I also have enjoyed Utz Crab Chips, and Herr's as well. They make a funky Ketchup-flavored chip which I'm not too fond of; but the plain flavors are just fine.

I grew up in west central Ohio and Mom always had Mikesell's potato chips. I think they are fried in peanut oil. I moved to Michigan and met someone from Dayton and she would bring me Mikesell's whenever she went home. My mother is no longer living. Now I live in Fort Wayne, IN and Mikesell's are available again!! Life is good.

as to chips......
barbecued potato chips to be exact
grippo's is the one
ask any frito people who has the best bbq chip...
they will humbly tell you grippo's does, and that they have tried unsuccessfully to copy it.........

I can't believe someone mentioned Mikesell's! Many, many years ago, when I was about 9 years old, my (much) older sister was newly married and had moved with her husband to Illinois. I took my first long roadtrip, with my parents, from Massachusetts to Illinois to visit her, and while passing through Ohio, we discovered Mikesell's. My mother loved them, so much so that a year and a half later, when we were able to go back to visit my sister again, we spent several hours trying to find the exact same grocery store we went to the first time to get some Mikesell's. It's been a long time, and I don't really remember them, just that they were very good, and the first thing I thought when I saw the title of this thread was "I wonder if anyone will mention Mikesell's?"

As for State Line, I remember hearing a jingle for them on the radio - "Head for the State Line; the super, natural potato chips!" Of course, you can't see punctuation on the radio--so I heard that and thought "What the HECK is a 'supernatural' potato chip? Does it give you psychic powers or something?"

Four words: Wise Bar B Que! My favorite for years now. Great for eating while having a few good beers.

I am so happy to see that Kitchen Cooked made the list!!! My mom lives near Farmington, IL, home of Kitchen Cooked, and they are THE potato chip in the greater Peoria/Galesburg area. They were also recently mentioned with several other regional goodies on a list in Esquire magazine (in the March or April 03 issue). They leave your mouth slick and crunch like nothing else....

quote:

Originally posted by kholzhauer

Kitchen Cooked Potato Chips from central Illinois are the fruit of the potato chip gods!
The initial taste is best described as 'slightly lard-y' (but in a good way!)
This taste coats your mouth and creates a morphine-like addiction that will have you
finishing the whole bag. Jay's brand has tried to mimic this recently to only reasonable results. They have a variety of flavors but plain 'ol salted are the best! It looks like these
babies are available online now: http://www.kitchencooked.net/

Think globally, eat locally.

A Silly Question for you out there: Is Wise a Regional brand??? I know you cant find them in some areas of the midwest..but unsure otherwise...

Back in the '80s, there was a Texas brand called Bob's (which was the first brand by the company that eventually became Poore Brothers) which had a jalepeno and cheddar chip that I still remember with much fondness although it was discontinued a good dozen years ago.

I second the Sterzing nomination.

http://www.sterzingchips.com/NewFiles/home.html

At least some of you know what you're talking about - the best chips in the world have always come from Central PA. All the smaller mfg brands, like Grandma Utz, Martin's, Gibble's (Nibble with Gibble - what a slogan!), Stehman's, etc., course they're all made with lard, but they are thicker than the national chains (Lay's, Golden Flake, etc.). Cape Cods are ok but they don't ship or last well. Lay's just came out with a kettle cooked version similar to the above-named brands, thicker and almost w/ the lard taste, but in a pinch they'll do. Middleswarth are OK too. And for pretzels, Lancaster County still has the best - again - small mfg. brands: Hammonds, Martins, fresh right off the oven and hand-rolled. You can go right to the location and watch your pretzels come off the line rolled by little old ladies and baked and placed into your tin or bag before your eyes. There's also a pretzel called "Uniques", an interesting taste developed by a guy whose recipe left out something but tasted good he began calling them uniques. Go for the local, smaller mfg brands near Lancaster and you'll taste the best.

Those flavors of "cracked pepper" and "parmesan" chips sound awesome, do they have a website to mail order? Also, someone mentioned Zaps Chip in Louisiana. They are AWESOME, they are cooked in peanut oil, and they even have "sweet potato chips", very good!

quote:

Originally posted by yumbo

Hey Ya'll -

Let's hear it for the regional potato chip brands - i.e., anything other than Lay's. Out here in the Pacific Northwest we have a great little brand of chips called Tim's. They have some incredible varieties, like Parmesan and Garlic or Cracked Black Pepper.

-Yumbo

One of the main reasons that regional chip makers thrive is because chips are fragile and their universally accepted packaging does little to protect them. They just don't travel well and for companies and retailers, breakage equals profits that could have been. Currently, there's about 120 plants across the country, most serving a somewhat immediate area. That's a remarkable number, considering the rampant consolidation in the food industry. Now if chips came in little boxes, that'd be another story. It's a fair bet we wouldn't be debating the merits of, say, Cape Cod versus Route 11.

On another note, I'm a big fan of Maui Chips.

Wise Potato Chips are not available in Texas markets. (Maybe a specialty shop, not a regular market).

I liked Wise when I was home in NYC. I remember in college in Philadelphia, I would go to a convenience store called Wawa and buy Herr's. They also sold Pa. Dutch chips.

Dearfolk,
Recently, I was tuned onto THE BEST potato chips I ever ate: a bar in my lovely home town, Athens, Georgia, recently added a kitchen. On their menu they have homemade potato chips with blue cheese. Oh, my! An order is $5.00 and will hold me through six (Imperial!) pints of Guinness, if not more.
The name of the place is The Globe; it's at 199 North Lumpkin Street downtown. Crab around on the net and you'll find a writeup of it by a local beer/food connoisseur/writer named Owen Ogletree... a good friend, I should add.
Packaged-wise, my favorites are Zapp's (especially the vinegar & salt), Grandma Utz's, and - of course - Sterzing's Tri-Some from Burlington, Iowa. Now them's some kind of good!
Only Slightly Crunchily, Ort. Carlton in Athens, Georgia.

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.

Dearfolk,
Recently, I was tuned onto THE BEST potato chips I ever ate: a bar in my lovely home town, Athens, Georgia, recently added a kitchen. On their menu they have homemade potato chips with blue cheese. Oh, my! An order is $5.00 and will hold me through six (Imperial!) pints of Guinness, if not more...

Only Slightly Crunchily, Ort. Carlton in Athens, Georgia.

Ort, after six Imperial pints of Guinness, why would you even CARE what kind of potato chips you're eating???

Welcome to Cheeseburger, Orten.

cosmos & LVW

Was doing some surfing this weekend & came across the fact that the Vermont Country Store sells Charles chips in the can!

I think I have tasted almost all the chips mentioned in all the posts. One HUGE factor in the manufacturing process for all chips is that the raw material is bought on the open market. As the growing season changes potatoes come from various states, various fields and various food brokers. The best chip makers are those that take into account the Water Content, Specific Gravity, and a host of other factors for each load of potatoes and when necessary alter their cooking recipe(usually the temp and time for cooking). When you think that your favorite chip tastes slightly different or not how you remember it, it probably does! It's not your taste buds that have lost their memory, it is the product...
On another note..the regional chips such as Terrells, Route 11 (my favorite), Mike-Sells, Nibble w/Gibble, and too many more to mention are in a class by themselves. The National guys, and UTZ is now considered a national provider, market their chips to the greatest number of similar tastes so there always will be a center line they are trying to hit. The regional guys kind of state "this is what we make, we like them, hope you like them too"

quote:

Originally posted by ocdreamr

Nibble with Gibble's. These started in the Central Pa/MD area but are available in a wider area now. I gave up Utz's for these

I love Gibble's too!! Fried in lard. Doesn't get much better than that! I think Grandma Utz's are fried in lard, too. In MD, I can get Gibble's at Weis Markets. Never have a problem finding them when I go to my mom's in S. Cent. PA, though!

I also love Martin's Potato Chips. Also from S. Cent. PA. My grandma always brings us some when she comes down. A small bag for each of us (me, bro, sis...all transplants to MD).
http://www.martinschips.com/history.html

When I was a kid and would go to the farmer's market with my mom on Saturday mornings, Utz and Martin's both had stands there. They would bring the chips to market in these enormous tins, dump them out on the work surface and bag them up for you right there. The nice lady at the Utz stand would always sneak me one. They stapled the bags shut back then. Something I am sure you would never get away with nowadays!!

Meowzart

Just thought I'd let everyone know that in the month of July we celebrate the Sesquicentennial (150 year) birthday of potato chips. First made in Saratoga, NY.

The brand "Terra chips" makes Taro chips. These are mostly found in Hawaii, but they are GREAT! I like them better than potato chips!
http://www.terrachips.com/products/tc_taro.html

--Terra

In the Dayton, Ohio, area is the Mike Sells brand.

http://www.mike-sells.com/

How I'd long for all/any of those potato chips.

Over here in the land of the rising sun we have pickled plum flavour, fried octopus (tako yaki) flavour, and butter and salt flavour that I can remember without running out to the convenience store.

Uncle Ray's Potato Chips from the Detroit area are really tasty (http://www.unclerays.com/). I love the coney dog chips - they taste just like a Detroit coney! You can read reviews of all the Uncle Ray's brands here (http://www.taquitos.net/snacks.php?manuf_code=13).

My favorite brand is Good's, made in a small plant in New Holland, PA. They are very light in color and always taste so fresh.

quote:

Originally posted by lvw

Charles Chips--delivered to your door in a big brown tin.

A Blast from my youth!!!!Are they still in business?? I loved them-we went through at a can a week and the local diner where my mom cooked used them too.

Gibble's and Utz- Grandma Utz in the brown bag (cooked in lard).

Last weekend, we attended the Central PA Arts Festival in State College, PA. I picked up a bag of one of my favorite regional brands, Middleswarth. Yummmmmmmmm!