If I had money issues, I’d ask the boss if I could prepare a dish instead of buying chips. And then I’d cook a potato based dish that would be both tastier and cheaper than store-brand chips. The OP’s problem is that he didn’t want to put forward the effort of making a dish, so he was assigned a dish he didn’t have to cook. And then he went for the cheap option. If he couldn’t be bothered to cook, and he couldn’t be bothered to spend a bit extra on decent chips, then he shouldn’t have bothered to attend the potluck.
You serve the dip, often a garlic aioli, on the side; people put a spoonful onto their plates, and then have a small amount with each bite.
Your office parties must be a real blast. “Instead of bringing chips and dip like I was asked to do, I made this fancy potato dish!”
“Instead of bringing the paper plates and cups and plastic silverware, I brought my great grandmother’s fine china and her Georg Jensen Scandinavian silverware set”
“P’shaw! Instead of putting up party streamers, posters and balloons, I just flew in Cerbelli Creative from New York to decorate the event!”
Dude, if your name is on the list to bring potato chips and dip, and you do NOT bring potato chips and dip, you failed.
Period.
If you’re drinking the cheap, bottom-shelf, mass-produced stuff, you’re most likely not drinking anything good. Almost all the cost of that bottle was in getting the wine into the bottle and getting the bottle to the store - very little was actually spent on the wine. Take the next step up to a better range and you’ll be drinking a wine with better grapes, better quality control, and a vintner who actually tasted his product. And if you choose to share that nicer bottle with friends, you’ll be showing them you have some regard for them and their tastebuds, rather than trying to get by with the lowest cost option.
I’ve never been to a pot-luck style meal where people were assigned dishes. Isn’t that what the “luck” is about? Everyone being surprised about how the meal comes together? But I suppose if someone was assigned to bring potato chips, or paper plates, it would be because whoever was coordinating the meal had low expectations for that person. And then to fall below those minimal expectations by bringing in low-quality products - that’s lousy behaviour. Suppose everyone put forward the minimum effort to produce their dishes? That’s not a celebration - that’s a bad cafeteria.
I do exactly that. I like it. They like it. Nothing else matters.
None of my friends are wine snobs. Neither are they food snobs. About the only thing we are super picky about are Pringles. Pringles are their own little class of snack food. They are chips, if not necessarily potato chips, and there is nothing else is quite like a Pringle.
Should I mention the Spam sandwiches I once brought to a potluck?
Most likely, we’re talking about a Christmas lunch that’s also the end-of-the-year gathering. The kind of event where people are expected to put in some extra effort so that everyone has a great time. Presumably most people did that, but the OP decided to go for a mediocre option. What if everyone did that? If the standard for the party was mediocrity, why have a party at all?
That’s possibly your most patronising, ill-informed and snobbish post of the thread so far, And that’s against some strong opposition.
If you think that spending more means you are getting something that tastes better, you are demonstrably wrong.
There are loads of blind taste tests that show exactly the same results. People cannot reliably distinguish between cheap and expensive wine.
The only way you might fool people into agreeing that something tastes better is by making sure they know how much you’ve paid for it, and why on earth would you do that.
Either way, spending more on wine is certainly no guarantee that you are “showing regard for their tastebuds”. Making a song and dance about how much you’ve spent on them makes it more about you than them.
I didn’t have time to read all 112 replies, so I may be repeating.
1 - I buy Walmart Great Value chips all the time. I buy the regular, plain chips and IMHO they’re better or as good as any other chip (and I know my chips!). For the heck of it one time I bought the nacho cheese GV chips. My husband and I now prefer them to Doritos (Doritos have changed over the years).
2 - I have become kind of squeamish about eating other people’s homemade food unless I know them really well. Since I’m a picky eater, I would probably just fill my plate with your chips.
3 - Chips are a staple at a potluck! I would be disappointed if there were none. You can never go wrong with chips.
I always welcome folk bringing chips to office potlucks, b/c there are always plenty leftover. And after I blow off the party, I can hit the break room after and eat chips! (Yeah - I’m THAT guy! :D)
Bringing one tube of Pringles would be jerkish. Bringing several bags of chips is appropriate. There was someone’s spouse at one of my jobs who, for spousal gatherings, would bring one small plastic container (about a cup) of some sort of salad or beans or something that was supposed to feed 20 people. Then she’d eat a couple of heaping plates full of everything else. And then pick up the large bowl of chips and walk around with it, noshing away. Disturbing behavior.